How about roving semi trucks with bill board sized pictures of aborted fetuses travelling highways during rush hour?
It doesn’t bother me at all, if that’s what they want to wear. The only thing that I think about it, is that as a “statement” or “protest” it’s about as effective in getting people to see your side as those nutjobs who wear sandwich boards saying that the world is about to end and to repent.
I don’t think it’s all that effective in getting people to see your side, as that sort of thing tends to be a “turn off” for a lot of folks. Folks who might otherwise be willing to listen to a point of view.
And as so many others have said, it’s not that it’s something to be ashamed of, but it is personal. And it’s an agonizing decision for many, so putting it on a Tshirt seems more like a flippant irreverent slap in the face than a serious political statement.
No, that is perfectly fine. :rolleyes:
Again-- it’s about context. If someone were to wear it at the beach, or something like that-- yeah.
Any indication that’s happened, ever?
These shirts are for pro-choice demonstrations. Period.
The way all the bloggers are reacting to this, you’d think women were wearing them to work. Hello – common sense, people.
I’d rather wear a T-shirt that says “Posterchild for abortion.” But that’s just me.
There is a site called I’m Not Sorry which details stories of women who’ve had abortions, but do not regret their actions. Even if you look at many prochoice sites, you’ll still see stories where women regret their actions while they feel fortunate to have had the choice. The I’m not sorry site is similar to the I had an abortion t-shirt. Its not for every time or place, but the right time and place; it is an attempt to take away a stigma that one needn’t feel.
I know my reaction to this shirt is colored by the fact that I’m pro-choice, but it comes across less as flippant and more as an attempt to humanize and individualize Women who Have Abortions. (Can’t help but think of relatives’ reactions, over the years, to finding out that some friend or acquaintance had had an abortion: ‘She didn’t seem like the type,’ ‘I thought she was such a nice girl,’ ‘And she still goes to church!’ and so forth.) A crowd of women who could be your sister/girlfriend/daughter, in these shirts, is a powerful statement, even if its effectiveness in awareness is debatable.
When I saw that t-shirt, the first thing that came to mind was the daughter of a friend of mine who I saw wearing a t-shirt which read, “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not,” while she had her arm around her male fiance. The second thing I thought about was a recent issue of Ms. Magazine which showed ordinary looking women and some men wearing t-shirts which read, “This is what a feminist looks like.” I’ve never had an abortion myself, but I could see circumstances under which I’d wear a t-shirt which reads, simply “I had an abortion” to make it clear to people that when they talk about making abortion illegal in all cases, they’re not just affecting some hypothetical, immoral, slut who gets herself into situations no decent person would consider, but a real, live, mostly respectable human being who’s looking them straight in the eye and refusing to be ashamed.
I read the link Lynn Bodoni provided, and I suggest people look at the stories. One in particular which comes to mind is a story about an anti-choice woman who was having an abortion because the condom broke, yet denounced the other women in the waiting room for using abortion as birth control. The real reason I heartily disliked Dan Quayle wasn’t the ridiculous Murphy Brown fiasco or the innumerable times he put his foot in his mouth but that when someone asked what would happen if his daughter was raped, despite his stance that abortion should be illegal in all cases, including rape, and even when the life of the woman was in danger, he said he would want his daughter to have the option of having one. That’s the option I want for myself, even though I hope I never need to make use of that option.
You know, there are a bunch of pretty disgusting, offensive t-shirts out there. Check out any cheap t-shirt place and you’ll see a bunch of them. Still, instead of pitting one of the “Big Johnson” t-shirts, this is the one which gets pitted. Apparently a t-shirt which reads “Kamanaiwanaleiu, HI” is all right, but a t-shirt which states what can happen if one decides she wants to get “lei’d” is offensive and tacky. :rolleyes:
CJ
Then again, what can you expect of a devout Christian who owns a button which reads, “I found Jesus. He was behind the couch all along!” 
“Piece of filth?” What makes it filthy?
Tacky and unnecessarily provocative.
