We Have A Right To Choose

I never really liked Hobby Lobby. Why? I’m not completely sure. It seems exactly like my kind of place- full of fun and creative things to decorate your house with, one craft project after the next. You can seriously get lost in there for hours. My friends rave about the place, but I just don’t understand it. Time after time I seem to have a bad experience there. Long and slow lines, poor customer service, long waits on the phone, or crappy store hours for us busy folks. But now, my time has come. I now have a real reason to dislike Hobby Lobby.

It’s no secret that Hobby Lobby is a religious company- founded on typical Christian beliefs. They are closed on Sundays and host a variety of religious paraphernalia throughout the store. I think this is great (except the closed on Sundays part- sorry, blame it on my generation). There aren’t many major companies out there today that abide by morals and beliefs such as these. Most companies just care about making money in any way possible, completely diminishing any personalized touch or uniqueness. Eventually every business or store gets mushed into one big smorgasbord crying for people to come and spend money there- any time, any day. So I get it, Hobby Lobby is different- they have values, that’s great. Really.

On March 25th, Hobby Lobby will present their case to the Supreme Court for a right to deny their employees with birth control coverage. As a company, they are legally responsible to provide birth control coverage under their health insurance plan but of course, this goes against their Christian beliefs…

There you go- I rest my case. I could just end this blog post here. But of course, you know I won’t.

Now, we must remember this is a company, a corporation, a business. This isn’t a church or a religious institution, “We’re not talking about religious organizations—we’re talking about corporations and commercial businesses. We’re talking about the guy who’s made a living selling needlepoint kits, glitter glue, and artificial topiaries deciding whether his employees should have access to affordable birth control,” quotes an article from The Daily Beast. I really can’t believe Hobby Lobby, along with other businesses, are seriously contemplating this. I can’t believe they are wasting our courts time with this. I thought we’ve made progress. I thought we were finally reaching a point where people were allowed to make their own decisions-  who they want to marry, when to be sexually active, or whether one wants to have a baby or not. Apparently we need a lot more progress, a lot more change, and a whole lot more communication about the reality of these issues and struggles that many people are faced with every day.

I can’t even begin to fathom a rational answer to this one. I just don’t see how the owners of any business can seriously sit around and decide for their employees whether or not they should have access to birth control because it doesn’t abide with the companies beliefs. But what about the morals and beliefs of your employees? Part of running a business is making your employees happy, treating them like human beings, making them feel like they have a say, that they are making an impact. Part of paying back your workers for their efforts is to provide benefits of interest to them. Health insurance is one of these benefits that is very important to many people, in fact many people solely depend on their job just for the insurance. Birth control is legally part of that package. If you provide the health insurance, the access to birth control needs to be there too. Your employees rightfully deserve the whole package, they work for the whole pie not just for a piece.

Just because the access to birth control is there, doesn’t mean it needs to be used. If an individual is against birth control then they won’t use that part of their plan. That doesn’t change the fact that every employee has the right to take birth control if they so choose and they certainly should not be denied that right because their employer doesn’t deem it morally right. As an employee you have a right to those health benefits, you work hard for them, and are a conscious human being capable of making your own decisions. You are the only one in control of your body- not your job, spouse, partner, religion, or government. Only you. You have the right to choose.

Taking birth control is responsible. The woman recognizes that pregnancy isn’t the right choice for them at their current position in life. They might be too young, financially unstable, not in a committed relationship (gasps!), or just not ready to devote their time to and love another human being to their fullest potential. As a woman, we have the right to choose when to procreate. We have the right to say when it’s time, if ever. We have the right to protect our best interests and the interests of our future offspring. It’s not fair to bring a child into a world that isn’t ready for them and a mother is the only person who knows when that time is right.

The scariest part of this whole debate for me is to think that there are women out there, whether they are working for these companies or not, that are okay with this restriction. It’s not about what religion you believe in, if you support birth control use or not, or what your views on abortion/procreation are. It’s about the freedom to choose. To have control over your body. To have options, tools, and the education to make the best possible choices regarding your own life. It’s about creating a life that works for you. And most importantly, it’s about keeping the public out of your personal life. We need to support each other, to fight for the type of world we want to live in and not become comfortable in the world we are living in.

The use of birth control does not determine what type of person you are. It doesn’t determine your race, religion, or sexuality. It doesn’t determine your values, beliefs, or morals. It’s a choice, it’s an advancement. It’s a token of our freedom. And it’s about time that the rest of the world starts to catch up.

Book Review: How To Disappear Completly by Kelsey Osgood

Last night I finished reading an anorexia memoir titled How To Disappear Completely by Kelsey Osgood. Although I wouldn’t classify this book as one of the best books I ever read, I really did appreciate the subject matter. If you are looking for a really entertaining read with spotless writing then this probably isn’t the book for you. But, it definitely provides a lot of food for thought.

