Feminist sex wars
The late 1970s and early 1980s witnessed a profound and often acrimonious ideological split within the feminist movement, a period now known as the Feminist Sex Wars. At its core, this schism involved fervent debates over sexuality itself—its meaning, its liberation, and its potential for exploitation. This intellectual battle didn't just reshape feminism; it laid critical groundwork for how we understand sexual politics and women's agency today. The "Feminist Sex Wars" deeply divided feminists into "anti-pornography" and "sex-positive" camps, clashing over issues like pornography, prostitution, and BDSM. Anti-pornography feminists viewed certain sexual expressions as inherently objectifying and harmful, advocating for strong legal and social restrictions. Sex-positive feminists championed sexual autonomy and pleasure, warning against censorship and seeing anti-pornography stances as aligning with conservative moralizing.
AI Summary
The late 1970s and early 1980s witnessed a profound and often acrimonious ideological split within the feminist movement, a period now known as the Feminist Sex Wars. At its core, this schism involved fervent debates over sexuality itself—its meaning, its liberation, and its potential for exploitation. This intellectual battle didn't just reshape feminism; it laid critical groundwork for how we understand sexual politics and women's agency today.
- The "Feminist Sex Wars" deeply divided feminists into "anti-pornography" and "sex-positive" camps, clashing over issues like pornography, prostitution, and BDSM.
- Anti-pornography feminists viewed certain sexual expressions as inherently objectifying and harmful, advocating for strong legal and social restrictions.
- Sex-positive feminists championed sexual autonomy and pleasure, warning against censorship and seeing anti-pornography stances as aligning with conservative moralizing.
The Feminist Sex Wars: A Defining Schism
Imagine a profound ideological earthquake shaking a movement dedicated to liberation—that's what the Feminist Sex Wars were. From the late 1970s into the early 1980s, feminism found itself deeply polarized over fundamental questions about sexuality. This intense period of debate wasn't just a squabble; it reshaped the very trajectory of the women's movement, marking the decline of second-wave feminism and signaling the rise of the third wave.
Two Opposing Philosophies
At the heart of the conflict were two distinct philosophies that carved the feminist landscape into opposing camps: the 'anti-pornography feminists' and the 'sex-positive feminists.' These groups clashed fiercely on nearly every issue relating to sexual expression, from pornography and prostitution to lesbian sexual practices and sadomasochism. Their disagreements touched upon what truly constituted freedom and empowerment for women.
The Anti-Pornography Stance
The anti-pornography movement gained early momentum through passionate activism. In 1976, figures like Andrea Dworkin organized demonstrations against films like 'Snuff,' which was widely perceived as glorifying violence against women. Soon, organizations like Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) and Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) emerged, campaigning against misogynistic portrayals, including the controversial cover of the Rolling Stones' 'Black and Blue' album.
The movement quickly escalated, leading to the first national conference on pornography in San Francisco in 1978, which also featured the inaugural 'Take Back the Night' march. This galvanized further organizing, including the formation of Women Against Pornography (WAP) in New York. The ultimate goal for many, like Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon, was to enact legal changes, culminating in their groundbreaking Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance, which sought to define pornography as a violation of women's civil rights.
Central to the anti-pornography argument was the belief that pornography, by its very nature, is inherently harmful and deeply misogynistic. Andrea Dworkin famously argued in 'Pornography: Men Possessing Women' that its core theme is male dominance, causing profound damage both in its production and its consumption. This sentiment was powerfully summarized by Robin Morgan's stark declaration: 'pornography is the theory, rape is the practice.'
Catharine MacKinnon, a prominent legal scholar, contended that patriarchy was the root cause of sexual exploitation, asserting that legal action was essential to hold exploiters accountable. This contrasted sharply with Michel Foucault's perspective that sexuality is a social construct, implying that legal fixes alone might not address deeply embedded societal issues. Scholar Susan J. Brison later proposed that a combination of these ideologies—addressing institutional problems with targeted legal action—might offer a more comprehensive solution.
The Sex-Positive Counter-Movement
Challenging these views, a 'pro-sex' or 'sex-positive' feminism began to coalesce, with journalist Ellen Willis as a pioneering voice. From 1979, Willis criticized anti-pornography feminists for what she saw as sexual puritanism, moral authoritarianism, and a dangerous threat to free speech. Her 1981 essay, 'Lust Horizons: Is the Women's Movement Pro-Sex?', is credited with coining the term 'pro-sex feminism,' advocating for sex as a realm of pleasure and liberation for women.
