User:Rebelliousredhead/Sex strike

Goals for the paragraphs:

1.    Intro:

a.     Define or add to the definition

b.    Global Nonviolent Action Database

2.    New paragraph to discuss the recent #MeToo

a.     Discuss the Georgia heartbeat bill

b.    Give example of for and against this sort of strike

i.     For: Alyssa Milano (link to Wikipedia article and her CNN opinion poll

ii. Against: Peggy Drexler (link to her CNN opinion)

Notes:

1.    Redefine sex strike based on CNN article and Lysistratic nonaction

2.   Unlink strike- doesn’t add anything to the paragraph.

3.    Redo non-violent like to nonviolent.

4.    Remove “usually women”- because there is only one reference in a CNN article-but this leaves out the LGBTQIA+ community

5.    Add United States Section under the Header Modern Times

Intro paragraph:

A sex strike (sex boycott), or more formally known as Lysistratic nonaction, is a method of nonviolent resistance in which one or more persons refrain from or refuse sex with partners until policy or social demands are met. It is a form of temporary sexual abstinence. Sex strikes have been used to protest many issues, from war to gang violence to policies.

The effectiveness of sex strikes is contested.

(Under Modern Times)

United States of America

In 2019, Georgia governor, Brian Kemps (R), signed House Bill (HB) 481 into law. It was immediately blocked by a lawsuit. HB 481 is a ten-page document that criminalizes most abortions after six weeks and adds a “fetal personhood” language. This language changes the definition of a “natural person” to include an unborn child at any stage of development in the womb. [1] This law has been nicknamed a “heartbeat bill” because HB 481 states that no abortion will be performed if the physician determines that they detect a human heartbeat.

In response to this bill’s passage, actress and #MeToo activist, Alyssa Milano and Waleisah Wilson, wrote an opinion editorial for CNN and went to Twitter to call for a sex strike until the policy was repealed. In the tweet, Milano calls on women to join her sex strike until women “have legal control over [their] own bodies” because women cannot risk a pregnancy under this new bill. In her CNN opinion piece, Milano states that there are similar bills to the one in Georgia and that the single purpose of them is to make it up to the Supreme Court, forcing them reconsider Roe v Wade (1973). In this opinion piece, Milano discusses the history of Lysistratic protest[2], calls on people who can become pregnant to conduct a sex strike, and pay attention to current events. Milano encourages a sex strike in addition to other efforts.

Peggy Drexler, a research psychologist and author, countered Milano’s opinion piece and calls Milano’s sex strike a "misguided" effort that reinforces the idea that "women’s power lies solely on their willingness to give men sex."[3] In response to Milano’s call to action, her hope to regain bodily autonomy through a sex strike “is implying that women pretty much only have sec to please men or for babies” and that there is no acknowledgment that women might have sex for their own pleasure. [3] In addition, Drexler argues that Milano is implying all men are the problem, however, many measures to restrict abortion or birth control are backed by women. Drexler ends her opinion piece by saying that communication is effective and to call your representatives and vote.

Bibliography:

Day, H. (2019, May 16). The History of Sex strikes. BBC Three. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/1fc04f3e-3128-4be7-a78a-28ea31db4101

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alyssa_Milano

Drexler, P. (2019, May 13). Alyssa Milano's sex strike is misguided. Here's what actually might work. CNN. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/12/opinions/alyssa-milano-sex-strike-abortion-drexler/index.html

Fowler, S. (2022, June 30). What does Georgia's 2019 abortion law HB 481 do? Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/06/30/what-does-georgias-2019-abortion-law-hb-481-do#:~:text=HB%20481%20says%20that%20no,around%20six%20weeks%20into%20pregnancy.

Global Nonviolent Action Database. (n.d.). 057. Lysistratic nonaction. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/category/gene-sharps-198/057-lysistratic-nonaction