Knit Your Congressman a Vagina (Dear Men in Congress: If we knit you a uterus, will you stay out of ours?) 20MAR12

I HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO KNIT!!!!! This is fantastic and I hope all you knitters out there will take part. See the Government Free VJJ site following the Mother Jones article, these ladies are great! Click the link for patterns.

—By Michael Mechanic

Hey, a womb is just as good. MK Carroli

America's elected leaders, particularly those of the Republican male variety, have not done too well by women lately. In Congress, GOP legislators have sought to exempt religious orgs from having to offer health insurance that covers contraceptives. Mitt Romney replied lamely when confronted with Rush Limbaugh's Slutgate, and GOP lawmakers didn't exactly, ahem, rush to challenge their kingmaker. In Arizona and Kansas, Republican state legislators pushed bills allowing a doctor to lie about the health status of your fetus for fear you might opt to get an abortion. And should you make that harrowing choice, Virginia Republicans, following in the footsteps of their colleagues in a number of other states, passed a law requiring that you have an ultrasound first. They wanted it to be the kind where the doctor sticks a paddle into your vagina, but public outcry forced them to scale it back to the abdominal kind. Now, for good measure, GOP legislators are blocking the Violence Against Women Act.
We've already told you about these (pretty awesome) new laws proposed by Democratic legislators simply to mock their rivals' misogyny.
But the women behind Government Free VJJ have a different approach:
"Follow these simple steps," the website beckons...

1. Knit or crochet a vagina or uterus.
2. Print a message to enclose.
3. Mail it to your male Senator or Congressional Representative [links provided]
4. We're in the process of arranging hand delivery to congressional offices in Washington, until then, go ahead and mail yours in!
5. Record your items in this spreadsheet so we can track which representatives still need to receive a "gift"!
6. Don't forget to thank your representative if he respects women and supports our rights.

The crochet patterns available so far include uterus and "happy uterus." For knitters, there's a vulva, a womb (pictured), felt cervixes, and (hey, why not?)—a "snatchel."

Michael Mechanic

Senior Editor

Michael Mechanic is a senior editor at Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. You can stalk him on Twitter here. RSS | Twitter

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  Government Free VJJ

  Dear Men in Congress: If we knit you a uterus, will you stay out of ours?

  

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  • The Snatchel Project
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  • How To Knit & Crochet
  • The Patterns
  • Surrogate Exchange

  The Snatchel Project

  Let’s make a uterus or VJJ for each male rep in congress!
  

  If they have their own, they can leave ours alone!

  
  

  Knitted Womb by MK Carroll. Pattern on Knitty.com

  Follow these simple steps:
  

  1. Knit or crochet a vagina or uterus
  2. Print a message to enclose
     (see below for a suggested message)
  3. Mail it to your male Senator or Congressional Representative
     (see the links to the right)
  4. We’re in the process of arranging hand delivery to congressional offices in Washington, until then, go ahead and mail yours in!
     
  5. Record your items in this spreadsheet so we can track which representatives still need to receive a “gift”!
  6. Don’t forget to thank your representative if he respects women and supports our rights.

  

  Who Are We?
  We are women, we are strong, we are smart.  And we have a sense of humor.
  We do not need government interference with our doctors or our healthcare.
  We do not need government probing our vaginas to help us make decisions about abortion.
  We do not need government to give us guidance about whether or not to take birth control.
  

  
  

  Knitted Vulva by Jolene Mosley

  We do not need misogynistic pundits calling us sluts and prostitutes.
  

  We are half of the population and we will not be treated as children or a disenfranchised minority.

  Join Us
  Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, female or male, please join us in sending a strong message to our government representatives.
  

  Tell your male government representatives:
  “Hands off my uterus! Here’s one of your own!”

  Please Note  This is NOT a group for political argument and debate. This group is not in support of any specific political party and it is not pro-life or pro-choice. This group is against government regulation of women’s bodies and it is against the government making personal and moral decisions for us. If you disagree with this project, please find a group more suited to your tastes. Anyone who starts arguments, is rude or mean, or spams this site with religious or political debates will be banned.

  http://www.governmentfreevjj.com/