My Body

Originally posted on Instagram, 2 April 2025

This is the 2nd song we got down at the rehearsal space the other week. This one is called My Body. I wrote these lyrics just after the SA gov voted to repeal our abortion rights. To force birth after 28 weeks. We stood on Kaurna Yarta & were told the bill was defeated 10-9. It shouldn’t have been that close. In SA abortion was only decriminalised in 2022 off the back of years of work. Abortion is healthcare. We are not products, we are not incubators & our bodily autonomy is a human right. We live in a pro-birth world & are shamed at every turn, from the lack of comprehensive sex ed in schools to the very real suppression of info, stats & lack of access to abortion care.

At 19 a Dr forced me to look at ultrasound of the tiny cluster of cells inside me that meant nothing & were nothing & tried to convince me not to go ahead with the procedure. I don’t want children. I never have. It should be as simple as that. I’m allowed to like sex. I’m allowed to use my body however I want.

As legislation is overturned & replaced with fascist, totalitarian policy, we need community now more than ever. Being white comes with a certain level of privilege in racist hierarchical systems. We need to be more than pro choice, we need to leave that behind & be inclusive in our wording. Not everyone is presented with the same choices. We need intersectionality. We need to look at individual circumstances, affordability & accessibility & ensure we are ALL part of the reproductive justice journey. We need to understand that the medical system has never been fair & Black & non-black POC have been used & suffered greatly because of this. We talk about closing the health care gap for our First Nations people? This includes reproductive justice.

Huge shout out to @jexblackmore for her activism in the states. She’s been a huge inspiration. Go check out her work, her merch & her badassery. The line “I fuck to come, not to conceive” is a direct nod to her.

We all need to make a stand for reproductive justice & bodily autonomy. Get informed, find your voice, find community.

This is MY body. These are OUR bodies.