Bodily Autonomy

What is bodily autonomy? Webster’s Dictionary defines autonomy as “the quality or state of being independent, free, and self-directing.” So, how does that define bodily autonomy? I would use the Webster definition to say being independent, free, and self-directing in one’s body. When people hear “bodily autonomy,” many people think of recent controversies and issues surrounding abortions. While yes, someone’s ability to access healthcare does fall into the category of bodily autonomy, so do things like dress and presentation. People of any gender’s ability to wear makeup, pants, skirts, religious paraphernalia, etc., as they please and without dictation from others is part of their bodily autonomy.

The hope is for everyone to have full and readily available bodily autonomy, but still, many minorities are not granted this right. An incomplete list of these minorities includes women, people of color, queer people, people with disabilities, children, and people in detention. Though important and valid, I will not be focusing on children and people in detention in this essay. We as Americans could talk for hours about instances in which the media has discussed or captured times when someone’s autonomy was disregarded or taken away, but, these issues used to be much worse. It was many of the same groups as today, but given even less autonomy than is allotted today. Many experienced much less or no bodily autonomy.

In the 21^st Century, what is defined as an intersex person, in early America, was defined as a Hermaphrodite, or something like it. See, according to Hermaphrodites and “Same-Sex” Sex in Early America, “A hermaphrodite was defined as an individual with a perfect set of both male and female genital organs …” Because the social expectation of people was that one would only have intercourse with the other sex, this meant that hermaphrodites could use the opposite organ to the one they were copulating with. The only issue was that hermaphrodites that followed that definition didn’t exist. Since people could only copulate with the other sex, and these people were neither one nor the other, they needed to define what sex/gender they were, as then it showed who they could or, more importantly, couldn’t copulate with. An example of this is a person in early America, named Thomas/ine Hall. Hall was androgynous enough for many years that they identified as different genders depending on what benefited them the most for a decent amount at a time, for example, they cut their hair and joined the military for an undisclosed length of time, and afterwards resumed their life as a woman. Hall was taken to court to determine their sex, and if the courts had determined which of Hall’s characteristics were most prominent, Hall would have to conform to the lifestyle of that sex. When the courts could not determine a prominent sex in Hall’s characteristics, they were required to wear a costume that had the intention to “warn” others and to reduce the likelihood of Hall’s coupling. “It prevented any sexual autonomy and ability to blend in with the populace.” Hermaphrodites and “Same-Sex” Sex in Early America [MF1]. If Hall had autonomy over their body, they could live however they wanted. The courts would’ve had no right to check their body to see which sex they represented the most. Hall would only have to disclose any aspect of their body to an intimate partner, not the whole town, through their dress. Similarly, if Hall preferred the world to perceive them as intersex, they could have dressed however they wanted. Many people now have and use their bodily autonomy to dress androgynously or with “contradicting” clothing styles and genders. Unlike in the time that Hall was alive, clothing has a lessened expectation of gender, which allows for more people to dress how they please and without an assumed gender when observed.

Women’s bodily autonomy is also questioned often and is a hot topic in politics. What is being questioned, especially currently, is whether a woman should be able to have an abortion. To answer it simply, if a woman has bodily autonomy, she, herself, can choose to or to not have an abortion. The woman having this opportunity does not mean she will exercise it; it means that if she needs an abortion, she will get one safely. Hall was stripped of their sexual autonomy through dress, while many women, then and now, are stripped of their sexual and bodily autonomy through action alone. Many times, women are denied their autonomy because someone else, often a man or a group of men, wants something. In both pieces of propaganda shown above, women are being put below men. In the first, the woman is being given an unfair safeword. A safeword is a word given to the people involved in sex that, if said, will stop any and all actions without question. In this instance, it is an uncommon word that is difficult to say, especially in rigorous activity. This means that the person’s partner will have a greater chance of disregarding the safeword and/or of having the affected party not say it at all for a number of reasons. The second piece of propaganda has a similar connotation. “If a man wants you, he will make it happen” could be taken sweetly; the man will put the effort to be in a relationship with you, but a more sinister and misogynistic meaning is that if you don’t want to have sex, but a man does, he will disregard your desires and have sex with you anyway. Both of these pieces of propaganda disregard a woman’s bodily autonomy in what are disrespectful and dehumanizing ways. [MF2]

Another minority that has been fighting for their autonomy is people of color. During times of slavery, people were bought and sold like cattle to do the work on farms, in the house, and much more. People would have been sold heartlessly and only with the intention of money gain. In the excerpt of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, we see multiple instances of this. For instance, Maria was sold away from her family. If she had bodily autonomy, she would be able to choose what she wants to do with herself. She would not be a slave, and she would not be separated from her father and family. I don’t have as much space to discuss this book in as much detail as it deserves, but it is a touching read if one ever gets the chance. [MF2]

These people and minorities have suffered horrible things, but show resilience and autonomy in their actions. Hall was no longer on public records after their sentencing, so we can hope and assume that they left and started a new life as their preferred gender. In similar ways, women and people of color take their autonomy into their own hands, fight for their rights, leave bad situations, and make people take accountability for their wrongdoings. We can all learn from these strong people and groups who fought for their descendants and the other people in similar situations.

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[MF1]https://canvas.nau.edu/courses/59296/modules/items/3992816

[MF2]https://canvas.nau.edu/courses/59296/files/17808935/download?download_frd=1