This counter-movement saw the anti-pornography stance as ironically aligning with the political right-wing's efforts to restrict recreational sex and pornography. Early sex-positive groups like Samois, founded in San Francisco in 1978, and the Lesbian Sex Mafia, formed in New York in 1981, championed diverse sexual practices. Later, organizations like the Feminist Anti-Censorship Taskforce (FACT) emerged in direct response to proposed ordinances like Dworkin-MacKinnon, advocating vigorously for free expression.
Sex-positive feminists often argued that sexual liberation was a fundamental feminist goal. Gayle Rubin proposed the necessity of a theory of sexuality distinct from traditional feminism, while Wendy McElroy contended that the benefits pornography could offer women far outweighed any disadvantages. Philosopher Amin R. Yacoub further extended this, arguing for the ethical defense of sex work and the autonomy of those within the industry, viewing consensual work as a potential avenue for empowerment against patriarchal structures.
Unpacking the Debates
The ideological clashes weren't abstract; they unfolded in tangible events and public discourse. In October 1980, the National Organization for Women controversially declared certain sexual practices—pederasty, pornography, sadomasochism, and public sex—as issues of 'exploitation, violence or invasion of privacy,' not 'sexual preference.' One of the most iconic clashes occurred at the 1982 Barnard Conference on Sexuality, where anti-pornography feminists, excluded from planning, staged powerful rallies outside.
The Pornography Debate Deepens
The pornography debate became a central battleground, drawing heavily from lesbian feminist ideas. Anti-pornography feminists argued that pornography reflected and reinforced patriarchal sexual relations, which they saw as fundamentally based on male power and coercion. From this perspective, pornography was exclusively created by and for men, shaping a misogynistic paradigm for all sexual interactions, thus undermining women's autonomy and true sexual connection.
Modern discussions on pornography continue to evolve, with critiques extending to its financial structures, such as paywalls. While intended to protect minors, critics like Jackie O’Brien argue these barriers can inadvertently disempower sex workers by diverting profits to companies or leading to unauthorized distribution. This highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing public protection with safeguarding the rights and autonomy of women in the industry, often without addressing the deeper structural issues.
The Sadomasochism Controversy
Another deeply divisive issue was sadomasochism and BDSM practices. WAVPM, steadfast in its aim to end all portrayals of women being degraded for sexual stimulation, vehemently opposed BDSM, even within the lesbian community, viewing it as ritualized violence. In stark contrast, organizations like Samois formed to advocate for women in the BDSM community, asserting that their sexual practices were entirely consistent with feminist principles. However, some black lesbian feminists, including Audre Lorde and Alice Walker, condemned sadomasochism as often being a racist practice, insensitive to the historical experiences of black women.
The Prostitution Divide
The debate over prostitution mirrored the broader split. Anti-pornography feminists often argued that prostitution was inherently exploitative, a practice forced upon women lacking other economic alternatives. Sex-positive feminists, however, pushed back against this blanket condemnation, asserting that it ignored the agency of women who chose sex work. As Carol Leigh observed, while the prostitutes' rights movement evolved from the women's movement, the feminist community itself remained deeply ambivalent about sex work.
Further analysis, like that from Jessica R. Piley and Anne Gray Fisher, revealed how this debate often overlooked the experiences of marginalized communities. They argued that dominant feminist attempts to end prostitution, particularly through collaborations with law enforcement, disproportionately targeted Black, impoverished, and LGBTQ+ sex workers. Conversely, proposed legalization strategies often seemed to primarily benefit white, affluent, and educated women, illustrating a pervasive class and race bias within the discourse.
Enduring Impacts and New Perspectives
The polarization from the Sex Wars had far-reaching consequences, extending beyond the feminist movement itself. It contributed to persistent confusion in defining issues like human trafficking, often conflating consensual sex work with exploitation. It also cast a chilling effect on fields like sexology and sex therapy during the 1970s and 80s, forcing them to maintain a 'low profile' due to attacks from both social conservatives and anti-pornography feminists.
