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Sex For Pleasure… or for Power?
Sex is a powerful tool. It can bring pleasure (lots and lots of pleasure), create babies, cause heartache, and even end wars? No effing way.
Aristophanes (the Greek comic playwright) introduced this idea in one of his plays, in which a woman named Lysistrata (translation: Army-disbander) comes up with a, well, attention-grabbing plan to bring an end to the Peloponnesian War: she convinces herself and all of the other Grecian ladies to withhold sex from their husbands until the men have negotiated a peace.
Thousands of years later, the women of Kenya are trying a similar tactic – they’ve gone on a seven day sex strike in an attempt to alleviate the violence that has resulted from the rivalry between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki (who currenty share power over the Kenyan government). Introduced by the Women’s Development Organization coalition, the strike includes the Prime Minister’s wife, Ida Odinga, many average women, a handful of prostitutes, and possibly President Kibaki’s wife.
So wait a minute – one week without sex and these men are going to forget all about their anger? Anger so potent it’s caused genocide for the past year? Wowsa! These must be some pretty HOT Kenyan females!
But if sex-strikes are such useful political weapons, why is there, one week later, still bloodshed in Kenya (and so many other African countries)?
Well maybe it’s because, while sex is a powerful tool, it’s probably best to leave it out of politics. Especially in a country where polygamy is socially acceptable, gang rape is in vogue, and the sexual exploitation of women is accepted. (Editor’s Note: Or maybe it can be attributed to the fact that sexually frustrated men are not in the mood to negotiate peace with their enemies.)
Sexual power might be all these women have, and props to them for using it to their advantage. But while you may think withholding sex can win a war (or a small battle on the homefront), I say – withhold something else. Because it seems to me that using abstinence as a threat isn’t feminist (don’t we gals want the sex too!?), or a productive political move. And let’s be honest – sex is just too damn wonderful.
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Mazuba says:
Wed, 13th May 20095:54 pm
I would like to correct you.Kenya does not permit polygamy .Most african countries dont.Ofcourse its still done in secret but it is NOT LEGAL TRUST ME .Sexual expoitation of women is not accepted either .Did you research to see if polygamy is legal?Im african and it we are used to people saying false things about africa but it gets annoying .I knw this article is a bout the power of sex ,but I think you should have done a bit more research.Plus there's war in so many other places.
Lily says:
Wed, 13th May 20096:35 pm
Lysistrata is hilarious.
Sara says:
Wed, 13th May 20099:46 pm
http://www.southerntimesafrica.com/inside.aspx?se…
I recommend reading that one. As an international relations major I find it kind of troubling that you treated this with sarcasm and apparently such little research. While the idea that feminists want sex goes over well here in the states, woman here also have tons of rights compared to women in Kenya. I applaud the women for using one of the few tools they have at their disposure (despite the obvious threat of violence) to try and enact social change. The fact that we're even talking about this means that they have (on some level) succeeded.
Oh and the Lysistrata tactic has been used in other countries and cities in the past with varying degrees of success.
Amy says:
Thu, 14th May 20091:07 am
I understand your point, but I doubt these women were actually thinking that their sex strike was going to solve a genocide problem that’s much more complicated than that…any more than Live 8 or Angelina Jolie are supposed to bring about world peace. These women were probably just trying to gain awareness for their cause, and as disenfranchised women without much of a voice on the global scale, they did something that would grab attention: a sex strike. And I guess it worked, because here’s an article about it!
Yelena says:
Thu, 14th May 20093:45 pm
Polygamy is legal? Gang rape is in VOGUE?? Are you fucking kidding me? Talk about being ignorant and arrogant, christ.
Star says:
Sat, 16th May 20099:55 pm
Lysistrata, while funny to read, is not a feminist play. It was actually performed by all men and was a comedy meant to mock women instead of empower them.
Jenn says:
Mon, 18th May 20096:46 pm
it is for pleasure, don't even try to use it for power…. Icrease that pleasure by shoping at http://www.ThePleasureEden.com