A thread of our own- misogyny (Part 1)

https://archive.ph/Y4cE8

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Dutch insurers demand nudes from breast cancer patients despite ban

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Which, among many other things, tells me that they don’t do reconstructive surgery at the time. It’s very common in the States to have 2 surgeons in a breast cancer surgery: one to get the cancer out, the other to close up in a way that fits the patient’s preference for ‘normalcy’ or size or at least minimization of scars.

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Absolutely. This was what happened to my wife. One OR episode, one anesthesia episode, less risk. This is not always possible, my SIL had more extensive disease and lost a good bit of tissue as well, then had to have expanders to make room for the implants. Still does not explain requiring nudes to approve the procedure. They need evidence that an adult woman has breasts?

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This seems to be for further surgery in cases where the initial reconstructive surgery wasn’t satisfactory.

While the initial reconstruction is reimbursed by health insurers, if the patients require a follow-up surgery insurers generally require photos to determine whether they will cover it.

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Wow…

Ins dude: “Hey, those boobs look fine to me. What is she complaining about?”

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image



image

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Oh, yes, that’s an important distinction, thanks.

But still, if no other surgeries require that, what’s so specifically special about this type of surgery?

(rhetorical question, obviously)

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In July 2021, Eloisa Plancarte was in the parking lot of a Rochester convenience store with her breasts fully exposed. Police were called and arrested Plancarte. They took her to jail, where they found cocaine in her purse. Last week, Plancarte [lost her appeals case](https://www.startribune.com/woman-prosecuted-for-exposing-breasts-in-public-loses-at-minnesota-appeals-court/600341162/); for the indecent exposure charge, she will serve 90 days in prison. For the possession of cocaine, she was given a stay of adjudication.

Note that it was not what Plancarte said, nor how loudly she said it, nor even the fact that she was in possession of cocaine that she will serve time for — it was because she had her shirt off and she was a woman. If a man were topless in a parking lot, he would not have been sentenced to prison — it is unlikely the police would have even been called. This outcome is unfair to women, and the law banning female toplessness in Minnesota is sexist, transphobic and vague.

You might think that the differing legal status of male and female breasts stem from qualitative differences in breast tissues. You would be wrong. All humans are born with milk ducts — it is hormones that alter the fattiness of the tissue and the capacity to breastfeed, as evidenced by the fact that trans women can successfully breastfeed.

If the makeup of the breast tissue isn’t fundamentally different, what drives the differing laws around male and female breasts? Culture. Women have had more restrictions placed on their bodies than men for all of American history. Only in 2018 did it become legal for women to breastfeed in public in all 50 states. In 2022, the Dobbs ruling took away a woman’s federally guaranteed right to an abortion, overturning a 49-year-old precedent. In the last 10 years, people have become obsessed with where transgender women go to the bathroom. Sadly, the ruling against Plancarte follows this pattern.

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I know this is a bit niche but it may be of some interest. We are due to vote on two referendums to change some of the more sexist language in our constitution and this legal analysis shows the kind of thinking you have to engage in when framing a referendum.

https://archive.ph/WGH3I

I would assume I will end up voting yes yes anyway as the government is taking a fair age to work through the citizens’ assembly recommendations.

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Sometimes I see this tactic where a man will try to support a misogynistic argument with an anecdote about their wife saying something that is tangentially related at best. It seems kind of like it’s part diversion, and part “oh I can’t be sexist you see because I have a wife and she says things that are not quite entirely dissimilar.” Is there a name for it?

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It’s highly analogous to “I have a Black friend, so I know (insert bullshit about racism here)”

Real allies might say “I discussed this with my wife” but usually in a “I needed help disecting my privilege” kind of way.

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Yes, it’s totally like that! I was looking around to see if I could find a label to attach to it, but didn’t come up with anything.

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I’d be interested in a label, if someone knows one. Though in my head this kind of thing is a particularly noxious form of mansplaining

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It happens right here on BB, on a fairly regular basis.

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It’s true. A recent example felt super familiar. Like I could hear DeSantis doing it on the campaign trail or something. Or Chris Christie. It’s got a strong association with Republican politicians for me. I felt like if I’m picking up on it that someone must have come up with a good name for it by now.

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I thought a certain thread was what prompted @anon58741709 to mention it. It is widespread IRL though

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Agreed. Though the phenomenon crosses all boundaries, it’s usually the right wingers who manage to use it and also tell the world something embarrassing about themselves. Like whats-his-name saying he asked his wife about WAP

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That’s a perfect example!

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