Yet, the Feminist Sex Wars also inspired powerful artistic and activist responses. The Canadian lesbian art collective Kiss & Tell, for instance, explicitly drew from these debates in their 1994 book 'Her Tongue on My Theory' and their 'Drawing the Line' exhibition. This exhibition displayed photographs of lesbian sexual practices, inviting women viewers to write their responses directly on the walls, literally bringing these contentious debates into a physical, interactive space.
Third Wave Reimagining
As the feminist movement evolved into its third wave, a shift in perspective emerged. Third-wave feminists often embraced more personal and individualized views on issues like pornography and sadomasochism, moving beyond the rigid, polarized positions of the past. Critics like Teresa de Lauretis saw the sex wars not as a definitive split, but as reflecting an inherent diversity within feminism, a movement that could encompass conflicting drives and perspectives. Jana Sawicki further argued for a 'third way,' rejecting both moral dogmatism and uncritical libertarianism.
Beyond the immediate battle lines, some socialist feminists, like Sheila Rowbotham, emphasized that women's liberation was intrinsically tied to broader societal transformation—the demolition of capitalism. This perspective highlighted the need to reconsider fundamental aspects of life, including sex, love, housework, and childrearing, as crucial sites for challenging patriarchal structures. The Sex Wars, in essence, became a catalyst for a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how power, pleasure, and politics intersect in women's lives.
Article
Feminist sex wars
The feminist sex wars, also known as the lesbian sex wars, sex wars, or porn wars, are collective debates amongst feminists regarding a number of issues broadly relating to sexuality and sexual activity. Differences of opinion on matters of sexuality deeply polarized the feminist movement. The debates took place between leading feminist thinkers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continue to influence debates amongst feminists to this day.
The sides were characterized by anti-porn feminist and sex-positive feminist groups with disagreements regarding sexuality, including pornography, erotica, prostitution, lesbian sexual practices, the role of transgender women in the lesbian community, sadomasochism and other sexual matters. The feminist movement was deeply divided as a result of these debates. Many historians view the feminist sex wars as having been the end of the second-wave feminist era (which began c. 1963) as well as the herald of the third wave (which began in the early 1990s).
Two opposing views
Feminist sex wars
The two sides became labelled anti-pornography feminists and sex-positive feminists. The former believed that pornography objectified women, while the latter argued that sexuality was a physical exchange of pleasure that should not be censored or restricted.
Anti-pornography feminists
In 1976, Andrea Dworkin organized demonstrations against the film Snuff in New York, but attempts to start an organization to continue the feminist anti-pornography campaign failed. Efforts were more successful in Los Angeles, where Women Against Violence Against Women was founded in response to Snuff in 1976; they campaigned against the Rolling Stones' 1976 album Black and Blue. The U.S. anti-pornography movement gained ground with the founding of Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) in 1977 in San Francisco, following a 1976 conference on violence against women held by local women's centers. Early members included Susan Griffin, Kathleen Barry, and Laura Lederer.
WAVPM organised the first national conference on pornography in San Francisco in 1978 which included the first Take Back the Night march. The conference led to anti-pornography feminists organizing in New York in 1979 under the banner of Women Against Pornography (WAP), and to similar organizations and efforts being created across the United States. In 1983, Page Mellish, a one-time member of WAVPM and of WAP, founded Feminists Fighting Pornography to focus on political activism seeking legal changes to limit the porn industry. Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon wanted civil laws restricting pornography and to this end drafted the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance, also known as the Dworkin–MacKinnon Ordinance.
In her article Can We End the Feminist ‘Sex Wars’ Now? Comments on Linda Martín Alcoff, Rape and Resistance: Understanding the Complexities of Sexual Violation, Susan J. Brison explores the varying opinions of Catherine MacKinnon and Michel Foucault. MacKinnon states that the patriarchy is to blame for issues like exploitation and sex trafficking. She further claims that men hold authority, and the way to overcome this is to take legal action and hold the exploiters accountable. Foucault argues that sexuality is a social construct. Opposing MacKinnon's argument, legal action does not work if the issue is deeply rooted in the structure of society. According to Brison, combining these two ideologies could potentially end feminist sex wars once and for all. Addressing the institutional issues while applying appropriate legal action would create a more feminist way to help affected sex workers.
Sex-positive feminists
The terms pro-sex feminism and, later, sex-positive feminism were inspired by Ellen Willis.
