Political and economic sanctions may not have dissuaded Russia from annexing Crimea, but a group of Ukrainian women have called for a different kind of embargo: no sex for Russian men…. “Don’t give it to a Russian,” is the name of the campaign, which aims to throw cold water on Moscow’s appetite for Ukrainian territory and draw attention to its actions in Crimea. The campaign was launched on Facebook after Russia officially added the Black Sea peninsula to its map, brushing off international fury and fanning fears of further intervention in Russian-speaking parts of the former Soviet country…. “You need to fight the enemy in every way you can,” organisers urge fellow patriotic women on their website.
Yeah, I know; the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. There may be truth in that, but if you want to persuade a man to do (or not do) something, you’re going to have to head further south. Being a guy, this is a subject I believe I can speak to with some authority. After all (here comes a mildly embarrassing college story), I’m the same guy who allowed a woman to employ her “skills” on me because she wanted me to do her laundry. I’m not ashamed to admit I washed AND folded her laundry.
As a proud Penis-American, I’m well aware of the perils of thinking with the wrong head. Anyone possessed of a penis who claims they’re not prone to this shortcoming is probably a Fundamentalist preacher deep in the throes of denial (and self-denial). If you have a penis, it will on occasion lead you down a path you not otherwise travel. You (or may not) regret it later, but we’ve all done it. It’s what happens when a guy discovers how much fun having a penis can lead to.
The downside is that a Vagina-American so inclined can use that weakness against us. Hey, I traded nookie for laundry, so I know just how pathetic (and thoroughly enjoyable) it can be. Those Penis-Americans lacking the self-awareness to realize (or are too desperate to care) how their “gift” might be misused or manipulated leave themselves vulnerable. The possibility of “benefits” to follow may mean making decisions based on whether or not the female of the species might bestow certain “favors” upon them.
“We tried to make it provocative because it attracts attention,” admits Irena Karpa, a Ukrainian writer, blogger and musician.
“The deeper true meaning is do not give away your dignity, your freedom, your motherland. It is more about (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his policies, it is not racist,” she told AFP, acknowledging that ethnic Russians had taken part in the street revolt that ousted pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych in February.
The campaign was started by a group of “accomplished” women, said Karpa, including business owners, journalists and writers.
She said the phrase “don’t give it to a Russian” is a modern version of a line in one of the works of hugely popular Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko: “Fall in love, O dark-browed maidens, but not with the Moskaly (Russians).”
Employing a strategy first used in Lysistrata, the “Don’t give it to a Russian” campaign is a protest against Russian aggression in Ukraine. Whether it will be successful in removing Russian boots from Ukrainian soil remains to be seen, but there will undoubtedly be many Russian men in desperate need of “relief.”
The Ukrainian activists join a long line of women from Liberia, Kenya, Togo, Colombia and other countries who have in the past tried to use sex boycotts to sway men from the path of war.
The tradition dates all the way back to ancient Greece and Aristophanes’s play “Lysistrata”, in which women refuse to sleep with their men until they end the Peloponnesian war.
The women taking part in the campaign are using a tool that hits men where they live. Using sex as a weapon is a time-honored tradition most often employed in hopes of convincing men to end war. Denying sex might not change the political reality on the ground, but if enough women play along, you can bet there will be a lot of very frustrated Russian men in Ukraine. If nothing else, morale will suffer, and Russian men, never renowned for their respectful ways when it comes to the fairer sex, might gain a better appreciation for what they previously took for granted.
If a woman can use the power of sex to manipulate a man into doing laundry, who knows what else she might be able to accomplish?
