Sexual Politics

Millett’s text attempts to show that sex has profound political implications. To do this requires acknowledging the pattern of dominance and subordination that has informed relations between the sexes throughout history. Arguing that such dominance and subordination is not a natural state of affairs, Millett challenges the idea that men’s dominance of women is not an unavoidable result of biological differences. Instead, it emerges from conditioning, socialization, and enforcement by patriarchal society and the patriarchal state. As a political entity, sex has been the site of both revolution and counterrevolution. The Woman’s Movement in particular, fought to change existing power relations, challenging traditional sex roles to try and secure greater participation for women in the public sphere and more freedom and opportunity. Such revolutionary moves were met by reactionary responses, taking the form of politically repressive moves such as the efforts of Nazi Germany and the late Soviet Union to reestablish the traditional, repressive family and, more importantly, social science’s efforts to legitimize sex roles through new scientific justifications. Millett also draws heavily on literature to demonstrate the political nature of sex, pointing to the reactionary, and often abusive, actions of the heroes of the works of Lawrence, Miller, and Mailer as clear examples of this.