Following the introduction of Texas' draconian abortion bill, celebrities have campaigned for a 'Sex Strike' in protest, sparking backlash.
Last week, actress Bette Midler tweeted: "I suggest that all women refuse to have sex with men until they are guarantee the right to choose by Congress."
Numerous people supported Midler's call to action, as the tweet received over 22,000 retweets and 108,000 likes.
Nancy Sinatra also chimed in with support, replying: "My father (Frank) actually suggested that decades ago."
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Midler is passionate about abortion rights, writing in a separate post: "This isn't about guns, speech, money, or war. It's about women, their lives, their bodies, and their autonomy."
However, as many have explained, Midler's 'Sex Strike' is both exclusive and undermines women's rights by trading them for sex.
Becca Rea-Holloway, who runs the account The Sweet Feminist on Instagram, shared her thoughts on why the 'Sex Strike' is "garbage".
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She wrote: "Our rights are not premised on having or not having sex, but rather they should be given to us on the basis of equality and morality."
Additionally, Rea-Holloway says the sex strike excludes people who have sex with non-binary people or people of other genders, as well as ignoring that men are not the only ones who enjoy sex.
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"I'm not going to give up my orgasms/intimacy/pleasure because of anti-abortion zealots. This plays directly into their ideas of purity and control," she added.
The abortion bill, dubbed SB8, is extremely restrictive and came into effect on Wednesday September 1 and will prevent women from terminating their pregnancies after just six weeks.
All abortions are banned after six weeks, regardless of circumstance, even in cases of incest and rape. Many women don't know they're pregnant at six weeks, with the bill affecting a large number of women.
The bill will also target abortion providers and anyone else, including Uber drivers, who help a woman access an abortion past six weeks. Planned Parenthood estimate at least 85-90 per cent of women access abortion after six weeks.
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This is not the first time a celebrity has suggested a 'Sex Strike', with Alyssa Milano, known for her #MeToo activism, suggesting the same thing back in 2019.
Her 'Sex Strike' also sparked backlash for similar reasons, with critics saying that abstaining from sex in fact plays right into the hands of Conservative lawmakers who want to control women's bodies and sexuality.
The 'Sex Strike' is based on Lysistrata, a play from Ancient Greece where women denied sex to men until they ended a war between nation states.
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