Julia Fox says she won’t have sex until US women get their rights back
Last week, Bumble decried celibacy in a controversial billboard ad that had many netizens, including Julia Fox, admit that they’ve been happily celibate for many years. “2.5 years of celibacy and never been better tbh,” the former dominatrix replied to a post of the ad.
Appearing as a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the 34-year-old was then poked about her stance on abstinence. “I just think nothing good comes from having sex,” Fox replied, joking that this includes “having children.”
Nevertheless, she added that her celibacy had recently also become a powerful form of protest. “I think with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and our rights being stripped away from us, this is a way that I can take back the control. And it just sucks that it has to be in that way, but I just don’t feel comfortable until things change,” Fox said.
In case you need a refresher, on 24 June 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which had guaranteed women the constitutional right to an abortion up until the point of foetal viability, which is about 24 weeks.
While using sex as a form of protest might sound odd at first, there is actually a rich feminist tradition behind it.
When the US state of Georgia introduced a new law banning abortions after a heartbeat is detected, actress and feminist campaigner Alyssa Milano urged women to stage a sex strike.
Sex strikes, or sex boycotts, as they are frequently called are a form of nonviolent resistance in which people refrain from or refuse sex with partners until policy or social demands are met.
On the heels of the top court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, many women embarked on a sex strike to bring attention to their reproductive rights and choices.
I’m going on a sex strike ‘til Roe v Wade is restored.
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) April 8, 2024
Who’s with me? pic.twitter.com/xr029lqJZF
if roe v wade is overturned by the supreme court this week i need y’all to know that i will never be having s*x with a man ever again. we’re out here turning water in wine ladies
— simone rossi (@girlpowertbh) March 2, 2020
In solidarity with my American sisters. I will be abstaining from sex this year to protest the overturning of Roe v Wade. I've done 24 years already, and I think I can swing one more.
— sid 🌹🌱🔆 (@lilbabygandhi) May 3, 2022
Until the government lets women control their own bodies, a #SexStrike has been floated as a response. A proposed ban on viagra & mandatory vasectomies for all men until they’re married (& ready to be dad’s) are other suggestions to curb the wayward sperm that causes pregnancy. https://t.co/7wk2Qcw1x7
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) May 11, 2019
Of course, actions like these haven’t been completely uncontroversial. Many critiqued that a sex strike would just play into the hands of the Christian nationalists and the religious right that was behind the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and would welcome women abstaining from sex for non-procreative reasons.
hey you know that calling for a 'sex strike' in response to the loss of abortion rights just plays directly into the hands of the people taking away our rights? that they would absolutely love to ban any non-procreative sex and sex outside of marriage. you know that right?
— molly conger (@socialistdogmom) June 25, 2022
If all women really went on a sex strike, anti-choicers would try to legalize rape rather than legalize abortion.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) September 5, 2021
#sexstrike stuff is very 🙄. why are you having sex with anti choice men in the first place? stop doing that. and not just for a “sex strike.” forever.
— Erika W. Smith (@erikawynn) May 11, 2019
Please stop proposing sex strikes
— Nicole (@NoNameGirl8686) December 1, 2021
1. Pro choice men don’t need to learn this lesson
2. Forced birth men won’t learn the lesson because they are with likeminded partners
3. Women are equal partners in sex and gratification, it’s not a currency or bartering tool.
Others noted that sex strikes reinforce the belief that women don’t enjoy sexual activities or only use them as tools to control men.
However, it should be noted that sex strikes don’t work because women deny their partners sex, but because they attract considerable media attention to the cause they are advocating for.
“Honestly, it was like six months and then it was a year,” Fox said of the timeline. “And now I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s almost two-and-a-half years,’” she said. “And it’s still going.”
“I think it’s just like getting over anything—smoking, drugs, whatever it may be,” the model theorised. “Eventually, you just forget and then all that energy that you were putting toward sex you can put it toward other things.” For instance, campaigning for reproductive rights.
