Brute Reason

“I had posted a picture of this sign and a few others (and maybe they had a few more curses on them)—and I got an e-mail from a young man who asked me a question that I get asked a lot: Why are you so angry?

I imagine a lot of us in the room have been asked some iteration of this question. It’s a common one when you’re a feminist. Calm down, why are you so worked up? You seem so pissed off. And it’s a stereotype, really, of feminists—that we’re all angry.

[…]So yes, I’m exhausted and I’m shocked and I’m sad—and you know what? I am angry. I am furious. And I think I have a right to be.

I’m angry that if we use birth control or want our healthcare covered, we’re called sluts.

I’m angry that if we’re worried about attacks on contraception, we’re told to just put an aspirin between our knees.

I’m angry that the government can mandate that women have unnecessary invasive medical procedures, and that if we don’t like it we should just “close our eyes” or “look away.”

I’m angry that forty years after Roe, women are still fighting for recognition of our basic humanity.

So what I told this young man is—the real question is not why am I angry; the real question is, why aren’t you?”