One of the most startling aspects of Alito’s opinion is that he cited tradition back to Sr. Mathew Hale as the original intent of the Constitution. Mathew Hale was a monster, but his work reflected public opinion at the time. Women were not independent human beings. A girl’s body belonged to her father. A marriage passed the girl-woman (often girl) from the father to the husband, quite literally passing her body as property. The woman had been groomed from the beginning to obey her husband (And that has biblical roots, right beside “Husbands love your wives.” Sweet but imbalanced, to say the least.)
A woman on Twitter, who states that she’s a historian who has studied Mathew Hale’s legal beliefs uses a long tweet thread to describe Alito’s views of the world if he had the desire to cite Hale’s teachings-law. This was a period when a man couldn’t rape his wife, no matter how awful the man had to force sex upon his wife, beating her near death, was legal, because the man owned her body and a man couldn’t rape himself. This was honestly the belief at the time. And Alito cited Hale.
More, from the expert:
Sir Matthew Hale was a huge advocate for marital rape. Like many early modern men, he believed that women's bodies belonged to men, first their father when they were born and then their husband when they were married. WOMEN WERE NOT SEEN AS AUTONOMOUS BEINGS.
— Dr. Literature_Lady 💌📚📜🎙 (@Literature_Lady) May 5, 2022 [1]
Hale, just like a lot of Christian extremists today, believed that women were made from Adam's rib. God did not make her as an autonomous being with rights. She was a physical extension of his body, made to be his "helpmeet," namely to exist to help him to whatever he wants.
— Dr. Literature_Lady 💌📚📜🎙 (@Literature_Lady) May 5, 2022 [2]
The writings of the apostle Paul were also used as a basis of law during Hale's life. The man was "the head of the woman" and it was inarguable to suggest otherwise. Many Christian sects still quote this passage as a basis for patriarchal rule in the home and in the church.
— Dr. Literature_Lady 💌📚📜🎙 (@Literature_Lady) May 5, 2022 [3]
Hale therefore wrote in his posthumously published book Historia Placitorum Coronæ (1713) that marital rape was totally legal. In fact, because a man owned a woman's body as it was an extension of his own to do with whatever he willed, he was incapable of marital rape.
— Dr. Literature_Lady 💌📚📜🎙 (@Literature_Lady) May 5, 2022 [4]
The logic was that you can't rape something that isn't considered an independent human being. Your wife's body is yours and you can't rape yourself. This is the logic Alito is upholding when he invokes Hale. But it gets worse.
— Dr. Literature_Lady 💌📚📜🎙 (@Literature_Lady) May 5, 2022 [5]
Let's say a woman vocalized her opinion and it ran contrary to her husband's. She didn't want sex. Hale believed that this put her in violation of her marital vows. She was literally breaking the law. Women who denied men sex needed to be punished.
— Dr. Literature_Lady 💌📚📜🎙 (@Literature_Lady) May 5, 2022 [6]
It is a long tradition, and women have every single right to dream of being walked down the aisle by their fathers. That is absolutely her choice and her right and it can be lovely if it is what she wants. But the custom is rooted in the transfer of ownership.
It gets worse:
Men were encouraged in law manuals, however, to beat their wives in a reflective manner, understanding that it was necessary for the salvation of their wife’s soul and done out of love rather than anger. It was advised to never beat a woman in rage.
And Alito wants to at least take a few steps back in that direction. Men have a say in women’s autonomy over their bodies. Four men are taking away this particular woman’s right. One woman who is a religious zealot agreed.
So when [Alito] talks about going back to what the founding fathers meant, he is talking about all of this shit. Women’s bodies being legally owned and controlled by men. He knows many Christian white women are groomed theologically to agree and will vote for this patriarchal control.
Exactly. We encourage everyone to click on any of the tweets and read through the entire long thread. But rather than get wholly and fully depressed, just know, there are men out there, many of us, that see our partner as just that. Our significant author is every bit as much a part of us as we of them. Mutual, equal respect and teamwork, based on commitment and love, is what many (most?) of us want.
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