Fight For Gender Protest In Lysistrata, By Aristophanes

In the play Lysistrata, Aristophanes chooses an unconventional medium of protest to symbolize his female characters’ fight for gender equality. The protagonist known as Lysistrata rallies together a group of women in order to stop the ongoing war. In doing so she employs the idea of a ‘sex strike’ which involves the women refusing sexual acts with their husbands until they agree to sign the peace treaty. I will argue that while Lysistrata’s plan to suffocate the men with a sex strike succeeds in ending the war, it fails to invoke a shift in the views the opposing genders have due to sexual desires, a system of patriarchy, and gender stereotypes. The idea of sexual desires undoubtedly imposes an effect on the men’s ability to rationalize

The men seem to have only one thing on their mind as a result of the sex strike and it is to have sex with their wives again. In fact, one of the male characters Kinesias wonders “where [he] can get laid,” (Aristophanes, 37) after his wife teases him and leaves him sexually frustrated. Although it initially seems that he is seeking his wife in order to help with their baby and the household, the audience is quickly delivered the message that he really doesn’t care that much about those factors. Take for example, when the baby is taken away and he says “He’s gone. Come on! There’s nothing to stop us now [from having sex].” (35) The message about Kinesias’ motives here appear to be that he has no care for the wellbeing of anything other than for his sexual needs to be fulfilled. For instance, he is willing to do anything it takes to have sex, even if it means giving the baby away to Manes or having sex without a mattress in public. We see a similar fixation on relieving sexual tensions in the Reconciliation scene when Lysistrata uses a statue of a beautiful woman to entice the men. It is at this

For example, the women in the play seem to chalk up their power as a result of their sexuality. In fact, the whole protest is based on the fact that a woman’s sexual offerings is the only attribute they have which can invoke change. Lysistrata claims that “[if we] just sit snug in our thinnest gowns, perfumed and powdered from top to bottom,” (12) then the coalition would be irresistible to the men. Lysistrata’s plan epitomizes how women are seen as visual objects to the men, and not people who can hold positions of power, or make decisions in the government. Furthermore, the women saw themselves as guardians of the household with responsibilities such as “… a husband, a cook, a child,” (9) and when Lysistrata brought up idea of the sex strike, Kalonike was in complete disbelief. She wondered, “How can women do a thing so austere, so political? We belong at home. Our only armor’s our perfumes, our saffron dresses, and our pretty little shoes.” (10) Here it is suggested that even the women viewed themselves as persons who were supposed to stay at home, and not be involved in political matters. Ultimately, the protest’s nature of using a woman’s beauty reinforces a set of stereotypes which appear to work against any hope for gender perceptions to change. This would be