Anti-Woman = Anti-Sex

I remember laughing at the Monica Lewinsky hysterics back in 1998 and wondering if any of them realized just how obvious they were. Apparently none of them had a friend close enough to say "Honey, all that red-faced screeching at the mere mention of a blow job does make you seem to be taking this a bit personally."

But amidst all our snorting over the what's-a-little-cocksucking-between-friends jokes we never imagined that these people really are anti-sex and dead fucking serious about it.

Much less what it would mean for the sexual revolution we thought we'd won in the '60s.

Digby:

Sarah Posner's profile of the most important right wing anti-feminist you've never heard of is must read. I think Phyllis Schlaffly may have found her successor:

SNIP

Some people have been making the case that the abortion wars were never about "life" from the beginning. It was a very specific marketing decision to pit adorable innocent babies against selfish, immoral bitches who spawned them. But it was always about the sex. And now they are emboldened to make their real argument.

Alvaré and her cohorts might seem absurd — after all, having sex isn’t like jumping out of an airplane — but in conservative circles, both academic and political, her views are given currency. She contends that what she calls “sexuality-ism” — essentially, sexual freedom — is “the most pronounced opponent of religious freedom right now.” But, she adds, with both honesty and portent: “Who is the biggest opponent of sexuality-ism? It’s us.”

Read the whole thing. It's actually quite bracing. The years of fighting against being portrayed as heartless baby killers has demoralized many feminists and made them forget what these people really care about. It's a testament to the power of the propaganda --- and women's primal understanding of and sensitivity toward their role in human reproduction --- that this has worked so well in spite of the obvious hypocrisy. After all, these are the same people who believe that there should be no food, shelter, health or education guarantee for actual children, which should give the game away.

It's long past time we put away the sanctimony about "life" and got down to the real argument. Are women fully human or aren't they? Do they have the right to physical pleasure, personal freedom, bodily autonomy or don't they? Historically the answer has usually been no, or at best, a very qualified yes. We have begun to think differently these last few decades and some people don't like it, which is what this is really all about. I'm happy to see it out in the open. Now we can have a fair fight.