"Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their opressors." ~Evelyn Cunningham

Republicans are once again attacking women's rights. First, conservatives tried to prevent women from voting, which kept them second-class citizens. Then they fought to prevent women from entering the workforce, binding them in the shackles of domestic servitude. And until 1973, women didn't even have full reproductive rights! Now Republicans are attempting to prevent women from protecting themselves in the case of brutal sexual assault and rape.

You may have heard of Rapex, the female condom designed to temporarily disable potential rapists, and leave evidence of the attempted rape. The condom has rows of tiny teeth which attach themselves to the attacker's penis, and can only be removed surgically, which, theoretically, would lead the attacker to seek medical attention, at which point he would also be arrested. Scientists are now able to take this concept a step further. After five years of research, a simple operation has been developed to attach appendages of a bonelike material resembling teeth to the vaginal walls, empowering women to defend themselves in case of sexual assault. Women who wish to undergo Steinem-Fonda Surgery - currently legal only in Sweden, Japan, and select tattoo and piercing parlours in Thailand - must undergo three months of physical training based on Kegel exercises, in order to gain the necessary control of the pelvic floor muscles to effectively use these implanted "teeth." The more widespread this procedure becomes (and the knowledge of its relative ubiquity) has the potential to reduce the incidence of rape to almost zero, an amazing prospect for women and society at large.

But top Senate congresspersons are fighting against this newest chance to liberate women from the paralyzing fear of sexual assault. In the most recent health care bill mark up in committee, Republicans, and some "Blue Dog" Dems, are supporting the big insurance companies' policies which classify this surgery as "elective" - meaning the procedure would not be covered by many insurance policies, effectively limiting the protection it offers to only those who could pay out of pocket. Additionally, many House Republicans have proposed legislation to ban the procedure in the United States. Both House and Senate opponents cite cost and women's safety in establishing their positions, but what lies beneath this seemingly rational façade is the ugly face of sexism.

What all these congressmen (yes, everyone who has spoken against the procedure has been a man) are really supporting is continuing to keep a woman's right to her body in the hands of a "moral authority." Many of the most outspoken dissenters often tout their evangelical beliefs in other aspects of their public policy, so why should we believe this situation is any different? Their religious values teach that women are to be subservient to men, especially their husbands, and to empower females with defense against lascivious and aggressive men is an idea diametrically opposed to the conservatives' view of male dominance. The evangelical movement believe the Bible supports their position, and have even begun a propaganda campaign. A major "family values-centered" Christian organization recently released a feature-length filmed entitled Teeth, a cautionary tale to the "slippery slope" to which they see this procedure leading. In the film, the main character Dawn, a good Christian girl at the outset, embarks upon a spree of seduction followed by violent acts against the men she lures in after she discovers her vagina dentata (the medical term for a vagina with these "teeth"). The filmmakers highlight her aggressive and devious nature in many ways. Initially, she seems to be committed to the Christian ideals of remaining a virgin until marriage; she even wears a purity ring. However, she is portrayed as luring her first victim, also steadfast in his vows against pre-marital intimacy, into a spot well-known for copulation. Throughout the film she repeats these actions, becoming more and more promiscuous - and bloodthirsty. The argument in the film is that if women are allowed to have this surgery, the protection it affords will become a weapon against all men. In short, the opponents of this procedure are misogynistic, chauvinistic and afraid of ceding any societal power to women.

Just as in prison, rape is often an assertion of superiority, a way of establishing social strata. If this procedure is banned in the United States, it will be an effective rape of women's rights, the conservative male's declaration of his authority over his female counterpart. We cannot stand idly by during the Right's continued attack on women and the freedom to make their own choices about their bodies. I strongly urge all of my readers to write your congressMAN and tell him to support the right of women to have teeth implanted in their vaginas.