Women On Strike
By Tony Candela
I’ve touched on this topic before, evoking “Lysistrata”, the comedic play by Aristophanes, written in 411 BCE, about halfway through the 17-year Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta. This was Aristophanes’ attempt at social engineering. In a diabolical scheme, the women of Athens go on a sex-strike in order to get their men to stop fighting the protracted war. The scheme soon unravels as neither the men nor the women can stand to abstain for too long. Sexual puns abound; many hold up well in modern times, even translated from the ancient Greek.
I propose a modern version of “Lysistrata” , one a bit more achievable, for pro-life women who live in anti-abortion States. I got the idea from an interview I heard with a woman who lives in Texas, an extreme anti-abortion State. When she meets a man with who she might “sleep” She asks herself, “Will this man consider me more valuable than $10,000?” That happens to be the bounty people in Texas can earn for turning in someone who gets an abortion or aids someone to do so. Most of the time her answer has been know. This has led to a dubious accomplishment for the anti-abortionists: increased abstinence. The woman characterized her decision-making as an expression of her power as a woman to choose what to do with her body when so much of her choice has been removed by Texas Law. The ultimate goal, I hope, will be a lot of men who will change their minds about the Law as their frustration rises. In the meantime, and unlike in “Lysistrata”, women will need to use modern techniques to stay true to the cause. They know how to do this, so no need to elaborate here. Without a prolonged and sustained attempt, nothing will change.
Whether they know it or not and I suspect they do, the extreme nature of the anti-abortion Laws is a dead give-away to the intent to control and subjugate women. It goes far beyond the expressed belief of saving the lives of very young fetuses. In fact, it is hard to believe that people capable of ignoring the impact of the Laws on women could have sufficient empathy to truly want to protect a 24-week-old fetus. To them, such a young cluster of cells, proto-organs, and burgeoning nervous systems cannot be much more than an abstraction, a Cause célèbre, a lever for more prurient action, in my view. This is why women must fight fire with fire and they have some potent firepower if they want to use it!
Anthony R. Candela, Author
Saying aloud what should not remain silent.
Books by Tony…
Stand Up Or Sit Out: Memories and Musings Of a Blind Wrestler, Runner, and All-around Regular Guy
A memoir about life lessons learned, especially through sports
Vision Dreams: A Parable
A sci-fi novella about how a dysfunctional society forces people to go to extremes, including four blind people who seek out artificial vision.
More About Tony…
Tony Candela has worked as a Rehabilitation Counselor, supervisor, manager consultant and administrator for more than 40 years in the field of blindness and visual impairment. His work has included promoting literacy and employment of blind persons and a special interest in enhancing the career preparation of blind persons who wish to work in the computer science field. He is a “retired” athlete, loves movies, sports, reading, writing, and music, including dabbling in guitar.