What If Women Decided To Use Their Power To Hit Men Where It Hurts?

And what's the "Lioness on a cheese grater?"

Lysistrata (/laɪˈsɪstrətə/ or /ˌlɪsəˈstrɑːtə/; Attic Greek: Λυσιστράτη, Lysistrátē, "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city states by denying all the men of the land any sex, which was the only thing they truly and deeply desired. Lysistrata persuades the women of the warring cities to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace—a strategy, however, that inflames the battle between the sexes.

Since the leak of the draft decision by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would obliterate Roe v. Wade and with it a woman’s constitutional right to safe, legal abortion, I’ve heard a lot about men treating women like property. While I’m certainly not going to downplay that- because the American Taliban’s attitude toward women IS repulsive- I’ve wondered what else might be done.

If women aim to retain their agency, as I believe they should, then perhaps they need to take stock of the weapons at their disposal.

My mind immediately wandered back to a play by Aristophanes, an ancient Greek playwright who wrote a comedy called Lysistrata, first performed in 411 BC. As mentioned above, it’s a comedy about one woman’s attempt to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city-states. Lysistrata contemplated how women, who were thoroughly sick of war and death, could convince their men to stop fighting.

           LYSISTRATA
    There are a lot of things about us women
    That sadden me, considering how men
    See us as rascals.
               CALONICE
    As indeed we are!

After some consideration, Lysistrata becomes convinced that the most potent weapon all women share is their ability to withhold sex. By uniting to deny their husbands and lovers their sexual favors, she believed women could convince their men to end the war.

Lysistrata somehow manages to convene a meeting of women from warring city-states. Aristophanes never clarifies how she achieves this, but it doesn’t detract from the story.

After pitching her idea and convincing the numerous women present of its soundness, they swear to forego all sexual pleasures. The oath includes swearing off their favorite position, the Lioness on the Cheese Grater (some questions are better off left unasked).

As with any good story, it’s nowhere near as simple as denying sexual services to their men, and the conflict slowly degrades into a battle of the sexes. Finally, after much debate between old men and old women, a horny husband and his wife, and other men desperate for sex, the men agree to end the war. The play ends, and everyone wanders off to make merry and get laid.

As ancient Greek plays go, Lysistrata is on the order of cotton candy- sweet, fluffy, but not too filling. Still, the premise behind it provides me with considerable food for thought. Women today aren’t in many respects different from the women of ancient Greece. They still have and enjoy sex- and they still have the power to participate in determining when it will happen.

Too many anti-abortion laws are promulgated by White, Christian, Conservative, and (allegedly) heterosexual males. So what if women decided to use their power to effect change? What if women refused to have sex with their men until they changed abortion laws to make them less anti-women?

Of course, I have no way of knowing whether or not re-enacting a modern-day Lysistrata is practical or even possible. But, given that many Conservative women are pretty happy to be participants in their subjugation, could enough power be exerted upon men to frustrate them into action? Or would they simply run to their mistresses to get their needs met?

Would a nationwide sex strike by women have the desired effect? I have no idea, just as I have no idea if a sufficient number of women could be convinced to withhold sex from their men. It would take a critical mass of horny men, both within red state legislatures and without, to force change. Still, if enough women made it clear that there would be no nookie without significant changes in anti-abortion laws, maybe things would change.

C’mon, ladies…whaddya say? Isn’t it time to demonstrate what Girl Power is all about??

Reality check - OK, so I understand that Lysistrata is fictional. It didn’t actually happen. ‘Course, I’m just idealistic enough to believe that it, or something like it, could happen if properly organized and shepherded. Since we’re talking about millions of women…yeah, it would be a lot like herding cats. Still, you can’t blame a guy for thinking it’s worth a try, right??

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