Body Autonomy

Body autonomy meaning

Fig. 1 Person illustration

Each of our bodies is unique. Bodily autonomy is a far-reaching umbrella term which describes the free and informed choices that each person has the right to make, concerning what makes you….YOU!

Acts of bodily autonomy could include:

• Choosing how you dress and express yourself,

• Choosing who and how you love,

• Taking decisions related to your health and wellbeing

The important thing about body autonomy to remember is, that the concept centres on individuals being able to control and freely decide when making choices about their bodies.

Feminism and body autonomy

The foundational principle of body autonomy is universality and equality. Body autonomy is a concept that applies to everyone, regardless of their gender, sexuality or body!

Body autonomy is closely linked with feminist theory because of this emphasis on equality, laying the foundations for fairer and equal societies. Body autonomy is an area focused on in feminist movements, as those with access to make free choices about their body are greater empowered to participate and gain agency over their own futures.

However, in practice, the application of body autonomy in patriarchal societies is not equitable or universal. Often, bodies are not viewed to be equal and the bodily autonomy of many marginalised people is targeted and limited.

The work of feminist movements often centres on protecting and advancing the equal application of body autonomy.

An example of a feminist slogan related to body autonomy includes:

Fig. 2 Pro-choice protest in San Francisco

This slogan is most often applied by feminists when talking about the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women. As we will explore further, in this article, sexual and reproductive health and rights are a very important part of body autonomy and an area in which body autonomy is often limited through laws and policies.

Body autonomy principles

Three of the foundational principles of body autonomy include:

• Universality

• Autonomy

• Agency

Universality of body autonomy

In the context of body autonomy, universality describes the universal right for all people to exercise bodily autonomy.

Body autonomy is based on the principle that everyone, regardless of their gender, sexuality and body, should be able to make informed decisions about their body, health and wellbeing.

Such a principle is reinforced by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):

Autonomy

As the name “body autonomy” suggests, autonomy is a foundational principle.

It is crucial to note that autonomy rests on choices being made which are free from threat, violence, manipulation, fear or coercion.

Agency

Agency is another key principle linked to bodily autonomy. Agency refers to someone’s capacity to exert power or influence. In the case of bodily autonomy, this relates to a person’s power and influence over their own bodies.

When considering body autonomy, the principle of agency is often referred to by feminist movements. As we’ve already highlighted body autonomy covers countless decisions a person has to make about their bodies. The number of decisions a person can make about their body will increase their overall agency over their entire body.

Many feminists point to the importance of “empowering” often marginalised groups, such as women of colour and individuals of gender variants, as an important part of creating fairer more equitable societies.

Feminist writer, Audre Lorde, highlighted in her foundational work Dare to be Poweful (1981)²:

Body autonomy examples

So we’ve thought a lot about the basis of bodily autonomy, now it's time to see what it looks like in action!

As we’ve previously noted, acts of body autonomy represent countless choices we can make regarding our bodies, these can range from minor day-to-day decisions to ones which have long-term impacts. Below we will take a closer look at reproductive justice, a feminist concept that when applied enables people to exercise bodily autonomy.

It was a term first coined in 1994 by the Black Women’s Caucus of the Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance, a feminist movement which aimed to increase the bodily autonomy of marginalised populations.

In practice, the Black Women’s Caucus of the Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance define reproductive justice as:

In action, reproductive justice is a great example of body autonomy as it advocates for individuals universally to be able to make significant decisions concerning their reproductive health.

In order to obtain reproductive justice, four key policy areas must be achieved:

1. Legally enshrined abortion rights and equitable access to services

Enables individuals to access essential healthcare and make safe choices regarding their right to decide when and if a person wishes to have children.

2. Equitable access to family planning services and choices concerning contraceptive methods

Allows individuals to make decisions about their reproductive health and access essential healthcare.

3. Comprehensive sexual health education

Enables individuals to make informed decisions regarding their sexual health and sexual relationships. By providing people with information, it affords individuals more agency over their bodies.

4. Equitable access to sexual and maternity health services

Allows individuals to make essential decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health.

Body Autonomy Rights

It is important to note that body autonomy is considered to be a foundational right, by that we mean it is a right that other important human rights are built on.

The importance of bodily autonomy was acknowledged internationally at the 1995 UN World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, hosted in Beijing. At this milestone conference the Beijing Declaration⁵ was signed by 189 countries, making a global commitment to protecting body autonomy, with a strong focus on improving bodily autonomy for women and girls.

Bodily Autonomy Law

However, it is crucial to highlight that body autonomy is not universally applied and is often restricted by laws and policies.

Restrictive laws on body autonomy

A high-profile example of how governments relates to barriers to safe abortion services. Political barriers such as legal bans on abortion significantly restrict the bodily autonomy of many women and gender-variant individuals worldwide.

Feminist critics often highlight that legal restrictions surrounding the sexual reproductive health and rights are utilised in patriarchal structures to police the bodies of marginalisation people.

Academic Jeanne Flavin⁷ argues: