5 Reasons Feminists Should Vaccinate

Ravishly recently published a piece by feminist anti-vax author Jody Allard, who-- in a string of convoluted drivel-- claimed that opposing vaccines is a feminist thing to do, and that mandatory vaccination is incompatible with feminism. As a vaccine advocate and a feminist: I call bullshit. 

Allard is right about one thing. Vaccination is a feminist issue. Immunization is one of the key elements that allows the progression of women's

rights.Although science has noted that feminism has been an influence on the anti-vax movement, it's critical to realize that many of the greatest wins of feminism have relied on immunization. Here's how.

1. Vaccines save women's lives.

Sure, they save the lives of men and children, too, but one of the most successful (and controversial) vaccines in modern history was designed with the specific intent of protecting women. HPV vaccination can prevent over two-thirds of cases of cervical cancer, which is one of the most common forms of cancer affecting women. The efficacy of the HPV vaccine will depend on herd immunity, and it is distinctly unfeminist to jeopardize the lives of women and girls by failing to have yourself and your own children vaccinated.

2. Vaccines provide reproductive freedom.

Deaths from cervical cancer are fairly rare in the industrialized world, but hysterectomies and cervix-damaging surgeries are not. In the past, countless women lost their fertility because of cervical cancer. We spent decades fighting for our right to choose when and whether we become pregnant. Feminism was the driving force behind birth control, abortion rights, emergency contraception, IVF, fertility treatments, and surrogacy, and it should be the driving force behind compliance with fertility-saving immunization.

3. Vaccines enable sexual liberation.

Although the majority of women are exposed to HPV at some point, women who have symptoms are still heavily stigmatized because of the notion that only "sluts" or dirty people can contract sexually transmitted disease. The HPV vaccine, which prevents genital warts in addition to cancer, allows women who have been exposed to the virus to continue their lives without shame and stigma. In addition, other vaccines that protect against sexually transmitted illness-- including the Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccines-- can offer similar peace of mind and safety. Vaccination is part of safe sex, and safe sex is a cornerstone of feminism.

4. Vaccines protect women's dignity.

Preventative medicine for women can be upsetting, degrading, and even sometimes traumatizing. No one enjoys being drilled about her sexual history and then being poked with a cold speculum and having her cervix scraped. Feelings of embarrassment are actually among the leading causes of avoidance of preventative care. While at-risk women still need pap smears, the National Cancer Institute notes that immunization can reduce the need for invasive examinations and tests.

5. Vaccines facilitate workplace equality.

This is likely the most important way that immunization protects women's rights. In a world without vaccines, women's rights suffer. I've written before about the way dedication to "natural" parenting can hurt women's rights, but it goes beyond the failures of "crunchy" culture. Without vaccines, schools and daycares are unsafe. Immunocomprimised children can't attend them. Illnesses like rotavirus and chickenpox spread like wildfire. And, as a glance at any of your local crunchy groups will show, it's not the fathers who stay home and take care of the children in these situations. It's the mothers, many of whom wish that they had careers outside the home, but who are bound in their kitchens, making breast milk yogurt to soothe rotavirus-infected tummies. We can not have workplace equality if our children are not kept safe and healthy through modern medicine.

 Vaccines are not an enemy to feminism. They are a necessary ingredient in the ongoing advancement of women's rights. If you care about the rights of women and girls, care about them enough to protect them: vaccinate.