Many people may be dealing with their emotions post-election. Some may be feeling it more than others. Yvonne Boose talks with Northern Illinois University professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling in higher education, Suzanne Degges-White to find out what some women can do to feel safe.
YB - Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today. So, I've been reading a couple of things, and I've noticed that Zocdoc reports that mental health appointments went up like 22% the day after the election. Increase orders of birth control and emergency contraceptive went up 1,000%, that's according to the telehealth service Wisp. And some women are concerned about how this election could impact their reproductive rights. What are your thoughts on all of this?
SDW - I think that women are smart to be prepared. We couldn't have imagined five years ago that Roe v. Wade would have been rolled back. It wasn't something we thought about, but we felt that our rights were protected as women, and that reproductive rights were no longer a big issue. And so, my concern is too that women are going to be in positions where they feel they have little choice. And you know right now folks are saying you get your, if you think you may become pregnant and don't want to be get birth control.
YB - Now also, there is this thing on social media where some men were posting, "your body, my choice." Yeah, that is such a disparaging message to women. How do you think women can go about their lives and keeping their mental health intact without feeling like they're being put in this place where they're owned by men?
SDW - Yeah, that is a hard thing, isn't it? It's very hard. The ownership of other people we know goes back in terms of slavery and now that same objectification of women always been a part but now women's ability to be agents of their own life is being questioned, and the important thing women have to remember is our self-esteem should not be based on what other people think of us. We can't allow ourselves to give in. When it's someone we respect, someone we care about that uses a negative message. That's something we need to take up with them. Yeah, I don't understand why you're where you're coming from. Help me understand when it's Nick Fuentes or some other social media person, Andrew Tate, I think, has sent some ugly things as well, tweets. We have to let it roll off our back. We can't own that, because getting all worked up about what the big out there is saying doesn't help us in the right here and now. So, what can we do for ourselves will help us find a way to feel like we're not attacking that but addressing the things it's like, like I said, ordering birth control. It seems survivalist, but it's taking action that will make me feel safer. I know that I'm going to be able to have some control.
YB - That's really good advice. And I know some people are saying that this election set women back based on the fact that they're saying that the United States isn't ready for a woman president at this point, tell me about your thoughts behind that.
SDW - You know, I've read a lot about that, and I've had, I have to admit, that when the former female candidate ran, I thought about that as this is a woman candidate. That was very much a part of how I thought about Hillary Clinton. This time around, we had 107 days with a female candidate, and I never thought, “Oh, this is a female candidate running against the Republicans.” I thought “this is an amazing candidate who's able to stir up all this excitement and energy for their race.” And this time around, I didn't think that much about gender, because I think a lot of us saw her as hope, and that was what you know, the whole idea of bringing back joy. And yet, I've met people who said they would never vote for woman president.
YB - Now, is there anything else you would like to share with our listeners today?
SDW - Yeah, I guess a couple of things I'd like to share. One is we should always vote as if our vote was a deciding vote. And also the importance of finding community, finding people who share your views, and taking action right now, because when we engage in action, whether it's activism, whether it's volunteering, it's helpful for our mind, it's helpful for our body, it's helpful for our spirit, and it really builds up a sense that we can move forward but bear down, prepare for what the worst might be for yourself and take care of yourself first.
