In recent weeks, media outlets around the world have been inundated with breaking medical news. On February 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an infographic stating that all women of childbearing age, or between fifteen and forty-four, should avoid consuming alcohol if they are sexually active while not using any form of contraception. This report was crafted in an effort to reduce the amount of babies that are born each year with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. In regards to more urgent concerns, a disease known as the Zika virus has been “spreading explosively,” according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan. This disease has been linked to severe birth defects such as microcephaly, or abnormal smallness of the head. Women in several Latin American and Caribbean nations have been warned by federal health officials against getting pregnant; all other women have been advised against travelling to affected countries.
While the warnings are definitely cause for alarm, I noticed a strange trend in these reports over the course of the past several weeks: each and every one of them is solely directed at women. I’m not alone in this observation. Writers have taken to the Internet to share their opinions on the controversial topic of misogynistic “behavior policing.” Babies can only be born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder or microcephaly if men are involved, yet men are never once referenced by the CDC or the WHO. While women are constantly being told what they should and should not be doing with their bodies, federal health officials are refusing to even acknowledge the fact that men need to be concerned about these diseases as well.
In addition to the fact that the CDC has publicly shamed women who consume alcohol without using birth control, they also stated that women are at risk of violence and sexually transmitted diseases if they drink “too much.” This comment begs the question: who are these women at risk from? Men are not being told to refrain from sexual intercourse with intoxicated women or whilst under the influence of alcohol. They are also not being told to control their violent tendencies and keep their hands to themselves.
I find it baffling that both the CDC and the WHO have managed to avoid mentioning men in relation to sexually pertinent diseases. Women are not conceiving babies with birth defects on their own. And ultimately, while the warnings are well-intentioned, the sexist language found in both reports are highly concerning. It is no secret that fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and microcephaly are deeply distressing diseases that should be prevented at all costs; however, women who are not pregnant are being humiliated for making poor decisions about children who have not yet been conceived. How can we be expected to progress as a culture if governmental organizations are still utilizing sexist language? I believe that change must occur from the top down. As an avid newsreader, I hope to see a transition from problematic language in future reports.
Works Cited
http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/10-essential-facts-about-zika-virus/