From 1979, feminist journalist Ellen Willis was one of the early voices criticizing anti-pornography feminists for what she saw as sexual puritanism, moral authoritarianism and a threat to free speech. Her 1981 essay, Lust Horizons: Is the Women's Movement Pro-Sex? is the origin of the term, "pro-sex feminism". In response to the anti-pornography strand of feminism, sex-positive feminists promoted sex as an avenue of pleasure for women, seeing anti-pornography positions as aligned to the political right-wing's war on recreational sex and pornography. Early sex positive groups included Samois, founded in San Francisco in 1978, whose early members included Gayle Rubin and Pat Califia, and the Lesbian Sex Mafia, founded by Dorothy Allison and Jo Arnone in New York in 1981. The Feminist Anti-Censorship Taskforce (FACT) was set up in 1984 by Ellen Willis in response to the Dworkin–MacKinnon Ordinance; in 1989 Feminists Against Censorship formed in the UK, its members including Avedon Carol; and Feminists for Free Expression formed in the United States in 1992 by Marcia Pally, with founding members including Nadine Strossen, Joan Kennedy Taylor, Veronica Vera and Candida Royalle. Philosopher Amin R. Yacoub argues that defending sex work and the autonomy of those in the industry is the ethical thing to do. This view continues to claim that as long as the work is consensual, this form of work is legitimate with a positive consequence of fighting the patriarchy. Advocating for the rights of those in the industry gives them potential for autonomy and empowerment.
Key events
Feminist sex wars
In October 1980, the National Organization for Women identified what became known as the "Big Four" through declaring that "Pederasty, pornography, sadomasochism and public sex" were about "exploitation, violence or invasion of privacy" and not "sexual preference or orientation". One of the more memorable clashes between the pro-sex and anti-porn feminists occurred at the 1982 Barnard Conference on Sexuality. Anti-pornography feminists were excluded from the events’ planning committee, so they staged rallies outside the conference to show their disdain.
Debates
Feminist sex wars
The two sides of the feminist sex wars clashed over a number of issues, resulting in intense debates held both in person and in various media.
Pornography debate
Toward the end of the 1970s, much of the discourse in the feminist movement shifted from the discussion of lesbian feminism to focus on the new topic of sexuality. One of the primary concerns with sexuality was the issue of pornography, which caused a great divide among feminists. The two recognized sides of the debate were anti-pornography feminism and "pro-sex" feminism. One of the major influences of anti-pornography feminism was its predecessor, lesbian feminism. Anti-pornography movements developed from fundamental arguments displayed by lesbianism, such as the notion of patriarchal sexual relations. Ellen Willis described these relations as being "based on male power backed by force." From this perspective, pornography is created exclusively for men by men and is a direct reflection of the man-dominant paradigm surrounding sexual relations. Another idea taken from lesbian feminism by anti-pornography groups was that sexuality is about creating a compassionate bond and a lasting relation with another person, contrary to the belief of the purely physical nature of sex.
In her book, Pornography: Men Possessing Women, Andrea Dworkin argued that the theme of pornography is male dominance and as a result it is intrinsically harmful to women and their well-being. Dworkin believed that pornography is not only damaging in its production but also in its consumption, since the viewer will mentally internalize pornography's misogynistic portrayal of women. Robin Morgan summarized the view of anti-pornography feminists that pornography and violence against women are linked in her statement, "pornography is the theory, rape is the practice".
Jackie O’Brien criticizes the use of paywalls in the pornography industry. Pornography filters possibly take away autonomy from the sex workers. Their profits go to the companies they work for, which potentially means exploitation. However, a consequence is that the content from the sex workers gets used and distributed by third parties or private platforms. The content barricade does not address the structural roots of the issues in the porn industry. Anything surrounding this argument comes with nuance. It is difficult to find a middle ground between protecting the public from explicit content while protecting the rights of women in the industry.
The anti-pornography movement has been criticised by sex-positive feminists as a repression of sexuality and a move towards censorship. In her article, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality, Gayle Rubin characterizes sex liberation as a feminist goal and denounces the idea that anti-pornography feminists speak collectively for all of feminism. She offers the notion that what is needed is a theory of sexuality separate from feminism. In XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography, Wendy McElroy summarizes the sex-positive perspective as "the benefits pornography provides to women far outweigh any of its disadvantages".
