The feminist sex wars, also known as the lesbian sex wars, or simply the sex wars or porn wars, are terms used to refer to collective debates amongst

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male poi ...

regarding a number of issues broadly relating to sexuality and

sexual activity Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...

. Differences of opinion on matters of sexuality deeply polarized the feminist movement, particularly leading feminist thinkers, in the late 1970s and early 1980s and continue to influence debate 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 Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...

, prostitution,

lesbian sexual practices Lesbian sexual practices are sexual activities involving women who have sex with women, regardless of their sexual orientation. A woman who has sex with another woman may identify as a lesbian if she is sexually attracted to women, or bisexual ...

, the role of

transgender women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and ...

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 1963) as well as the herald of the third wave (which began in the early 1990s).As noted in: * * * * *

Two opposing views

The two sides became labelled

anti-pornography feminists Reasons for opposition to pornography include religious objections and feminist concerns (for specific sectors of feminism), as well as alleged harmful effects, such as pornography addiction. Pornography addiction is not a condition recognized ...

and sex-positive feminists.

Anti-pornography feminists

In 1976

Andrea Dworkin Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26, 1946 – April 9, 2005) was an American radical feminist writer and activist best known for her analysis of pornography. Her feminist writings, beginning in 1974, span 30 years. They are found in a dozen solo ...

organized demonstrations against the film ''

Snuff Snuff may refer to: Tobacco * Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose ** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco ** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste Media and entertainment * Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder Literat ...

''in New York, but attempts to start an organization to continue the feminist anti-pornography campaign failed. Efforts were more successful in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, 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 ''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor qu ...

''. The U.S. anti-pornography movement gained ground with the founding of

Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) was a feminist anti-pornography activist group based in San Francisco and an influential force in the larger feminist anti-pornography movement of the late 1970s and 1980s. History WAVPM was ...

(WAVPM) in 1977 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, following a 1976 conference on

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often con ...

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 Women Against Pornography (WAP) was a radical feminist activist group based out of New York City that was influential in the anti-pornography movement of the late 1970s and the 1980s. WAP was the most well known feminist anti-pornography group out ...

(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 Feminists Fighting Pornography (FFP,Searles, Janis, ''Sexually Explicit Speech and Feminism'', ''Revista Juridica Universidad de Puerto Rico'', vol. 63, p. 471, at p. 488 n. 92 (1994). pronounced /fip/) was a political activist organization against ...

to focus on political activism seeking legal changes to limit the porn industry. Andrea Dworkin and

Catharine MacKinnon Catharine Alice MacKinnon (born October 7, 1946) is an American radical feminist legal scholar, activist, and author. She is the Elizabeth A. Long Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, where she has been tenured since 1990, ...

wanted civil laws restricting pornography and to this end drafted the

Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance The Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance (also known as the Dworkin–MacKinnon Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance or Dworkin–MacKinnon Ordinance) is a name for several proposed local ordinances in the United States and that was closely ass ...

, also known as the ''Dworkin-MacKinnon Ordinance''.

Sex-positive feminists

From 1979 feminist journalist

Ellen Willis Ellen Jane Willis (December 14, 1941 – November 9, 2006) was an American left-wing political essayist, journalist, activist, feminist, and pop music critic. A 2014 collection of her essays, ''The Essential Ellen Willis,'' received the National ...

was one of the early voices criticizing anti-pornography feminists for what she saw as sexual

puritanism The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

, moral

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voti ...

and a threat to

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

. Her 1981 essay, ''Lust Horizons: Is the Women's Movement Pro-Sex?'' is the origin of the term, " pro-sex feminism".Ellen Willis
Lust Horizons: The 'Voice' and the women's movement
''Village Voice'' 50th Anniversary Issue, 2007. This is not the original "Lust Horizons" essay, but a retrospective essay mentioning that essay as the origin of the term. Accessed online 7 July 2007. A lightly revised version of the original "Lust Horizons" essay can be found in ''No More Nice Girls'', pp. 3–14. The response to the anti-pornography strand of feminism by the sex-positive feminists was one that promoted sex as an avenue of pleasure for women, seeing anti-pornography positions assistant aligned to the political right-wing’s war on recreational sex and pornography. Early sex positive groups included

Samois Samois was a lesbian- feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983. It was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States. It took its name from Samois-sur-Seine, the location of the fictional estate of Ann ...

, founded in San Francisco in 1978, whose early members included

Gayle Rubin Gayle S. Rubin (born January 1, 1949 in South Carolina) is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She has written on a range of subjects including feminism, sadomasochism, prostitu ...

and Pat Califia, and the Lesbian Sex Mafia, founded by

Dorothy Allison Dorothy Allison (born April 11, 1949) is an American writer from South Carolina whose writing focuses on class struggle, sexual abuse, child abuse, feminism and lesbianism. She is a self-identified lesbian femme. Allison has won a number of a ...

