In the ancient play Lysistrata women withhold sex as a means of ending the Peloponnesian War. And the logic – using sex as a shaping force in marriages – is widespread both in self-help books and right-wing subreddits. Academic Donna Zuckerberg has written about the appropriation of the Classics by misogynistic groups and weighs in on Lysistrata, liberal men, ancient wives, and modern love.
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Show notes:
* Read Donna’s Washington Post op-ed about Lysistrata.
* Donna has a newsletter Myth Takes you can read and subscribe here!
* This American Ex-Wife is hosted by Lyz Lenz (@LyzLenz) and produced by Zachary Oren Smith (@ZachOSmith). Illustration by Alessandro Gottardo. Show art by Suzanne Glémot (@tape_remover).
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