An Historical Materialistic Approach to My Chosen Career

I am currently double majoring in Philosophy and in applied Psychology and with this I plan to help rape victims and counsel women about their options in life. As a bonus, I also hope to influence the laws governing certain aspects of my chosen profession. Successfully performing this job will require that I follow certain laws and policies, as well as be affected by certain laws and policies. This paper calls for an historical materialist approach of some aspect of this, my chosen career, and I plan to use Angela Davis as a guide in doing so. I plan to discuss our countries current abstinence only programs, rape in war time and its current laws in civilian society, the history and current use of sterilization in this country within birth control options, and to discuss abortion.

The first topic I am going to discuss is rape. "When the abolition of the international slave trade began to threaten the expansion of the young cotton-growing industry, the slaveholding class was forced to rely on the natural reproduction as the surest method of replenishing and increasing the domestic slave population. Thus a premium was placed on the slave woman's reproductive capacity." (Davis p. 6) Women of the slave trade were raped by their owners in order to increase the slave population and thus perpetuate their profits. Being that these women were slaves, nothing could ever be or was ever done to prevent or stop rapes from happening, nor was there any punishment involved. Old feudal lords and monarchs of the past used rape as a way to "breed" another culture out, it was encouraged for there men or the soldiers to rape the women of the lands they occupied as a way of achieving their military goals. The United States has turned a blind eye to rapes performed by their soldiers currently and in the past. It happened in Vietnam and it has been rumored to have happened in the Middle East in our current war. Taking a Leninist Imperialistic view of all of this, war is caused for economic reasons. Thus using rape was for the economy. We have seen rape also be a result of the economic institution of marriage. Marriage arranged for financial gains, are not always made between compatible people. Rape has been a direct result of the sexual frustration experienced by both parties of an incompatible marriage. In the past little to nothing was done about this. In civilian society rape has seen its changes for the better. Now, in today's society, there are laws prohibiting rape and provisions written in these laws for the punishment of the offenders. In Minnesota rape is called criminal sexual conduct and there are five degrees allowing for specifications of offenses and for punishments. First degree rape involves bodily injury, fear of great bodily harm, penetration, and is also for rapes in which the victim is under 13 years of age. Second degree has the same provisions but it is for sexual contact and not for penetration. Third degree involves penetration, and a focus on slightly older children with force or coercion. Fourth degree is the same but only for contact, not for penetration. Fifth degree criminal sexual contact is a gross misdemeanor except involving repeat offenses. Currently there is a five year statute of limitations on rape and I would like to change that to be indefinite for first, second and third degree offenders. I would like to see first degree sentences carrying a provision for the death sentence and second and third to carry possible life sentences. I would also like to see rape in times of war be punishable by death. These changes I think could help to eradicate rape and its use to demean women and control the culture of the world's population.

The second topic I have chosen is sterilization. The United States has a diverse history of sterilization practices, for both white bourgeois women and for minority, and lower class women. For the women of the upper classes, birth control, abortion and sterilization became a way to plan families, and further secure wealth through control of the number of family members they had to support. For white, upper class women these opportunities became rights that they pushed to have. For black women and women of other minority groups this was not the case. "by 1976 some 24% of all Indian women of childbearing age had been sterilized." (Davis p.218) "By the 1970's 35 percent of all Puerto Rican women of childbearing age had been surgically sterilized." (Davis p. 219) "Moreover 43 percent of the women sterilized through federally subsidized programs were Black." (Davis p. 219) A high majority of the above mentioned sterilizations were not done voluntarily or were done under some form of coercion, such as not telling the women what was happening until it was done or by threatening to take away government aid programs. While white women thought of birth control and "family planning" as being favorable rights to be had, women of minority groups were gaining a history of monstrosity due to sterilization and abortion. African American women have slavery to thank for their utter fear of abortion. "Abortions and infanticides were acts of desperation, motivated not by the biological process but by the oppressive conditions of slavery." (Davis p. 205) Slave women preformed their own abortions and killed their children in order to save them from a life of slavery, and being an economic unit. Angela Davis further writes, "Since the first call for birth control was associated with goals which could only be achieved by women possessing material wealth, vast numbers of poor and working class women would find it difficult to identify with the embryonic birth control movement." (Davis p. 208) Restrictions were made on funding and availability of birth control and abortions, leaving sterilization as the only option for women who could not afford or obtain birth control and abortions. "Thus class-bias and racism crept into the birth control movement when it was still in its infancy." (Davis p. 210)

During my career of counseling I will come across a diverse population of people, and women specifically. Using an historical materialist approach, I can counsel my clients based on what I know of there more specified history of culture and beliefs. It can be a tool used in helping women come to fight for their own emancipation. I want to be able to answer questions my clients will inevitably ask me about family planning, and talk about abortion with them, as pregnancy can be a result of rape. Angela Davis writes "Birth Control-individual choice, safe contraceptive methods, as well as abortion when necessary- is a fundamental prerequisite for the emancipation of women." (Davis p. 202) I agree with this statement, but under the current administration this goal, in so far as my counseling career is concerned, is very difficult to achieve. Abstinence only programs are the only programs of this type to receive federal funding by order of President George W. Bush. Funding of counseling programs is not the best and all of it is put to good use with more demand left at the end of the funding. I would like to help influence the change in restrictions on birth control, abortion, and sterilization. Currently in Minnesota there are decently fair abortion laws that allow for the free choice of women, I would like to see the restriction of parental consent be changed from the 18 and under to 16 and under as this is the current age of sexual consent. I would like to see federal funding for free birth control for all women and reduced rate abortions for all lower class women. I would also like to see no requirements on informing parents or gaining their consent for birth control for females of any age after menstruation has started. Sterilization should never be involuntary or without informed consent, although I do feel the laws of voluntary sterilization should be revised to allow women 18 years of age or with 2 children to obtain voluntary sterilization, down from 26 years or 6 kids, and the consent of the husband should never be required as it is now.

I hope I have accomplished what I set out to accomplish at the beginning of this paper. I know you said not to make it a social work paper and for the most part I do not think that I have. Using an historical materialist approach to my clients and their issues I strongly believe will put me at a greater advantage than peers who do not utilize this approach. Taking all information into account is the only way I know of to truly help a person. Taking philosophy, in part, is for this very reason. Learning new ways of thinking and learning popular and timeless ideas about life and all its aspects will prove a better way of understanding clients for me.

Source: Women Race and Class, by Angela Davis