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 Feminists Against Censorship (FAC) is a large network of women founded in 1989 in the United Kingdom to present the feminist arguments against censorship, particularly of sexual materials, and to defend individual sexual expression. FAC originall ...

formed in the UK, its members including Avedon Carol; and

Feminists for Free Expression Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that socie ...

formed in the United States in 1992 by Marcia Pally, with founding members including

Nadine Strossen Nadine Strossen (born August 18, 1950) is an American civil liberties activist who was president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from February 1991 to October 2008. A liberal feminist, she was the first woman to ever lead the ACLU. A ...

Joan Kennedy Taylor Joan Kennedy Taylor (December 21, 1926 – October 29, 2005) was an American journalist, author, editor, public intellectual, and political activist. She is best known for her advocacy of individualist feminism and for her role in the develo ...

, Veronica Vera and Candida Royalle.

Key events

In October 1980 the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

identified what became known as the "Big Four" through declaring that "

Pederasty Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and an ...

, pornography, sadomasochism and

public sex __NOTOC__ Public sex is sexual activity that takes place in a public context. It refers to one or more persons performing a sex act in a public place, or in a private place that can be viewed from a public place. Such a private place may be ...

" 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

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 Feminist views on pornography range from total condemnation of the medium as an inherent form of violence against women to an embracing of some forms as a medium of feminist expression. This debate reflects larger concerns surrounding feminist vi ...

was its predecessor, lesbian feminism. Anti-pornography movements developed from fundamental arguments displayed by lesbianism, such as the notion of patriarchal sexual relations.

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'',

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 Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...

portrayal of women.

Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the ...

summarized the view of anti-pornography feminists that pornography and

are linked in her statement, "pornography is the theory, rape is the practice". 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'',

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 Wendy McElroy (born 1951) is a Canadian individualist feminist and voluntaryist writer. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner and George H. Smith of ''The Voluntaryist'' magazine in 1982 and is the author of a number of books. 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.Ferguson, A. 1984. "Sex War: The Debate between Radical and Libertarian Feminists." ''Chicago Journals''. 10 (1): 106–112. 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 BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

practices took place in San Francisco.

(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

, seeing it as ritualized violence against women and opposed its practice within the lesbian community. In 1978

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 Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

, 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. The women in the anti-pornography camp 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 Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to volun ...

, viewing prostitution as not inherently based on the exploitation of women.

Carol Leigh Carol Leigh (January 11, 1951 – November 16, 2022), also known as The Scarlot Harlot, was an American artist, author, filmmaker, and sex workers' rights activist. She is credited with coining the term ''sex work'' and founded the ''Sex Worker ...

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".

Effects

The polarization of feminist ideology during the sex wars has had wide-ranging effects. Examples include, according to Liu (2011), "The confusion in the interpretation of the definition of human trafficking is a consequence of opposing feminist views on prostitution."Preview.
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Third-wave feminists' views

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.

References

External links

"Charges of Exclusion & McCarthyism at Barnard Conference"
by Tacie Dejanikus, ''

off our backs ''Off Our Backs'' (stylized in all lowercase; ''oob'') was an American radical feminist periodical that ran from 1970 to 2008. It began publishing on February 27, 1970, with a twelve-page tabloid first issue. From 2002 the editors adapted it i ...

'' 12(6), June 30, 1982.
"The Context of 'Between Pleasure and Danger': The Barnard Conference on Sexuality"
by Elizabeth Wilson, ''Feminist Review'' 13:35–52, Spring 1983.
"The Feminist Sexuality Debates" by Ann Ferguson et al
'' Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society'' 10(1),
"Lesbian Sex Mafia ('L S/M') Speakout"
by Fran Moira, ''

'' 12(6), June 30, 1982.
"Lesbian History: The Sex Wars"
by Esther Newton and others,

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

.
"Lesbian Sex Wars"
by Elise Chenier, ''glbtq'', 2004.
Sex Wars Revisted
Laura Guy on the role of ''

On Our Backs ''On Our Backs'' was the first women-run erotica magazine and the first magazine to feature lesbian erotica for a lesbian audience in the United States. It ran from 1984 to 2006. Origin The magazine was first published in 1984 by Debi Sundahl ...

'' for ''Aperture'' {{Human sexuality Feminism and sexuality History of women's rights in the United States LGBT terminology Ideological rivalry Feminism and history Sex-positive feminism Second-wave feminism Radical feminism