Monday, August 27, 2012

Do Sex Strikes Ever Work?


Yes, but mostly as a means of garnering media attention. That's according to L.V. Anderson. Tahrir next Friday in the buff? Excerpt from The Slate story
Generally, sex strikes—known in activist circles as “Lysistratic nonaction,” a nod to Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy—appear to be more successful when the women involved have little economic autonomy, when their demands are specific and realistic, and when they possess endurance and strength in numbers. In the tiny, rural Filipino town of Dado last year, women belonging to a sewing collective successfully brought an end to violence on a thoroughfare connecting Dado and a regional market center by withholding sex from their husbands for a week. And a four-month, 300-woman sex strike in the Colombian town of Barbacoas last year succeeded, with local authorities promising to improve conditions on the roads connecting Barbacoas to the nearest town.
The video is of Pat Benatar's 80s song "Stop Using Sex As A Weapon". As a child I had a huge crush on Pat but she turned to be a wingnut and I moved on ... to Nirvana!