The idea isn’t new. In fact, it first appeared in 411 B.C.
Lysistrata was an ancient Greek comedy first performed in classical Athens. The plot revolves around Lysistrata, a woman who embarks on a mission to end the Peloponnesian War by denying all men any sex until the fighting ends.
Fast forward 2,430 years. Now, actress Alyssa Milano has had the same brilliant idea.
“Our reproductive rights are being erased,” she wrote on Twitter. “Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy. JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back. I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on.”
Our reproductive rights are being erased.
Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy.
JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back.
I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on. pic.twitter.com/uOgN4FKwpg
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 11, 2019
Milano has made the new/ancient call in response to protest Georgia’s new “heartbeat bill,” which outlaws abortion after a fetus’s heartbeat is deemed detectable. The movement was widely mocked on social media, but Milano is pressing forward with the strike.
On Monday, Milano wrote a CNN op-ed with Waleisah Wilson defending her call.
“Sure, it’s been a mixed reaction, but it got the country talking about the GOP’s undeniable war on women. And let’s face it, with so much going on every day in the news, sometimes we need an extreme response to get national attention,” she wrote.
But she said a “sex strike” can be effective. “When utilized as part of a broader strategy of coordinated action, sex strikes can raise awareness and achieve a wide range of political objectives. This is just one tool available in the fight for reproductive justice and abortion access — we must also support the organizations and individuals working courageously on the front lines by supporting them,” she wrote.
As the criticism poured in, Milano took to Twitter, where she posted seven tweets defending the call, saying she is reminding people of “the Republican war against women.”
2)GA will be the 4th state to pass a 6 week ban. 15 states have introduced legislation.
Alabama is set to pass a 2 week ban.
Elections matter. Think about this moment in time when you’re trying to figure out if it’s worth making the effort to vote. Please vote. #sexstrike
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 13, 2019
3)Texas had hearings on a bill to execute women who have had an abortion.
The Ohio bill suggests that an ectopic pregnancy should not be terminated but instead, re-implanted into the uterus, a procedure that doesn’t even exist. #Sexstrike
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 13, 2019
4) The Georgia bill states that a woman can be investigated for miscarrying and that women who travel to another state to get an abortion can spend up to ten years in prison. #SexStrike
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 13, 2019
5) These bills are made to end up in court (which the Federalist Society has been stacking with conservative judges for years). Mark my words, one of these bills will end up going up to the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. This is what they are designed to do. #SexStrike
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 13, 2019
6) If Roe is overturned this will be catastrophic for the women most at risk.
Government is never bigger than when it’s in our uteruses.
We must take a stand against the @GOP legislating our bodies. That means you too, men! Fight with us. We need you. #SexStrike
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 13, 2019
Then Milano made her big finish.
“So f*** on! Yes! We’ve earned our right to sexual pleasure,” she tweeted in the last of the seven-part thread. “But remember, they’re also trying to take away our access to birth control. If you get pregnant & exercise your right to choose your own destiny & healthcare, you may be thrown in prison.”
7) So fuck on! Yes! We’ve earned our right to sexual pleasure.
But remember, they’re also trying to take away our access to birth control. If you get pregnant & exercise your right to choose your own destiny & healthcare, you may be thrown in prison. #SexStrike #SorryNotSorry
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 13, 2019
