Feeling Guilty About Not Feeling Guilty
Friday, April 29: Go watch lots of women talk about their abortions
Abortion is one of America’s last major, messy taboos. It’s been called the “A-word;”; it’s also been called murder, and a right, and a luxury, and a choice. It’s been legislated and rallied and referred to and defended and protested to death. But, according to Award-winning (but still underground and unheard-of) New York filmmaker Penny Lane, it’s still not really being talked about.
This Friday at 8 pm, Lane will host the first public screening of her new documentary, The Abortion Diaries at Artists Television Access. In the compelling hourlong video (which she’s still finishing up), Lane interviews approximately 30 women, Barbara Walters-style, about their personal experiences with abortion: how, when, where, why and how they felt afterward.
SFist Laura, contributing
Lane, 27, was inspired to start the project after her own abortion a few years back. Though she doesn’t regret her decision one iota, Lane remembers feeling "guilty about not feeling guilty”. Freaked out by the fact that she couldn’t find any good feminist resources to help cope with her messy post-procedural feelings, Lane started seeking out other women who had had similar experiences. She was amazed to discover that tons of women she knew had had abortions – some were even her closest friends – but, having taken society’s scarily disdainful attitude to heart, no one was really discussing it. So Lane decided to try to shake up the stigma-fueled silence, and make a movie about it.
Though she doesn’t consider it a political thing, Lane’s film is at least thematically linked with the recent I’m Not Sorry movement among pro-choice feminists -- young women who (duh) don’t feel ashamed or remorseful about their abortions.
It only costs $5 to check out The Abortion Diaries this Friday at 8 pm at Artists Television Access. There will also be a Q&A with Lane. Trust us, it'll be worth it.