# Alyssa Milano calls for "sex strike" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 12, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858 "2019-05-12T17:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/1 "2019-05-12T17:32:16Z")
In response to the Georgia abortion law (this thread is not about that law, but rather, about the sex strike in response) - actress [Alyssa Milano called for a “sex strike” in response.](https://www.clickondetroit.com/entertainment/alyssa-milano-is-calling-for-a-sex-strike-to-protest-strict-abortion-laws?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wdiv4&fbclid=IwAR1pTBtn0is8VAwzcTuwYkAPTvkDhXfApIefIc-vL0iHRx4qOLOefDP4Rhk) It quickly led to criticism, though - some people pointed out that this ‘sex strike’ [implies that sex is something only enjoyed by men and not by women and promotes the notion that sex is something women ‘give’ unhappily and men ‘take’ happily.](https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/12/opinions/alyssa-milano-sex-strike-abortion-drexler/index.html) That, and also, that the majority of men who would be affected by such a ‘sex strike’ probably have little power to do anything about the Georgia abortion law anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/2 "2019-05-12T17:34:13Z")
Edit: Also, I can only imagine that a sex strike would do immense damage to a marriage or relationship. Once a partner decides to bring politics into the bedroom (“I’m not having sex with you until Legislative Bill HB-481 is overturned”) that sex life is surely ruined and any trust or intimacy destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/3 "2019-05-12T17:36:17Z")
Milano should watch out. After all, we men are in the fifth decade of our “withholding our feelings” strike and women show no signs of caving in to our demands. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/4 "2019-05-12T17:36:34Z")
a lot of married women have been on a sex strike for years with a few periods of non strikes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/5 "2019-05-12T17:46:17Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Edit: Also, I can only imagine that a sex strike would do immense damage to a marriage or relationship. Once a partner decides to bring politics into the bedroom (“I’m not having sex with you until Legislative Bill HB-481 is overturned”) that sex life is surely ruined and any trust or intimacy destroyed. Is the converse also true? By supporting HB-481, hasn’t one party brought the bedroom into politics? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/6 "2019-05-12T17:47:07Z")
It’s an old concept. > **[Lysistrata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata)** > > 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 the... ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/7 "2019-05-12T17:49:12Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Is the converse also true? By supporting HB-481, hasn’t one party brought the bedroom into politics? That’s not quite the same - unless someone is denying their partner sex until/unless they support HB-481. You’re talking macro vs. micro. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/8 "2019-05-12T17:49:25Z")
I’d say tweak it to “no penetrative sex” because there’s no form of birth control that’s 100% effective and who needs to take the risk? ---
**Author:** ![LAZombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b38774/32.png) [@LAZombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAZombie)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/9 "2019-05-12T18:01:32Z")
I’m against the weaponization of vaginas. Many years ago the very attractive wife of a Major League baseball player declared that if she ever found out her husband was cheating on her she would have sex with all of his teammates. Most people were bemused, but I found it rather disturbing. The player’s wife, like many other women, instinctively knew the anger and hurt she could inflict by using her sexuality in a way no man can. It triggers an animal like response in men. It’s the type of behavior that is tolerated in western societies but nonetheless destructive. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/10 "2019-05-12T18:06:03Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > I’m against the weaponization of vaginas. I’m against the politicization of uteruses, myself. I don’t see a problem with any Georgia man who supports the new law being treated the way the law treats Georgia women, i.e. “since you weren’t able to keep it in your pants, now you have to take responsibility.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/11 "2019-05-12T18:06:44Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > I’m against the weaponization of vaginas. Better make sure the government denies women full control of them, as anti-choice politicians are trying to do, right? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/12 "2019-05-12T18:14:27Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > That’s not quite the same - unless someone is denying their partner sex until/unless they support HB-481. You’re talking macro vs. micro. You’re using a different point of comparison than I am. My point is that the denial of sex because of HB-481 may be bringing politics into the bedroom, but the existence of HB-481 _already_ has brought the bedroom into politics. Why is it seen as ok to bring the bedroom into politics in this way and expect that nothing in the bedroom would change as a result? 😕 And then to try and cry “no fair” over that change? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/13 "2019-05-12T18:16:19Z")