Before reading this memoir, I had read other anorexia/addiction memoirs. The stories are brutal and heartbreaking. The things they put their bodies through, the extent they go to to lie, to hide things, to become sicker is unbelievable. But usually in the end they persevere. They overcome their downfall and get on a road back to health. For me, these memoirs were never more than stories. If anything they made me want to eat more, be happier, and just love who I am. I couldn’t imagine going through what they put themselves through. For me, these stories were deterrents. It never occurred to me to look at the other side of the story. To think about the readers who aren’t as happy with who they are, who are struggling to stand out or fit in, to feel loved, or admired. Osgood makes a very good point- these very memoirs are enabling these readers to be anorexic, to get the attention they are striving for, to accomplish something that is worth noting.

I’m still not sure if I completely agree with what Osgood is saying but I do agree she has something there. She refrains from giving any specific details about her own disease, claiming that from experience this only encourages bad habits and behaviors. If she reveals her lowest weight, that gives another person something to strive to be. If she discloses the amount of food she used to consume, that only gives someone a plan. Osgood claims she became a “good anorexic” by studying other people’s memoirs, case studies, magazine articles, documentaries, and television shows. As a young girl she graved attention she didn’t think she was getting, she wanted to accomplish something people would talk about, she wanted to be known for something, to succeed in something. She wanted to be “perfect” and loved. With all this information readily available at her fingertips- in the libraries, the bookstores, on the internet, or on television, Osgood felt like becoming thin would help her reach those goals and desires. She was going to get thin the easiest way she knew how, the way she had seen many other girls get thin. And boy, was she going to get really thin- she would show them. She found a new purpose, a new goal, a new way to feel better about herself and she had a lot of helping in doing so.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Our society values being thin, pretty, and popular. We thrive to be successful, to accomplish something with our lives. We are bombarded with examples of “perfect” people and to reach their image seems nearly impossible. We can’t imagine a healthy way to look like that model in a bikini ad because we aren’t given the tools. Their aren’t many diet and exercise ads that say, “I ate this, this, and this today and I am still thin. I am still healthy.” But, there are many ads out there for unhealthy diets, their are many resources out there (chat rooms, internet forums, etc.) in which people encourage each other to get thin, to be the thinnest, and do it in the worse possible way. To be the worst is to be better, it’s means you are the “best.” I’m not saying that there aren’t any people, companies, or diet plans out there promoting the right things. But I do think they are harder to come by and aren’t as easily accessible. It’s easier to find stories about people who have suffered. It seems easier to starve yourself than to educate yourself on healthy eating and exercise.

This book made me stop and think- how about if we lived in a world where we didn’t talk about things like this? If no one ever shared their stories of eating disorders, drug addiction, or alcohol abuse. If no one ever revealed their greatest weight loss tip or the easiest/quickest way to get high. If we didn’t know the truth of people’s struggles, if we weren’t given that information to ease our own problems- would these diseases still exist? Would they be as prevalent? It’s a weird thought but something worth thinking about whether you agree or not. I personally think they would still exist. I don’t think these diseases or substance abuse would just magically disappear. And I certainly wouldn’t want to cut off an open dialogue about people seeking help and treatment. But I can’t help but think that maybe a little more privacy wouldn’t hurt.

After reading this book, I don’t know if I see the point in writing about your darkest, gruesomest days anymore. Publishing or filming the details of your life for the rest of the world’s entertainment. Why do we have the right to pry into your personal life? That’s your story, your personal intimacies, and no one should feel the need to publicize that information or even read it. I do believe that writing and coming to terms with where you have been, what you have done, and what you see your future to be are all huge parts of therapy and recovery but this can all be done, and should be done, privately. Your support should come from your family, friends, and loved ones. Not from people who don’t know you, who may encourage you to back track at any moment. In this age of social media frenzy, we all need to appreciate our privacy just a little bit more.

I always enjoy a book that forces me to think in a different way, to open my mind to new alternatives and ways of thinking. I like hearing different takes on the same subject, hearing all different sides before forming my own opinion. I will often stumble upon something I have never thought of before. How To Completely Disappear goes beyond anorexia. It brings to light a subject that everyone can relate to. It encourages you re-think what your version of “perfect” is, to re-evaluate what makes you happy, and to value your own personal life more. I think we can all learn something, whether we agree with Osgood or not, from this book. We should all stop to think about what we want to share before we share it- the effect it will have on yourself, on your loved ones, and those you don’t even know. Next time you go to write a status, post a picture, create a tweet, or even write a blog post just stop to think for a moment before hitting ‘enter.’ And maybe even put that smartphone down for a day. It won’t hurt, I promise. Censorship is a practice we should all partake in a little bit more.