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Women are promoting a #SexStrike on Twitter to protest restrictive abortion laws

Actress and activist Alyssa Milano took to Twitter to call for a sex strike.

Photo of Eilish O'Sullivan

Eilish O'Sullivan

alyssa-milano-sex-strike-twitter

Actress and activist Alyssa Milano called on Saturday for a sex strike throughout the nation to protest the ever-restricting laws regarding women’s reproductive rights.

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This past week, Georgia joined the ranks of several other states that have recently outlawed abortion at roughly six weeks with a “heartbeat” bill. The other states include Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Ohio.

“Our reproductive rights are being erased. Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy,” Milano wrote on Twitter. “JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back. I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on.”

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The hashtag quickly gained traction, with women and allies throwing their support behind and joining the movement.

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https://twitter.com/DadoftheDecade/status/1127177029462446082

https://twitter.com/RogueUSMint/status/1127189447219585024

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https://twitter.com/GoldenNympha/status/1126589951791943680

https://twitter.com/AngelaBelcamino/status/1127196447311581185

Lysistrata, the comedic play written by the famed playwright Aristophanes, also began to trend. In the play, women successfully went on their own sex strike to put an end to the Peloponnesian War, 411 BC.

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https://twitter.com/vulpesc0rvum/status/1127185685516050437

But not everyone was behind the idea–with many thinking the logistics surrounding the strike just don’t work out. Or that it also improperly punishes women, which defeats the purpose a bit.

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And of course, there were some who cracked self-deprecating jokes regarding the strike.

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According to Quartz, in 1600, Iroquois women went on a sex strike to successfully end unregulated warfare. In 2003, women went on a sex strike and ended Liberia’s civil war. In 2006, women went on a sex strike and brought down the Colombian city of Pereira’s murder rate. In 2009, Kenyan women went on a sex strike and stabilized the government. In 2011, women in the Philippines went on a sex strike to successfully bring about peace in a Mindanao Island village.

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So, who knows, maybe 2019 is the year American women go on a sex strike to successfully give women control over their own bodies and health.

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The Daily Dot