Is she assuming that all women are pro-choice and all men are pro-life? In fact, both sexes are very nearly evenly split. Nationally, men are 47% pro-choice and 49% pro-life. Women are 48% pro-choice and 47% pro-life. cite: ['Pro-Choice' or 'Pro-Life' Demographic Table](https://news.gallup.com/poll/244709/pro-choice-pro-life-2018-demographic-tables.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/14 "2019-05-12T18:35:07Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Is she assuming that all women are pro-choice and all men are pro-life? In fact, both sexes are very nearly evenly split. Nationally, men are 47% pro-choice and 49% pro-life. Women are 48% pro-choice and 47% pro-life. > > cite: ['Pro-Choice' or 'Pro-Life' Demographic Table](https://news.gallup.com/poll/244709/pro-choice-pro-life-2018-demographic-tables.aspx) That was another criticism of Milano on Facebook - that very likely, the men who would be affected by such a sex strike would be liberal or feminist men who were opposed to the Georgia law anyway (since people tend to marry or date those of similar political views.) ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/15 "2019-05-12T18:37:13Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Is she assuming that all women are pro-choice and all men are pro-life? In fact, both sexes are very nearly evenly split. Nationally, men are 47% pro-choice and 49% pro-life. Women are 48% pro-choice and 47% pro-life. > > cite: ['Pro-Choice' or 'Pro-Life' Demographic Table](https://news.gallup.com/poll/244709/pro-choice-pro-life-2018-demographic-tables.aspx) tl;dr: It’s the poor, old/middle-aged, dumb in the Midwest and Bible Belt. Them again. Mylano is an actress whose decline is far behind who saw an opportunity to raise her notoriety and social status within her social circle by tweeting this non-sense. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/16 "2019-05-12T18:59:45Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > I’m against the weaponization of vaginas. > > Many years ago the very attractive wife of a Major League baseball player declared that if she ever found out her husband was cheating on her she would have sex with all of his teammates. Most people were bemused, but I found it rather disturbing. > > . Wouldn’t it be hilarious if they all refused her advances? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/17 "2019-05-12T19:13:56Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > Many years ago the very attractive wife of a Major League baseball player declared that if she ever found out her husband was cheating on her she would have sex with all of his teammates. Most people were bemused, but I found it rather disturbing. > > The player’s wife, like many other women, instinctively knew the anger and hurt she could inflict by using her sexuality in a way no man can. . I find it disturbing that she apparently assumed they’d all be willing to have sex with her. And what do you mean, ‘in a way no man can’? Why would a man not be capable of trying to take revenge on an unfaithful spouse by having sex with a number of other people? I’d be astonished if this hasn’t happened. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/18 "2019-05-12T19:16:19Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Mylano is an actress whose decline is far behind who saw an opportunity to raise her notoriety and social status within her social circle by tweeting this non-sense. Seriously? You’re gonna go with the golddigger label? :dubious: ETA: I forgot to note the gratuitous misspelling of her name… classy. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/19 "2019-05-12T19:27:02Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I find it disturbing that she apparently assumed they’d all be willing to have sex with her. > > And what do you mean, ‘in a way no man can’? Why would a man not be capable of trying to take revenge on an unfaithful spouse by having sex with a number of other people? I’d be astonished if this hasn’t happened. It’s based on a fear of something **LAZombie** can’t control. Imagine, women asserting boundaries and agency in a relationship; Will they stop at nothing to achieve equality? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858/20 "2019-05-12T19:34:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Seriously? You’re gonna go with the golddigger label? :dubious: > > ETA: I forgot to note the gratuitous misspelling of her name… classy. There’s a few hundred Thelma Lou posts needing a tsktsking… Seriously though, who takes their sex advice from some nutty Hollywood type? I mean, I suppose those in Hollywood are accustomed to the transactional nature of ‘relations’ but I hope that the rest of the nation aren’t quite that calculating when it comes to intimacy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alyssa-milano-calls-for-sex-strike/833858.md?page=2)