Capitalisms Control over Women’s Bodies

Tyler Anderson
SOCY 403
Friday September 30, 2022
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Throughout the first three weeks of class, we have built a theoretical foundation for the

base of the course. We have discussed what the body is, along with how we do the body, and

different ways it can be perceived. I will be exploring the theme of how society sees the body

and the ways in which it has been exploited and controlled by capitalism. Federici, examines

how capitalism has changed the ways in which the body is viewed and treated, specifically

interested in how this has affected women. Stengers highlights how capitalism is destructive to

society, and how as individuals we should reclaim and reinvent the meanings of our autonomy.

Therefore, Ahmed’s reading can help us understand how gender plays a role in the way that

capitalism is shaped and influenced by orientations.

Capitalism has a major influence on our bodies, specifically women’s bodies, which can

be seen with the control of reproductive choices from sterilization to abortion. “Thousands of

black women and men in the US were sterilized in the 1920s and 1930s and for many more years

afterward, as part of a eugenics campaign aimed to prevent the reproduction of “feebleminded

races” a category that also included many immigrant people” (Federici 2020:26). Many women

did not have the choice to reproduce, because capitalism controlled their bodies and made the

choices for them. Ahmed explains that orientation matters, and who is taking up space matters,

as there is only so much room at a table of decision makers. “The politics of the table turns us to

the political necessity of clearing spaces in order that some bodies can work at the table”

(Ahmed, 2010:253). Ahmed is highlighting how many people in these spaces or tables are

typically men, and there is not much room for others to sit at the table and have a voice in the

decision making. Furthermore emphasizing, how gender effects our bodies and the way in which

our bodies take up space in certain settings.

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Stengers focuses on how capitalism is destructive in the ways in which is exploits our

bodies, affecting our everyday lives. “Capitalism is not only exploitative but also destructive of

what it appropriates, including the collective capacity to think and act and imagine together, and

I related this destruction to our present-day collective and individual disarray” (Stengers,

2017:387). She wants us to have a choice in our autonomy and find ways to reinvent or reform

our thinking to take control over the autonomy of our bodies. Further linking this to how Federici

argues that women have never truly had control over their bodies and have had to exploit their

bodies in multiple ways as an attempt to survive. “Women have always had to sell their bodies

and not only in brothels and the streets. We have sold our bodies in marriage. We have sold

ourselves on the job – whether it was to keep a job, to gain one, to obtain a promotion or not to

be harassed by a supervisor” (Federici, 2020:29). Breaking the cycle of capitalism and the ways

in which, it has and continues to exploite our bodies, in particular women’s bodies is essential for

gaining back our autonomy.

Some people may argue that we have come a long way with women’s rights and how

much progress we have made. However, while it is still important to acknowledge how far we

have come, there are many decisions that are being made today which are resulting in huge steps

backwards. Throughout the years we have fought to gain rights for women, and these have been

historic moments in history. However, recently in the United States we have seen how capitalism

is controlling the bodies of women, specifically surrounding their reproductive rights and

choices. In June of 2022 there was a devastating ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade which

“ended nearly 50 years of federally protected abortion rights” (Summers & Tavenner, 2022).

This has immensely impacted the amount of reproductive choice women in America have today.

Women have once again lost control over their own bodies,
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The laws that are being put in place are truly sickening and it is scary to think after all the

progress that has been made, we are beginning to revert backwards by diminishing women’s

rights. As Ahmed said in their paper, “it is important that we think not only about what is

repeated but also about how the repetition of actions takes us in certain directions” (Ahmed,

2010:251). They are going after our reproductive rights, however, what is next? Will women lose

the right to vote? Will capitalism go after women’s jobs, forcing them to stay home again and

take care of the family. It is terrifying to think that in such a “progressive” world we are taking

so many steps backwards, resulting in a total loss of control over our bodies and choices.

When will enough be enough, hasn’t capitalism controlled our bodies for long enough?

Women in America no longer have a say in their reproductive rights, and their bodies are being

controlled by capitalism, resulting in very little choice and autonomy over their own bodies. To

say that I am terrified seeing what capitalism can do, is an understatement. Women now more

than ever must be conscious of their choices, because one wrong choice could impact the rest of

their life. Women were already struggling because of the stereotypes and pressures that are put

upon us by society. Women already must take care of the family and succeed in the workplace. It

saddens me that women are being forced to have children that may not want or cannot care for.

This not only affects women, but their children and many more children will end up in foster

care or left in the streets as these women have no other option.

This overturning frustrates me as most of the people who voted to overturn this law were

mainly white men who have a lot of power. Women’s bodies are being controlled by mostly men

as we have not made enough space for women to sit at the table and have a voice on the

decisions being made. Sadly, this results in men still controlling women’s bodies, who may feel

threatened by women, as they do not want to lose their spot at the table. Federici describes it
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perfectly when she explains how women have always had to worry, that it is sadly nothing new

and now with the overturn of Roe v Wade women in America will continue to struggle even

more. “Women’s struggle to avoid pregnancy and to avoid sex, inside and outside of marriage is

one of the most common and unrecognized on earth” (Federici, 2020:24). However, now more

than ever women will struggle to avoid these things because they no longer have a choice in

what they would do if they became pregnant.

Being pregnant and giving birth takes a huge toll on the body and they are forever

changed after this happens. Many women may face complications, or have their lives threatened

because of the choices that capitalism has forced upon women. In some states, women still are

not allowed to have an abortion even if their life is at risk, all because of the decisions that have

been made to control their bodies. The question that I have been asking myself is why someone

is else allowed to have a say in what I do with my body. I can argue this because when we look

at COVID and vaccines, many people, including men argued that it was their body, therefore

their choice and they didn’t want to be forced to put something in their body that they did not

want. Despite this, women are forced to carry out a pregnancy for nine months and then care for

the child for the rest of their lives, all because capitalism doesn’t want to allow women the right

to have autonomy over their own bodies.

At the end of the day, I believe that everyone, no matter gender, sex, race, class,

nationality, etc., should have a say over their bodies and the choices they make. Our bodies

should be something that we celebrate and not something we have to worry over. I hope that one

day we can reach a time where one is not singled out because of their sex/gender and that

individuals will be given the chance to option to decide that they wish to make surrounding their

reproductive choices or wishes.

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REFERENCES:

Ahmed, Sara. 2010. “Orientations Matter” Duke University Press 1 (1) 245-268

Federici, Silvia. 2020. “Beyond the Periphery of the Skin: Rethinking, Remaking, and
Reclaiming the Body in Contemporary Capitalism” PM Press 15(52) 9-42

Stengers, Isabelle. 2017. “Autonomy and the Intrusion of Gaia.” South Atlantic

Quarterly 116(2)381–400. 

Summers, Kay, and Emily Tavenner. 2022. "What Do You Need To Know About The
Overturning Of Roe V. Wade?." American University Washington DC. Retrieved
September 29, 2022 (https://www.american.edu/sis/news/20220629-what-do-you-need-
to-know-about-the-overturning-of-roe-v-wade.cfm).