I had originally written this piece a few months before the Supreme Court’s leaked draft to overturn Roe vs. Wade. I ended up sharing the piece after the leak via Mid-Riff Episode 054. With the official overturn of Roe, I wanted to share this in written form. The piece has been slightly edited from the episode to address the current situation.
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If you are in the music gear or music products space, you might think that it is not highly connected to reproductive rights. Even if you are pro-choice, the issues might seem rather disparate.
Let me connect the dots for you.
I will start with a few musicians who have stated that they have had abortions, such as: Stevie Nicks, Ani DiFranco, Adia Victoria, Nicki Minaj, Vanessa Williams, Li’l Kim. You may have heard that Phoebe Bridgers recently shared that she had an abortion last year on tour. Stevie Nicks said of her experience:
"If I had not had that abortion, I'm pretty sure there would have been no Fleetwood Mac… there's just no way that I could have had a child then, working as hard as we worked constantly. I would have had to walk away."
First, I will set the stage by noting that I am saying this as a person who has never been lucky to never be in the position to need an abortion and who actually (TMI alert!) had a hard time getting pregnant. It took about a year and a half and it was a very emotionally painful time. While we had consulted with infertility doctors, we ended up finally having success after a very strict routine of acupuncture and a traditional Chinese medicine diet. Was that what made it happen? I have no idea. But after spending your entire life trying NOT to get pregnant, I will say that having that challenge can mess with your mind a bit.
All that is to say that I recognize all the feelings folks have about having kids and whether they and when they should are extremely personal. Some folks will say that having kids is selfish. Some will say that not having kids is selfish. Some can’t have kids who want them, whether giving birth to them or not. Some lose babies during miscarriage. The adoption process is hard and complicated for all involved, and potentially expensive and exclusive. Some folks have kids who didn’t want to, and that’s hard for everyone involved, as well.
And that brings us to the issue at hand.
Last Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, a decision that existed for nearly 50 years. While access in states has been somewhat disparate, especially in recent years, the initial message from the court was clear: decisions about your body should be between you and your doctor.
But now the message is: You no longer have control of your body; politicians in your state do.
Unfortunately, this might just be the beginning, as rolling back Roe might also set the stage for rolling back other rights (Thomas specifically mentioned this), especially those also based in the 14th amendment, such as same-sex marriage or access to contraceptives.
With Roe overturned, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion. According to the New York Times prior to the ban, “Forty-one percent of women of childbearing age would see the nearest abortion clinic close, and the average distance they would have to travel to reach one would be 279 miles, up from 35 miles now.” Women who can’t travel would be most affected– a 100 mile increase in driving distance decreases abortions by 30%.
I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind here. I think the likelihood of doing so when so much of belief about abortion is entrenched in religion (although for many, that is a relatively new phenomenon) is almost impossible.
However, for folks in the music gear industry who do claim to support gender equity in music and music gear, supporting abortion access and speaking up about it is your responsibility if you want to be in line with your stated values. It affects you, your employees, your customers, and the industry as a whole.
Before I start making connections, I think it’s important for folks to learn a bit about the storied history of reproductive rights in the US. There are plenty of writers who have laid that out if this is new to you: the fact that abortion rights were supported in the Southern Baptist Convention in 1971, 1974, and 1976; connections between eugenics, race, reproductive technology, and access; and abortion access for some trans men and non-binary folks. This is a highly nuanced issue.
Here are some statistics related to abortion:
—58% of reproductive-age women live in a state that is considered hostile to abortion rights
—Abortion is currently at an all-time low, since 1973
—1 in 4 women have had an abortion
—54% of those who access abortions identify as mainline Protestant, Evangelical, or Catholic
—51% of those who access abortions were using a form of contraceptive
—88% of abortions occur in the first 12 weeks
—If Roe v. Wade were overturned or weakened, increases in travel distances would likely prevent 93,500 to 143,500 individuals each year from accessing abortion care.
