*Note: I do not own the rights to these images
I had the liberty of watching Belly of the Beast thanks to Mama Glow. This film by Erika Cohn follows Kelli Dillon, an ex-convict that filed a lawsuit after she was sterilized by doctors in the prison without her consent. The film follows her and Cynthia Chandler as they navigate trying to get laws in California changed to ban illegal sterilizations on women and transgendered men in prison. This film was good but it was so heavy. This was a true testament to how black and brown bodies are not respected. It also shows how we are continuously seen as property and people feel they can do whatever they want to us. The discussion afterwards was good as well.
If you ever get a chance to watch it, please do! As a doula, this gave me further confirmation that I am important, I am needed, and I am right where I’m supposed to be.
To all my fellow birth workers, thank you for showing up. Thank you for doing this work, and serving in a cause that is bigger than your own ❤️.