24th May 2019
by Margaret Akers
Alyssa Milano.
Recent moves to restrict abortion in Alabama and Georgia have left abortion advocates at a loss. They continue to search for ways to make a statement. One activist who has gained a lot of attention is Alyssa Milano, an actress who co-ordinated a letter from celebrities threatening to boycott the state of Georgia if it passed a restrictive abortion law. Following Alabama’s near total ban on abortion, she put out a tweet calling on abortion advocates to go on a ‘sex strike’. While it’s tempting to instantly dismiss this ridiculous posturing, the tweet has stirred up an interesting debate.
Historical/Cultural Background
Alyssa Milano cited sex strikes in history as inspiration for the pro-abortion sex strike, specifically mentioning 17th century Iroquois women who refused sex in protest of war and Liberian women who went on sex strike in 2003 to make a statement against civil war.
I was struck by another connection - one perhaps more pertinent because of its comic relief (not dissimilar to my reaction to Mrs. Milano’s tweet!). Lysistrata is a 5th century comic play by Greek playwright Aristophanes. In it, Greek women go on sex strike in a bid to end the Peloponnesian war. It is raucous, crass and laugh out loud funny. It satirizes the idea that the only thing men really desire is sex, and they’ll do anything for it. The perceived power dynamics between men and women are on full display in this piece that still manages to get a laugh over a thousand years later. Mrs. Milano seems to miss some of the satire and comedy in Lysistrata, but it has not been lost on others who have seen her tweet.
Missing the Point
Firstly, Mrs. Milano seems to have misunderstood the purpose of these historical sex strikes. The ‘targets’ of the strikes - the men who no longer had access to sex - were the ones who could actually affect change. It is a linear and logical reasoning, if objectifying and hypersexualised. Milano’s proposed strike makes far less sense. She is refusing sex to her partner and calling on others to do the same. But none of these now involuntarily celibate men are the lawmakers, judges, or otherwise influential people who can change the law. It is unclear how pro-abortion women refusing their partners - who are likely in favour of abortion themselves - will change the abortion law (unless Milano or one of her peers is having an affair with the governor of Georgia). The most convincing logic I’ve seen is that this celibacy would then inspire these men to be more involved in the fight against these pro-life laws, but this seems like a lot of steps for very little result.
Another glaring bit of irony Alissa Milano seems to have missed is what the goal of the historical sex strikes was. Women of the past (and fictional women, in the case of Lysistrata) used sex strikes in order to stop killing. They were tired of watching the men of their community die and used what power they had in order to save lives. Now, Milano is using the same tool to promote the killing of unborn children en masse. She is using what was once a tool of peace to advocate for violence against women and unborn babies.
However, perhaps these ironies aren’t surprising from someone who has clearly thought very little about the long-term goal of her strike. In answer to a question by Associated Press on how long she thought it should go on, she said: "I mean I don’t know. I sent a tweet last night I haven’t really thought much past that this morning."
Pro-Life Response
The online pro-life community has not been shy in responding to the idea of the sex strike, often in a comical and light-hearted way. For years, the pro-life movement has advocated for a responsible approach to sex - suggesting, as sex is the primary way in which a woman becomes pregnant, if one under no circumstance can be pregnant, she should carefully consider having sex in the first place. In other words, one should practice abstinence if becoming pregnant is unthinkable. Mrs. Milano’s strike achieves this same aim. If people are not getting pregnant in the first place, there would be no perceived ‘need’ for abortion. What Mrs. Milano is promoting is in fact what some pro-lifers have proposed since time immemorial, even if it is branded in a new way. The online pro-life community has been quick to point out this irony.
Moving Forward
Alyssa Milano is not the only celebrity to speak out against these ‘abortion bans’. Model Emma Ratajkowski has posed nude in protest of the men who signed the Alabama bill into law (no, I don’t get the logic either). Other celebrities who have chimed in include Bette Midler, Keke Palmer, and Anne Hathaway, (who admitted that the pro-life movement is largely driven by women when she blamed the "complicity of the white women" in passing the recent laws). Many in the film industry are refusing to film and produce film and television in Georgia, a move that will come at significant financial loss for the state.
Recent restrictions have ignited debate on both sides, providing an excellent opportunity for real dialogue on the issue of abortion, if people would be willing to listen.