its lit
Though some people view conservatism as being synonymous with the past, the ancients were actually, in some ways, more liberal in regards to sexuality. While sexuality was viewed as a predominantly male attribute, both in ancient and present times, Aristophanes asserts that women are just as sexual as men. In the Lysistrata, Aristophanes sexualizes both genders, more specifically wives, in a way never seen before in that time period. Even for today's standard, the way that the characters of the text spoke about sex would be seen as crude and unbecoming. The sexuality of [women is hard to miss when Calonice professes, "ANYTHING else for me, I'd walk through fire, but to do without a dick? Be serious! There's nothing, Lysistrata, like a dick"(Aristophanes 27). Calonice's equivocation of celibacy as being worse than walking on fire demonstrates the power that sex has over the women. The men in the text express similar dramatics about the impact of celibacy. When Cinesias whines, "The food has got no taste for me. All I feel is dick" (Aristophanes 57). Aristophanes suggests that both men and women are equal in their dependence on sex and by doing so asserts that women, despite societal expectations, are not pure and desexualized beings.
Aristophanes, through the effectiveness of the women's sex strike, demonstrates both human dependence on physical pleasure and the political power of women, even in the ancient times. This idea that political changes can be influenced by the withholding of sex has changed many Lysistrata inspired protest and reenactments. For example, on March 3, 2003, a group called "The Lysistrata Project", in response to the Iraq War, put on thousands of reading of the play around the world. The readings of the play were supposed to demonstrate the often senselessness of war and encourage as many people as possible to voice their disapproval of the conflict. Literature from the ancient world gives insight into the opinions of the past, but it also inspires real world movements and demonstrations.
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