UC Irvine students attended the fourth and final REAL Talk: Threats to Our Bodily Autonomy: Marginalized Communities in the Fight for Reproductive Rights event hosted by student organizers at the Cross-Cultural Center (CCC) on Nov. 26.
REAL Talks are a series of discussions on a myriad of social justice topics. Students who attend can look forward to group and partner discussions, research reviews and short lectures on a given topic. Student program coordinators Anicia Teaupa and Marcus Cayas led the Nov. 26 discussion.
“What is said here stays here; what is learned here leaves,” Cayas said as he reminded students of the event’s guidelines. “If you learn anything from this that you didn’t know before, you can definitely take that information out and share it with other people.”
The event started off with a poll, asking the 30 attendees what came to mind when they heard the phrase “bodily autonomy.” A word map projected one-word responses at the front of Ring Room, with “freedom” being the most popular word. Runners-up included “choice,” “right” and “body.”
The next activity allowed students to mingle with their tablemates and draw a timeline of important moments in bodily autonomy, reproductive rights and healthcare history on pieces of paper on four tables around the room. Following the group activity, Teaupa and Cayas presented a short lesson on first-wave feminism, Roe v. Wade and state laws that limit abortion.
The event also included a research reading portion with articles about different minority groups. The research featured healthcare issues among Black women, immigrants, Indigenous peoples and LGBTQ+ individuals. Students then shared their newfound knowledge by allowing a spokesperson from each group to share what they learned from the research.
“Things related to bodily autonomy include contraception and healthcare services and sexual education,” Cayas said. “The Me Too movement is one that is also talked about a lot with the conversation of bodily autonomy. And gender affirmative care for people within the LGBTQ community. These are things that are also currently at risk, along with abortion.”
Teaupa also emphasized during a discussion that bodily autonomy is something people employ in everyday life.
“I thought about the little things that I kind of take for granted every day — privileges that I have,” Teaupa said. “I can wear what I want, I can leave my house when I want. And [there are] people in this world that don’t have that don’t have that right or that privilege, and so that just connects to why it’s important to me, because bodily autonomy is just freedom at the end of the day.”
Cayas discussed the aftermath of the presidential election and what individuals can do now. He said that students can stay informed on local politics, build strong support networks and be an ally to friends and family in other states that may have more restrictive laws and policies in place.
“Even though we have limited influence in other states, if you guys know people from other states that aren’t California — where abortion is protected — show support to them as well,” Cayas said. “Share the knowledge that you have with them, if you have any access to resources that you know about that could benefit them.”
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, access to abortion was left to the states. Twenty one states have banned or restricted abortion to earlier in pregnancy by Roe v Wade’s standard. Thirteen states have banned abortion in almost all circumstances.
California offers expanded access to abortion per the state’s constitution. Expanded access exists in other states like Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Vermont. Arizona and Missouri will soon have abortion enshrined in their state constitutions as well, following approval from voters in the November presidential election.
Ella Park, a third-year psychology student, said that though she knew about the topics of this REAL Talk event, it allowed her to think further about other people’s — primarily minority groups’ — perspectives.
“When we discussed this stuff, I never considered how this affects just this racial minority or this wage minority,” Park told New University. “The access to healthcare and the access to abortion differs by state. So these situations are different for every single person but I never thought about that before we came to this presentation.”
The REAL Talks are housed in the CCC, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Since its inception in 2014, the talks have allowed a designated space for students to discuss themes that pertain to identity, culture, injustice and more. The previous talks this quarter were: Wellness Barriers Among Undocumented Students in the UC System, Unpacking the School to Prison Pipeline and Inequality Faced by AAPI Women in the Workforce.
REAL Talk events are over for the 2024-2025 academic year. Students can find updates and schedules about future events on CCC’s Instagram and website.
Cassandra Nava is a Features Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at cassan2@uci.edu.
Edited by Kaelyn Kwon and Mia Noergaard.