The pornography debate among radical and libertarian feminists has focused on the depictions of female sexuality in relation to male sexuality in this type of media. Radical feminists emphasize that pornography illustrates objectification and normalization of sexual violence through presentation of specific acts. In contrast, libertarian feminists are concerned with the stigmatization of sexual minorities and the limited right to practice sexual choice that would be hindered without pornography.
Sadomasochism debate
The main focus of the sex wars' debate on sadomasochism and other BDSM practices took place in San Francisco. Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) was founded there in 1977. Its first political action was to picket a live show at a strip club featuring women performing sadomasochistic acts on each other, in line with its stated aim to end all portrayals of women being "bound, raped, tortured, killed or degraded for sexual stimulation or pleasure". As well as campaigning against pornography, WAVPM were also strongly opposed to BDSM, seeing it as ritualized violence against women and opposed its practice within the lesbian community. In 1978 Samois was formed, an organization for women in the BDSM community who saw their sexual practices as consistent with feminist principles. Several black lesbian feminists have written on this topic, including Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, Darlene Pagano, Karen Sims, and Rose Mason, condemning sadomasochism as an often racist practice, insensitive to the black female experience.
Prostitution debate
Another debate of the feminist sex wars centered on prostitution. Those who were opposed to pornography likewise argued against prostitution, claiming it is forced on women who have no alternatives. Meanwhile, sex-positive feminists argued that this position ignored the agency of women who chose sex work, viewing prostitution as not inherently based on the exploitation of women. Carol Leigh notes that "The Prostitutes rights movement of the early 1970s evolved directly from the women's movement", but adds: "The women's movement in the U.S. has always been ambivalent about prostitutes".
In her article The Sex Wars: Prostitution, Carceral Feminists, and the Consolidation of Police Power, Jessica R. Piley explains dominant feminists and how they tried to end prostitution for good. These feminists collaborated with law enforcement. In Sex Work and the Law, Anne Gray Fisher reframes the debate in terms of socioeconomic class, coming to the conclusion that although feminists on both sides of the debate had noble intentions to end the dangers of sex work, neither addressed the problems faced by marginalized communities. In Fisher's view, enforcement of anti-prostitution laws especially targeted Black, impoverished, and LGBT sex workers, while legalization strategies have primarily served to benefit white, affluent, and educated women.
Effects
Feminist sex wars
The polarization of feminist ideology during the sex wars has had wide-ranging effects. Examples include: "The confusion in the interpretation of the definition of human trafficking is a consequence of opposing feminist views on prostitution."
According to New Directions in Sex Therapy, the fields of sexology and sex therapy were made to keep a "low profile" during the 1970s and 1980s due to attacks from social conservatives and anti-pornography feminists.
The Feminist Sex Wars were a source of inspiration for the Canadian lesbian art collective Kiss & Tell. In 1994, the collective wrote a book called Her Tongue on My Theory: Images, Essays and Fantasies, which explored the debates surrounding this topic, specifically as they affected the censorship of queer art in Canada. Kiss & Tell's Vancouver exhibition Drawing the Line (1988-1990) also addressed the Feminist Sex War debates by presenting 98 photographs of lesbian sexual practices. Women viewers of the exhibition were invited to write their responses on the walls surrounding the images, bringing the debates to life in a physical space.
Third-wave feminists' views
Feminist sex wars
Third-wave feminist writings promote personal, individualized views on the gender-related issues focused on during the feminist sex wars, such as prostitution, pornography and sadomasochism. Items such as sex objects and porn, identified by some second-wave feminists as instruments of oppression are now no longer being exclusively used by men but also by women. Feminist critic Teresa de Lauretis sees the sex wars not in terms of polarized sides but as reflecting a third wave feminism inherently embodying difference, which may include conflicting and competing drives. Meanwhile, critic Jana Sawicki rejects both the polarized positions, seeking a third way that is neither morally dogmatic nor uncritically libertarian.
Sheila Rowbotham and the other socialist feminists who dominated the British women's movement saw women's liberation as inextricably linked to the demolition of capitalism. But it also required—and this is where they diverged from the Old Guard—a reconsideration of common patterns of life, such as sex, love, housework, and childrearing.