Campaign 2004--where were sexuality-related issues?

I doubt that I am alone in feeling like the 2004 presidential election season began years--if not decades--ago. I barely remember a time when political pundits, morning show hosts, and comedians talked about anything other than the contest between President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry. Even Hollywood has been unusually focused on the election, with the big-ticket release of political movies ranging from documentaries like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Outfoxed to comedies like Team America: World Police, a feature-length film starring terrorism-fighting marionettes that purportedly takes jabs at Republicans and Democrats equally.

It was not surprising to anyone that the war in Iraq, the threat of terrorism, and the flailing economy were the most talked-about issues throughout the long run-up to the election. Still, advocates for sexual and reproductive health and rights were painfully aware of what was at stake in this election and we hoped the campaign would provide important opportunities for our issues to be brought to the public's attention.

Although we were not shocked, we were certainly disappointed by how little focus was placed on these important issues by both the candidates and the media. While the debate over same-sex marriage heated up, reproductive rights and the HIV/AIDS pandemic received only passing mentions, and sexuality education never did take the national stage.

THE CANDIDATES AND THE ISSUES

In recent history, abortion has been one of the most divisive social and political issues. Regardless of the office, no candidate can get elected today without thoroughly sharing his/her views on the topic. Throughout the campaign, President Bush lauded the ban on so-called "partial-birth abortion" as one of his major accomplishments and criticized his opponent for voting against it. At the same time, the President dodged questions about whether he would look for an abortion opponent to fill any upcoming vacancies on the Supreme Court, claiming he had no "litmus test." Instead, he consistently referred to the "culture of life" and suggested that we reduce abortion by supporting adoption, maternity group homes, and abstinence programs. (1)

For his part, Senator Kerry pledged unwavering support for a woman's right to choose, affirming his belief that abortion is a choice between a woman, her god, and her doctor; that it is a constitutional right; and that he would not allow somebody to "come in and change Roe v. Wade." (2) In one of the more impassioned moments in the debates, Senator Kerry defended his stand against strict parental consent requirements for minors by saying, "I'm not going to require a 16- or 17-year-old kid who's been raped by her father and who's pregnant to have to notify her father. So you have to have a judicial intervention." (3)

Nonetheless, despite the likelihood that the next president will appoint more than one new justice to the Supreme Court, reproductive rights received disappointingly little attention during this election.

This topic may have been overshadowed by the media attention paid to same-sex marriage. While the issue is certainly important, many believe that, during this election, marriage rights served as a pre-packaged "wedge issue"--a purposefully divisive issue designed to split the electorate. Early in the election season, President Bush announced his support for a constitutional amendment permanently banning same-sex marriage, a move that undoubtedly helped him secure the support of conservative Christians. Even many Republicans, however, oppose such an amendment, arguing that marriage laws should be left to state governments. Senator Kerry, who also opposed the amendment, expressed a different view. While he agreed that marriage should be limited to relationships between a man and a woman, he supported civil unions or similar arrangements that afford same-sex couples the rights and benefits that come with marriage.

The spotlight on same-sex marriage may have robbed other issues of the attention they deserved. For example, the devastation caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, both in the United States and around the world, received almost no attention from either party. Perhaps one of the most disturbing moments for HIV advocates came during the vice-presidential debate when Vice President Dick Cheney was asked to speak to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the African-American community. He was informed by the moderator, Gwen Ifill, that black women between the ages of 25 and 44 are 13 times more likely to die of the disease than their counterparts in other communities. In response, the Vice President admitted, "I have not heard those numbers with respect to African-American women. I was not aware that it was--that they're in an epidemic there...." (4) Unfortunately, his challenger, Senator John Edwards, did little to demonstrate a greater knowledge or passion for the issue of HIV and AIDS. Instead, he used his rebuttal time to talk about general healthcare needs.

THE POLITICS OF SEXUALITY

Important sexuality-related issues were pushed aside this election season as the country focused on national security and economic concerns. Nonetheless, from education to rights to healthcare, sexuality has an almost unlimited potential to become political. Therefore, as wary as we all may be from a season of politics, we decided to devote this issue to the politics of sexuality.

We start by taking a close look at the Bush Administration's domestic HIV policy with an excerpt from Esther Kaplan's book, With God on Their Side; How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush's White House, Kaplan explains how the administration favors an ideological view of HIV prevention and has waged a war on condoms and other effective prevention measures.

We then move on to the politics of sexuality education with our eleventh annual review of controversies. In this article, Myra Batchelder, SIECUS' state and community advocacy manager, reminds us that when it comes to sexuality education, all politics are local. Batchelder looks at the roles that various individuals and groups, including parents, teachers, school boards, and outside advocacy organizations, can play in local controversies.

Included in the controversy report is a brief piece by Shelli Weisberg of American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. Historically, the state of Michigan left decisions about sexuality education to local school districts. As Weisberg explains, however, there have been several recent attempts to change this pattern.

Unfortunately, these restrictive approaches are being exported to the rest of the world. An article by Vanessa Brocato, SIECUS' international policy associate, examines the role the far right has played in sexuality education, family planning, and HIV-prevention efforts abroad. With a powerful ally in the White House, U.S.-based conservative organizations have managed to undermine many of the successful international programs and policies that had been put in place over the last ten years.

We have also included an article by James Ross, Emmanuelle Godeau, Sonia Dias, Celine Vignes, and Lori Gross that focuses on the World Health Organization-affiliated Health Behaviors in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. Similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, this survey asked young people in 35 participating countries about their sexual risk practices. In addition to providing fascinating comparative results, the article explores some of the politics involved in designing this kind of a survey and explains why many countries limit the questions young people may be asked about sex.

Next, Lisa Mottet of the Transgender Civil Rights Project at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force provides us with a basic overview of the issues faced daily by transgender individuals. Mottet suggests that even minor policy shifts could make a major difference in the lives of many people.

Finally, we have included a SIECUS fact sheet on public support for sexuality education. Although it often feels otherwise, the vast majority of American adults support comprehensive sexuality education. We hope this fact sheet, which compiles the results of numerous national and state-wide surveys, will help advocates in their efforts to ensure that public policies keep pace with the desires of the American people.

ELECTION 2004 DRAWS TO A CLOSE

As I write this article, Americans have just cast their ballots and the campaign that seemed to occupy our every waking moment finally came to an end with President George W. Bush winning re-election, the Republican Party picking up additional seats in both the House and the Senate, and eleven states passing ballot initiatives that prohibit same-sex marriage.

During the last four years, the Bush Administration, with the aid of a Republican-controlled Congress, has launched an unprecedented assault on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the U.S. and abroad. Sadly, we can expect more of the same during the next four years.

Now more than ever, advocates must stand strong against the ideological agenda that allows conservative opinion to trump science.

So, while the political pundits may take a much-needed vacation and the morning shows will undoubtedly go back to airing interviews with reality-television stars, we, as advocates, have no choice but to keep focusing on politics.

References

1. Debate Transcript, The Third Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate, Commission on Presidential Debates, October 13, 2004, p. 13, p. 24. Accessed online at www.debates.org/trans2004d_p.html on Oct. 14, 2004.

2. Debate Transcript, The Second Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate, Commission on Presidential Debates, October 8, 2004, p. 36. Accessed online at www.debates.org/trans2004c_p.html on Oct. 14, 2004.

3. Ibid.

4. Debate Transcript, The Cheney-Edwards Vice Presidential Debate, Commission on Presidential Debates, October 5, 2004, pp. 29-30. Accessed online at www.debates.org/trans2004b_p.html on Oct. 7, 2004.

Martha E. Kempner, M.A.

SIECUS, Director of Public Information