The Body As Weapon
Joan of Arc by Jules Bastien-Lepage (French, 1848–1884) Oil on Canvas, 1879 I begin this essay with two stories: A teacher I knew at a Catholic elementary school became pregnant with twins, and due to the inadequacy of her paycheck and her husband’s self-employment in construction, she had no health insurance. When the time came for her to deliver, she went to the emergency department at LAC + USC Medical Center. Once she had been signed in, she waited on a gurney in the hallway with a number of other similarly struggling mothers to await full dilation and crowning of the child’s head before being wheeled into the delivery room. Many of these women were screaming in agony, but were virtually ignored by the staff. The teacher, herself, wanted an epidural, but the nurse informed her it was too late and she would have to go naturally. She was worried about the fact that she would be birthing two babies, but was powerless to fight back and demand immediat...