Why Representation Matters

I am a rape and stalking survivor. Fortunately, I never needed an abortion. However, many women who were in my position were not so lucky. I have heard accounts of many in light of the Dobbs decision who needed abortions so they were not stuck with a constant reminder of one of the most horrible days of their life. Even over a decade later, I am eternally grateful that surviving a rape did not put me in a group of people who also needed an abortion.

Rape survivors aren’t the only ones who need abortion though. People in domestic violence situations, incest survivors, people whose mental and physical health will not allow them to safely have children (like me), and people whose birth control fails deserve to have access to an abortion. Honestly, if someone feels the need to have an abortion, they should have access to one. The current abortion laws in a large portion of the country make it so that you are literally punished more with a child, even if you did everything right. While children can be a blessing to those that want them, they can also be a burden to those that don’t.

I also happen to be an openly bisexual woman. In fact, I have been out for the better part of a decade. While some may argue that the fact that I inadvertently seem to repel women or can pass as what a woman “should look like” means that I am less valid as a member of the LGBT community, I deserve to exist and love whoever I fall in love with.

The increasing violent sentiments that I have seen towards both women and the LGBT community are appalling. How is this the country that taught me that I can be, do, and have whatever I want? How is this the country that gave me the right to marry who I want just to threaten to take it away? How is this the country that gave me the right to feel safe and be able to decide if and when to have children just to take it away? Make it make sense.

Regardless of who you are, you deserve to have your voice heard, feel safe, and exist. We are in a time where our basic rights to safely exist are under threat. I am valid. I deserve to exist. I deserve representation. So do you.