Alyssa Milano has ignited social media with her call for a “sex strike” in protest of strict abortion laws recently passed in Republican-controlled legislatures.
The actress and activist tweeted that an erasure of reproductive rights was occurring and urged other women to withhold from having sex “until we get bodily autonomy back”.
Her call came in light of Georgia becoming the fourth US state to ban abortions after a foetal heartbeat is detected - a stage around six weeks into pregnancy, before most women know they’re pregnant.
Though lampooned by both liberals and conservatives for her idea, conservatives praising her for encouraging abstinence and liberals criticising her implied narrative that women only have sex as a favour to men, Milano said that her tweet was having the desired effect of “getting people to talk about the war on women”.
But the concept of sex strikes isn’t new - Milano went on to note that sex strikes throughout history have proven “surprisingly effective” in protesting and advocating for historical reform. But can they actually bring about change?
Ancient Greece: Lysistrata
Though only a play, most would associate the idea of sex strikes with the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata and its associated protest method of "Lysistratic non-action”. In this play by Aristophanes, Greek women teamed up in protest to bring about the end of the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata hoped that by convincing women to withhold sex from their husbands that the men would work towards peace.
1600s: Iroquois women gain power to veto wars
In 1600s North America, women of the Iroquois Indian Nations boycotted sex and childbearing in a push to stop unregulated warfare initiated by Iroquois men between tribes. As Iroquois men believed that Iroquois women knew the “secret of birth”, the women’s sex strike proved a powerful tactic. After also restricting warriors’ access to supplies as women had complete control over crops, the men gave in and granted women veto power concerning all wars. The Global Nonviolent Action Database considers this action to be the first feminist rebellion in the United States.
Liberia 2003: An end to civil war
Amidst the brutal Second Liberian Civil War, in 2003 Leymah Gbowee co-ordinated a highly-publicised sex strike to urge warlords to end their violence. “The men in our society were really not taking a stance... We decided to do a sex strike to kind of propel these silent men into action,” Gbowee noted. The Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace's strike was successful, with warlords agreeing to cease fighting. Gbowee was later awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her work.
Kenya 2009: Ending infighting and avoiding violence
When other peacemaking attempts failed, in 2009 Kenyan women refused to have sex for one week in a push to convince politicians to end infighting and avoid violence. The Women’s Development Organisation, with the support of both the prime minister’s and president’s wives, hoped that the move would push politicians to come to an agreement. "[Sex] does not know tribe, it does not have a [political] party, and it happens in the lowest households,” said the organisation's chairman Rukia Subow, according to the BBC. It was a protest they believed many women could participate in, and it worked, ending in a joint prayer session where the president and prime minister finally agreed to talk.
Colombia 2011: Pressure for road repairs
In 2011, the women of the Colombian town Barbacoas called on a “crossed legs movement” until the government repaired the town’s dangerous main highway. The road’s poor state made travel risky and time-consuming, making food and medical care difficult to access. Ruby Quinonez, one of the leaders of the movement, stated: "Why bring children into this world when they can just die without medical attention and we can't even offer them the most basic rights? We decided to stop having sex and stop having children until the state fulfills its previous promises." Though in October 2011 the government eventually pledged $21 million to fix the road, in November 2013 it was reported that the initial grant failed to materialise. Since beginning their second protest, the group says "men in the town have been spurned into helping fix the road, and Colombian army engineers have been re-paving problem areas".
