Alyssa Milano. Photo / Getty Images
Alyssa Milano is copping some intense backlash after proposing a "sex strike" in opposition to new antiabortion legislation - a political tactic dating back to ancient Greece.
Georgia's new abortion law - among the most restrictive in the United States - will ban abortions after a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat, and others states, including Mississippi and Ohio, have passed similar "heartbeat" bills.
So Milano posted a call to arms Friday on Twitter, urging people to abstain in protest.
Our reproductive rights are being erased.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) May 11, 2019
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
The idea bears an uncanny resemblance to Aristophanes's ancient Greek comedy "Lysistrata," in which a woman persuaded other women in warring cities to withhold sex from all the men until they put an end to the Peloponnesian War at the end of the 400s, B.C.
By late Saturday afternoon, Milano's tweet had drawn more than 27,000 likes and 9,000 retweets, some applauding the idea but others arguing that it only serves to perpetuate the stereotype that "women are providers and men are consumers of sex."
A #SexStrike also gives the impression that the primary function of a woman is as a body for heterosexual men to have sex with. I’m not down with that.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 11, 2019
My problem with this #SexStrike
— Michelle Guido (@heyyguido) May 11, 2019
It feeds the narrative that women only have sex to satisfy men’s sexual needs. It ignores women’s sexuality. Women like sex too!
It is not something we give to men to keep them happy! This pushes an outdated narrative, please stop it.
"This makes it seem like sex is something women do as a favor to men; it also furthers the misogynist theory that women should be shamed for liking sex at all," one wrote.
One person argued that Milano is advocating for abstinence, asking, "And isn't this exactly what conservatives wanted?" And another said that she is doing the same thing she's fighting against.
Isn’t telling women to not have sex also a form of YOU denying them control over their bodies? Doesn’t this also presume that all women are straight and cis? @Alyssa_Milano is such an odd “activist.” https://t.co/7FOUDRdhZX
— Preston “Just An Adjunct Professor of Law” Mitchum (@PrestonMitchum) May 11, 2019
"Isn't telling women to not have sex also a form of YOU denying them control over their bodies? Doesn't this also presume that all women are straight and [cisgender]?" Preston Mitchum, chair of the Washington Bar Association, responded on social media.
Still, some supported the idea.
"Great idea!!!" one wrote. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies!!"
Hey everyone upset about Alyssa Milano's #sexstrike: Thanks for helping this trend, that was the point, b/c women's lives are in danger.
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) May 11, 2019
P.S. It's not @Alyssa_Milano's fault our culture is patriarchal; she doesn't own that just b/c she's acknowledging it.
Saw lots of people criticizing this idea today. I fully support a sex strike. It’s not admitting that we are here to service men. It’s reminding them that we have control over our own bodies and how we use them. Boycotting sex is an effective method of protest. #SexStrike https://t.co/WFHUw6UtZP
— 🇺🇸💗BohoGirlResists💗🇺🇸 (@KikiAdine) May 11, 2019