Lysistrata Gender Analysis

An Examination of Gender Perspectives in Lysistrata

In our piece our protagonist, known as Lysistrata rallies a group of women together in order to protest peace. In most demonstrations, protestors march, picket, or boycott, however, our author Aristophanes chooses a medium much more unconventional than what you would hear on the 6 o clock news to convey her intentions. Lysistrata proposes to the women to engage in a ‘sex strike’ where the women will refuse to engage in sexual acts with their husbands until they agree to sign the peace treaty. While the peace treaty is eventually signed, symbolizing the success in Lysistrata’s methods, it has little effect on the perceptions that the opposing genders have on each other. Ultimately, Lysistrata’s

There never seemed to be a sense of choice amongst the individuals in the play. When the women were asked whether or not they would contribute to the sex strike movement, they hesitated and even stated that “[they] couldn’t. No. [just] let the war go on.” (12) The movement moved forward only with Lysistrata’s convincing. Later on in the play, one of the characters proclaims that “[she has] a lot of Milesian wool, and the worms are spoiling it,” (29) which is a reference to getting back to her husband to continue their ‘activities.’ Once again, Lysistrata is tasked with aligning the women, and setting them back on track. Lysistrata is portrayed as a character unlike the female coalition, instead she is seen as a symbol of power and as a leader. As a note, leadership and power roles during this time period were only given to men. She even reiterates this point by identifying that she is “… only a woman, I know; but I’ve a mind, and, I think, not a bad one: I owe it to my father and to listening to the local politicians.” (41) Even Lysistrata herself recognizes that she is superior to the standard woman because of what she’s learned from her dad, and from local politicians who were all men at the time. As a woman, whose smarter than the coalition, she controls the force. The women don’t seem to have agency to pursue their self interests, and therefore were not taking ownership of the issue with their own aspirations. They seem to be affected by group polarization, and just a part of the movement because they were told to do so. Throughout the entirety of the play, the women always remained in this position of lower power, taking commands and orders from someone higher up. In one scene, Lysistrata even commands Myrrhine to: “Give him everything—kissing, ticking, nudging, whatever you generally torture him with…”