Last week, OKCupid rolled out a feature that allows users to place a badge in support of Planned Parenthood on their profiles. The feature is a way for people to “connect over what’s important to them,” according to the dating site. It’s also an obvious way to filter out people who don’t believe that women are entitled to make their own decisions when it comes to reproductive rights. Which, you know, is kind of important if you’re looking for people to date and/or hook up with.
But according to one writer, left-leaning women are being too picky if they only want to date men who will treat them as people who can do whatever they want with their bodies. Jerrod Laber wrote an article for the Federalist yesterday in which he claimed that wanting to date someone from a similar background is what led to Trump becoming president. How, exactly? Laber believes that a world in which people only socialize with people who are just like them leads to “extreme politicians”:
Humans naturally form groups, but when rampant partisanship is the foundation upon which the group lies, extreme politicians are those most likely to win their sympathy.
But how does this logic apply to reproductive rights? Well, it doesn’t. Reproductive rights are a political issue because politicians have made it one. Two people can come from different backgrounds and religions and still believe that all women should have safe, reliable access to birth control and, yes, a place that offers abortions. Laber, who will never have to personally deal with the prospect of becoming pregnant, apparently can’t comprehend the real issue here.
Naturally, the internet wasn’t having this truly bad take on the rise of Trump.
jerrod pic.twitter.com/LrN2nvLpce
— leon (@leyawn) September 19, 2017
This is basically a threat: date me, ladies, or you'll have a fascist in power. https://t.co/KYlP0LBKed
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) September 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/shaneferro/status/910151180747251712
https://twitter.com/LisaMcIntire/status/910150363755421696
"Women on OKC don't like my rejection of their bodily autonomy and won't touch my ding dong, so I wrote this whiny article." – @JerrodLaber pic.twitter.com/fJf1icXeAH
— Ava Ex Machina (@silicondomme) September 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/emilygalati/status/910192737177047040
fixed pic.twitter.com/31XdpckPIm
— Pascal Sontag (@smashingpenguin) September 19, 2017
Maybe just let people date whoever they want?