The decision to end one’s pregnancy is a horrible choice for someone to have to make, whether it’s legal or not, whether you feel it’s moral or not. I don’t know one woman who has made such a decision flippantly or without a great deal of tears. I’m sure the wearer thought about, and relished, the reaction of her political adversaries when she donned that t-shirt; I can’t imagine she’s put a lot of thought into how it would make the women who have had abortions feel. You don’t have to feel shame in order for that t-shirt to make you feel like shit.
Whatever her motive was for wearing such a t-shirt, the wearer ought to re-think her shock tactics. It’s not a flippant matter, no matter what side of the political spectrum you fall into.
I’ve yet to see any evidence of this “flippant” of which you speak.
I’ve never seen anyone actually wearing one. The only actual examples of people wearing them presented in this thread come from Larry Mudd’s links/quotes. And there it seems it was a consciuos effort to make a statement, and perhaps provoke, but in a relevant context. No flippancy that I could discern. Just an effort to be straightforward about a subject too often and too long relegated to whispers.
I did attend the march in DC and thought the “this is what a feminist looks like” t-shirts had a lot of impact. “Feminist” has become such a “dirty” word in many parts. The attempt was to put a face on it and show it can be “normal” to be a “feminist”. Feminists are your sisters and brothers, teachers and students, executives and wage slaves, whatever. I think the “I had an abortion” t-shirt is an attempt to do the same. De-shame and de-stigmatize, as Miller nicely put it.
You may disagree, but that doesn’t make the wearer “flippant”, more likely someone who made a thoughtful decision to stand up for her beliefs.
I have nothing useful to contribute to this thread, but I just thought I’d pop in and mention that this had me in giggles for several minutes. It’s possible that I have a strange sense of humour.
Diogenes watch out! He’s just using you to get to Cheney.
Your country begs to differ.
Many people see war and rape in the same light. The idea is to show the opposition that the people who seek abortions are people like you and me. They’re not just broken down crack whores and inner-city teenagers. They’re your boss, your neighbor, your best friend, your doctor, your kid’s teacher, your accountant. They are people who needed the alternative to carrying a fetus to term. And they don’t want to see that legal option taken away.
I dunno. The guy who lived across the hall from me in the dorms sometimes wore a t-shirt that said “Masturbating is not a crime”.
He was hot, too.
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Just for clarification, do you feel that the abortion puts the woman into the “mostly” respectable column? Was she completely respectable before her decision to abort?
Just because they are targeted at people who would wear them at political demonstrations doesn’t mean that’s the only place they will be worn.
But I find a hell of a lot of what is printed on t-shirts (if I cared enough to care) tacky and offensive. From the CK Christ is King t-shirts (yeah, Jesus wants you to steal someone else’s intellectual property), to I’m with Stupid tshirts, to fifteen year old girls running around with Hot Stuff stenciled across their butts (ok, that isn’t a tshirt). Outside a political rally, I’d find these tacky as well - but somewhat less tacky than the Abercrombie and Finch “Chinese” shirts that were out a few years ago.
People tell me all sorts of things by their clothing and their bumper stickers and their jewelery that I don’t particularly care to know. Do I care that you are voting for Kerry? That you are Pro-Life and Vote? That you are Pagan? That your parents went to San Francisco and all you got was this lousy t-shirt? What your sexual preference is? I don’t care.
Okay, that’s hilarious. I needed a laugh at this hour.
However, I think this t-shirt is . . . well, tacky, I guess. I can see why it was created—presumably to be worn pro-choice rallies and such. But I have to agree with PunditLisa—it’s kind of tacky and flippant. I’m not freaked out by it, but I’m uncomfortable by it. Somewhat similar to the “squirmy” feel I get when I see people wear those “WWJD” t-shirts. I just don’t like that kind of stuff, but I can’t control what other people wear.
Anyone who thinks their political/religious/philosophical convictions are interesting enough to display for the world to see on a daily basis (so barring political rallies, protest marches, and such), by means of a t-shirt, bumper sticker, baseball cap, whatever - is a fucking moron.
Bush sticker, Kerry sticker, anti-abortion shirt, pro-abortion shirt, Jesus fish, Darwin fish, I don’t CARE what you think or believe. Just get the hell out of my way, be it a lane on a highway or a sidewalk.
Note that I never said anything about respecting convictions: I just said I didn’t care.