My Body, Our Rights

World War 3 Illustrated #53

by Paula Hewitt Amram (Editor, Contributor), Sabrina Jones (Editor, Contributor, Cover Artis), Rebecca Migdal (Editor, Contributor)

Radical cartoonists tell it like it is about abortion, contraception, healthcare, and identity.

The cartoonists of World War 3 Illustrated present comics on living in the body in a hostile society. From personal testimonies to collective chronicles, over 30 artists and writers deploy graphic evidence that bodily autonomy is essential to the individual and to communities. Abortion is revealed as lived by generations before and after being legalized. The mythic roots of misogyny, the rigid rules of gender, are exposed as outdated shams. Brave new lives are charted through the wilderness of broadening possibilities and furious backlash. Artists, activists, healthcare workers, and students unite in the belief that while my body is mine alone, our rights are always social, and must be named and claimed in the public sphere. Once again WW3 elevates truth-telling to the art of resistance.

Artists Roberta Gregory, Sabrina Jones, Sue Coe, Trina Robbins, Paula Hewitt Amram, Lee Marrs, Joyce Farmer, Rebecca Migdal, Sandy Jimenez, Seth Tobocman, Peter Kuper and many others.

Genres: Feminism, LGBT, Graphic Novels, Politics

207 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2023

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A raw and pained response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The stories that work best for me in this thick collection are the journalistic ones that feature personal testimonies or factual accounts about abortion, menstruation, and transgender issues. Fortunately, they outnumber the artsy fartsy contributions by a pretty wide margin, but still, with so many stories by so many different creators there are some ups and downs in the quality of writing and illustrations from page to page, but all hearts are in the right place.


Contents:
• A Message from the Editors
• Post Procedure / Sabrina Jones
• Bitchy Bitch in . . . Not Again!!? / Roberta Gregory
• The Real Cost of Freedom / Elaine Schulman, writer; Nicole Schulman, illustrator and additional text
• A Choice of Life / Sam Migliore
• My Illegal Abortion / Trina Robbins, writer; Ellen Lindner, illustrator
• First Period: A Thoroughly Unscientific Look at Menarche / Isabella Bannerman
• Just a Gentle Reminder / Lauren Simkin Berke
• Horrors of Puberty: A Cautionary Tale / Liz Keough
• Lifeblood Driving / Lee Marrs
• Manatee / Carly Shooster
• Tear It Down / Vanessa Glynn, writer; Meg Lemieur, illustrator
• 380 2nd Avenue: An Abortion Story / Laura Catherine Brown
• I've Told This Story Before: The Testimony of Lana Clarke Phelan / Lana Clark Phelan, writer; Jenny Brown, editor; Seth Tobocman, editor and penciller; Tamara Tornado, inker
• Wear a Condom / Peter Kuper
• For All He Cares, You Could Be a Broom / Emily Waters
• Seeds of Life / Jennifer Camper
• Goddess Arise: An Incantation to Heal the Feminine / Rebecca Migdal
• Seen at the Abortion Rights Rally / Regina Silvers
• Meet the Creeps / Guerilla Girls
• SCOTA (Abort the Court) / Sue Coe
• Tightrope / Susan Willmarth
• Thank You Nurses / Susan Simensky Bietila
• What My Catholic Religion Taught Me about Abortion / Tom Keough
• Late / Joyce Farmer
• Keeping It to Yourself / Ali Solomon
• Nancy Davis / Lance Tooks
• The Doll's Underground / Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz
• The Best Offense Is More Clinic Defense / Anonymous, writer; Sue Coe and Sabrina Jones, illustrators
• The Comic that Defends Self Harm / Elias Anderson
• Absences / Eliza Krane
• Rosa Did / Sabrina Jones
• Why Don't You Get Married? / Tsaurah Litzky, writer; Jackie Lima, illustrator
• God's Planned Parenthood / Jack Roux
• Trans and Non Binary Reproductive Healthcare / Jessica Raynor Sturdivant with Alok Vaid-Menon and Raquel Willis
• What Do You Want for Your Healthcare? / Annabelle Heckler with Mariko Yamasaki, Thishi, Na-té King, Seth, and Lily Dalke
• Intersectional Feminism and Abortion Rights / Paula Hewitt Amram

[Alix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so amazing so educational and shows you the history of abortions I cannot recommend this enough

[BAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book by chance at my local library - what a great find! The stories change quickly, maintaining the same themes but providing new perspectives. The graphics are beautiful and the message couldn’t be more timely.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Body, Our Rights, edited by Paula Hewitt Amram, Sabrina Jones, and Rebecca Migdal, is a powerful and accessible look at the importance of bodily autonomy to everyone's rights.

The graphic form gives these messages more impact since the reader is both reading the words and seeing the images. I also think that, by offering many short pieces that can be read in a short time it can reach a larger readership. Many people can't or won't take the time to read books or even essays on these topics, but these can be read in minutes. Once that happens, the ideas presented can be considered and hopefully generate action.

While I would readily recommend this to those already involved in the battle(s), I think this is the type of book that would make an excellent gift for those who haven't given much thought to the importance of bodily autonomy but might be interested in reading something that isn't a big time investment. Once that happens, they may well seek more details about areas they are particularly moved by.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. A couple of weaker pieces, but overall an impressive anthology, like most issues of World War 3 Illustrated.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooooo good! But also really sad. A