Important and Transformative: Sex and World Peace by Valerie M. Hudson et al.

Also by Bonnie Balliff-Spanvill, Mary Caprioli and Chad F. Emmett

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 7, 2012

Format: Paperback

Rating: 5/5 stars

Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.

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I discovered Sex and World Peace through Emma Watson’s Instagram–she recommended it as a must-read. Many reviewers on Goodreads state that it should be mandatory reading for first-year International Relations students, but, to be honest, I can’t imagine many first-year students taking the time. However, despite my pessimistic remarks, I believe Sex and World Peace is a book everyone should read. It encapsulates the millennia of oppression women have faced.

Sex and World Peace uses Islamic countries as case studies specifically because that’s where the expertise lies for its authors. However, the novel also draws on examples from the USA, Canada, India, Asia and Africa to demonstrate how the very structures of the government and a country’s culture undermine the rights of women.

In many states, a woman’s worth is directly correlated to her ability to maintain her ‘purity,’ and to obtain and retain a husband. The authors, Hudson et al., classify these cultures as honour/shame societies, where a family is shamed if a daughter does not remain pure before she is married. What results is the arranged marriage of their daughters. These brides can be as young as seven or eight.

Unfortunately, the loss of a husband results in a lack of societal and cultural protection. To illustrate, in India, women in certain castes are allowed to only work within the home. This rule holds true even when a woman is a widow… and she has no means of feeding herself or her children. Therefore, she has to choose between following the rules of society and protecting her remaining family from starvation.

The Invisible Heart of Women

These examples of forced marriage, child rape and (essentially) cultural enforced starvation are the more overt examples of the oppression of women. Hudson et al. also give examples of everyday behaviour, which reinforces the myth that men are superior to women. For example, when it comes to access to food, the boys of the family are given priority over the girls. And, when food is scarce, and the parents have to choose which child gets the food… the boy does. When it comes to education, boys are sent to school and girls are expected to help their mother around the house. And, before someone comments, those examples would never happen in a Western country! The labour of women is so undervalued in ‘First World’ countries that our economies do not take into consideration the economic value–the free labour–that women do. Hudson et al. cite a study that estimates the economic value (their yearly salary) of an American homemaker is between $125,000 to $700,000. And, yet, there is no monetary appreciation for this labour… nor societal recognition. In fact, saying you’re a homemaker makes people think that you just do nothing but laze about!

An example of the invisible labour of girls and women in Africa is Tendai’s story from Lowveld, Zimbabwe. Her day is comprised of the following:

“Tendai is considered unproductive, unoccupied, economically inactive. According to the international economic system, Tendai does not work and is not part of the labour-force.”

Hudson et al. ~ Sex and World Peace

Tendai’s story is juxtaposed against Cathy, a young, middle-class North American housewife:

“…[who] spends her days preparing food, setting the table, serving meals, clearing food and dishes from the table, washing dishes, dressing her children, disciplining children, taking the children to day-care or to school, disposing of garbage, dusting, gathering clothes for washing, doing the laundry, going to the gas station and the supermarket, repairing household items…”

Hudson et al. ~ Sex and World Peace

Think of how much Tendai or Cathy would earn if they were paid the minimum wage for their labour? Or how much many North American citizens pay their nannies. Many will combat Cathy’s story with her labour is a by-product of her choice to become a mother. However, Cathy’s partner is not doing the other half of these chores, and, even if they were, Cathy’s labour is still not recognized by international economic systems.

Adam Smith conceptualized the equilibrium of market demand and supply through the moniker ‘the invisible hand.’ However, Hudson et al. demonstrate that the invisible labour of women… ‘the invisible heart’ is what our economy rests upon.

Patriarchal Society and Conditioning

Another facet that I appreciated about Sex and World Peace is the research into how and why these sexist and misogynist behaviours are reproduced in current generations.

In the more traditional and patriarchal cultures, the ascent into recognized ‘manhood’ comes with it an indoctrination of how a “man” should act.

“From now on you are a man. You never ever listen to a woman. Whatever you say goes in the house. You are the one who makes the rules. A woman doesn’t tell you what to do. You are the man; you can have as many women as you want.”

Taken from interview with 2006 female informant in Sex and World Peace

However, I’d argue that much of the popular culture in Western countries also reproduce sexist and misogynistic norms… even if they manifest in subtler behaviour.

“Research has shown that men process voices of women in the same area of the brain that processes music and noise. Furthermore, research has shown that men in a group setting are much more likely to remember what other men in the group have said than what women in the group have said. Furthermore, men appear to discount the objective expertise of women when comparing assertions made by men and by women in the same group.”

Hudson et al. ~ Sex and World Peace

The institutionalization of sexism and misogyny has resulted in a distinct unbalance of power in the world. The power of institutions and countries lies in the hands of men… which means sexism and misogyny have resulted in the deaths of millions of women. Discrimination against men has never resulted in the oppression of men because women do not hold institutional power.

Men hold all the power yet none of the understanding of the damages the disproportionate power has inflicted on women. Albeit, not all men are tyrants and not all women are powerless or invisible to the economic system. However, society’s social constructions of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ have resulted in the socialization of a majority of men and women in the world into these archaic patriarchal roles.

“As long as men think they can get away with it, they will continue to do it. A culture of male impunity must be replaced by a culture of strict male accountability.”

Hudson et al. ~ Sex and World Peace

The Main Argument

I couldn’t follow the statistics 100%… but I was convinced by the argument they laid out. I felt that there was enough breadth in the institutions, countries and organizations covered that it provided evidence there was a correlation between the oppression of women and the insecurity of states.

Concepts I Need to Dig Deeper On

Hudson et al. assert that prostitution and polygamy are detrimental to the security of women and are directly correlated to the oppression of women.

In the case studies of traditional and overtly/literally patriarchal cultures, I was convinced that polygamy contributed to the oppression of women. In these examples, women were used for their ability to bear children. Prostitution and pornography are also framed as an exploitation of women. However, there are feminists who support sex worker activism–they believe that sex work is a valid choice for people who choose to engage in it.

Sex and World Peace looks at prostitution–and polygamy–from solely an exploitative angle. However, I think this is in part due to the countries they are looking at… which are more overtly patriarchal and traditional than Western countries. For example, while the countries used as case studies had laws against the murder of women for being “unfaithful” (raped), they were rarely enforced. In countries where prostitution (ex. New Zealand) is legal, the rights of women are very much so enforced.

Final Thoughts

After reading the book, I cannot understand how people can walk away, thinking gender doesn’t significantly impact International Relations or the security of a state. If half a state’s population is undervalued/ignored, how can you argue that the country is ‘secure’?

I appreciate that the authors take the time to detail practical calls to action at the end of the textbook. Understanding the magnitude of the oppression women presently face in the world is incredibly daunting for people who want to change that status quo. The authors also point out that challenging the status quo is equally as important even if you’re raising awareness of the pay gap or date rape in the USA or challenging forced veiling and acid attacks in Afghanistan. Hudson et al. have it right, though: it must start with the introspection of your everyday life.

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