—Half of all pregnancies are unintended and 4 in 10 end in abortion
—One in five men have been involved in an abortion and men whose partners had an abortion are four times as likely to finish college than those whose partners gave birth
—Additional data related to the impact of being denied a wanted abortion is available in the landmark Turnaway study here
With that context in mind, here are some of the ways that abortion access connects to the music gear industry:
WHO GETS TO BE A MUSICIAN
Abortion access can help determine who gets to be a musician. For folks who become pregnant and cannot access abortion, as Stevie Nicks mentioned, they might not be able to achieve their musical goals and dreams. In cis heterosexual relationships, the woman will likely be the one who is responsible for childcare and who is asked to put their careers and hobbies on hold to do so. This means fewer people who will access music gear, as a result.
Children who are birthed in this process, may come from poorer households who are less likely to be able to support their musical career. This also includes lack of access to music gear.
Of course, plenty of folks who wind up not having abortions are in loving, supportive, healthy families, but the issue can put a major strain on folks as well.
WAGE GAP
Presumably, at this point, you’ve heard of the gender wage gap. First, I will note that this wage gap intersects with race, as well. So, white women make much more per white man’s dollar than a Black, Latina, or Indigenous woman. But additionally, research shows that the wage gap itself is essentially a motherhood penalty.
If you look at a chart (yes, this is super binary) of men and women’s earnings trajectories over their lifetimes, you’ll see that when a woman has a child, her earnings significantly decrease. And they never really recover. Women who don’t have a child never experience that same dip.
If women lack abortion and reproductive rights access, they are more likely to experience this gap.
WHO GETS TO WORK FOR YOU
As you can see, due to gendered expectations around parenting, women are often responsible for caregiving, whether for their infants and young children, or as children age, they are responsible for drop-offs and pick-ups, doctor appointments, and the like. Their education and career is expected to take a back seat— whether as a musician or as an employee in the music gear industry (this became more visible for many during the pandemic). They are, in some cases, leaving the workforce to take on unpaid household and caregiving labor. When childcare costs run $10,000 per year and minimum wage pays $15,000 per year (both numbers vary based on location), people are forced to make very real calculations about childcare vs. careers.
This also affects who has the opportunity to start their own business in the industry due to the financial capital and risk and time flexibility required to do so.
SUPPORT FOR PARENTS
In workplaces, in the studio, or on tour, there is often very little support for parenting, unless you are lucky enough to be able to afford a nanny. Frequently, companies lack supportive policies or working conditions that work for parents. And when I say parents, I mean all parents of all genders. If parenting was more acceptable or normalized in workplaces, the challenges associated with parenting would be less of a barrier to equity and success for all. That means that it should also be normalized for cis men to take parental leave, to drop off and pick up their kids, or take them to doctor appointments. This would relieve some of the burden experienced by many mothers. Of course, this normalization of parental responsibility would open up space and increase equity for LGBTQ+ folks who are parenting, as well.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Of course, right now, it’s important that you show up for your customers, employees and families by sharing your support for their human rights. This can take the form of protesting, donating, or sharing information on social media. It can also mean focusing on policies that support parents such as: paid sick time, paid leave; access to education and training; support for caregiving; fair wages and opportunities to advance; quality and affordable childcare; paid healthcare with access to mental health supports; and many companies are showing up by paying for their employees’ travel to access abortion, if needed.
Companies frequently ask me how they can do a better job or be a better ally. In a piece I wrote about allyship, putting yourself on the line to stand for was my first recommendation. You have the opportunity to be a positive role model for others and change norms in the industry. In addition, there is research showing that with so many options, being clear about your values can be a real asset to your company, as well.
Ultimately, using your power to advocate for others can do a lot to show that you believe that they are human beings and full citizens of the US and deserving of the right to control their bodies. It can mean a lot to folks to hear your voice and that of your company, and it is the right thing to do.