Student Publications The Complicated Success of Sex Strikes

Erin Tansimore ’20 (She/Her)

Published digitally on September 29, 2021

Erin Tansimore graduated from Juniata College in 2020 with a degree in Environmental and Gender Studies. An aspiring environmental justice activist, she works in conservation and is pursuing a graduate degree in environmental humanities. In the Fall of 2021, Erin published an essay titled “The Complicated Success of Sex Strikes”. In this essay, Tansimore expands on how withholding sex as a form of protest has been effective throughout history, but it has also contributed to the objectification and oppression of women.

Excerpt:

Sex strikes, or Lysistratic non-action, have been successful protest tools for communities of women for centuries. From the vast differences in strikes throughout the world, it is clear that the withdrawal of sex as a political statement is not, as Morales explains, “a universal, a historical act, easily transferrable from one context to another.” Instead, sex strikes are complicated and effect change in many ways. They also contribute to the perpetuation of women’s oppression, harmful heteronormativity, marginalization or erasure of both sex workers and LGBTQ+ women, as well as the reduction of women to sexual objects and reproductive machines. Although we should not overlook the power of women to choose to engage in a sex strike, we must also be aware that the necessity for Lysistratic non-action stems from the objectification and oppression of women that continues to ravage societies around the world. Read more on the Waging Nonviolence: People Powered News and Analysis website: https://wagingnonviolence.org/baker/2021/09/thecomplicated-success-of-sex-strikes-lysistra/

Studying abroad on the frontlines of México’s migrant struggle

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua ’23 (They/He)

Published digitally on April 19, 2022

Cruzilious Contreras-Amezcua is a first-generation Chicano student at Juniata College from Wilmington, Delaware. They are a dual POE student studying Social Work and an individualized study in the peace and conflict field, “Social Transformation and Mediation Capacity.” Cruzilious focuses on participatory action research and leads a multicultural organization named ‘Plexus’ on campus. In the Spring of 2022, Contreras-Amezcua published an essay titled “Studying Abroad on the Frontlines of México’s Migrant Struggle”. In this essay, Contreras-Amezcua describes their trip to migrant shelters in Chiapas, Mexico, and how that experience impacted their view on social work and peace in the United States.

Excerpt:

There is no simple way to define peace. Peace between different countries does not mean the immediate needs of those fleeing or leaving their home countries are met. While cartel groups and other violent organizations could be dismembered, that does not solve the trauma families have faced throughout their journeys. That does not fix burnt down homes or bring deceased family members back.

In the United States, we see conflict through a punitive lens. If a violent organization does wrong, we feel that taking apart that organization is equivalent to justice. Punishing those who have caused harm is not the means to all of justice. If those who were harmed are not supported after the dismemberment of an organization, there is no true justice. Without restorative healing for what the victims have experienced, lost, and need, as a result of violence, true justice is not possible.

Read more on the Waging Nonviolence: People Powered News and Analysis website: https://wagingnonviolence.org/baker/2022/04/mexicochiapas-migrant-shelters-study-abroad/