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Some grassroots organizers are floating the idea of a female-led sex strike following the House's passage of the SAVE Act.
The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act passed the House of Representatives Thursday, despite critics saying it will make it harder for married women, rural people, troops overseas, racial minorities, and disabled people to register to vote.
In response, some organizers online are posting about the idea of having a sex strike to draw attention to the SAVE Act.
Why It Matters
The SAVE Act requires people to produce an ID and a birth certificate or passport as documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. This has raised alarms for married women whose last name on their ID does not match their last name on their birth certificate.
The SAVE Act still has to pass the Senate before becoming law, and some organizers may use actions such as a sex strike to show how unpopular the act is. However, the organizers online do not appear to be clear at the moment in their goals or vision for their proposed sex strike.
What To Know
This is not the first sex blackout suggested by American women due to Republican politics. Following the 2024 Election, the 4B Movement—a boycott on relationships with men—was floated as an idea to oppose conservative patriarchal notions and male Trump voters in the US.
Although the 4B Movement has gained some popular ground in South Korea, it has not received much attention in the U.S. since November 2024, and is unclear whether anybody has actively embraced the 4B Movement.
A sex strike around the SAVE Act was floated on Reddit by members of 50501, a group that organizes protests against the Trump administration.
The organizers have been contacted via Reddit and 50501 has been contacted via email for comment.
The idea of the sex strike appears to be more of a technique to divert attention toward the SAVE Act, rather than a plan for an actual strike.
Under posts titled "Sex Strike for SAVE Act" and "Sex Strike to bring light to SAVE Act" organizers wrote about how the SAVE Act will impact women voters, and asked: "Are there any women here who are involved in organizing for women-specific orgs? I'd like to get together and brainstorm."
These posts do not contain any details on how a sex strike would actually work, or how long it would hypothetically go on for.
Not all people are on board. Some commenters under these posts are critical of the idea of a sex strike saying "I feel like if your partner isn't aware or proactively angry about the SAVE Act upon hearing about it... you should maybe just dump that partner?"
Another commenter said: "A sex strike is a stupid idea. For one thing, people can be forced to have sex, and for another, unless you're having sex with a member of Congress, what impact whatsoever would it have? None. A campaign to encourage women to change their names and/or get their passport/RealID would be far more effective. That's something women can actually DO."
Although a sex strike may be hard to carry out, a women's labor strike could be a more impactful and effective way to protest the SAVE Act.
In 1975, a women's labor strike in Iceland resulted in the Icelandic parliament passing a gender equality bill enshrining wage equality and anti-workplace discrimination laws.
The strike was carried out by 90 percent of Icelandic women, who effectively shut down schools, airlines, telecommunications companies, and newspapers in the country by refusing to show up to work. They also did not cook meals for their families to show how much labor they did at home as well.
Proponents of the SAVE Act say it will prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and have said many other countries have voter ID laws.
Detractors have said that multiple audits in recent years have found that noncitizens have zero impact on federal elections and that voter ID laws in other countries, such as the U.K. and Canada have protocols in place that enable married women who have changed their last name to vote easily.
What People Are Saying
Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, said: "The House has just passed one of the worst pieces of voting legislation in American history. The Senate must stop it. The SAVE Act would put voting out of reach for millions of American citizens. It should not become law."
Andrea Hailey, the CEO of Vote.org, said in a statement sent to Newsweek: "I am appalled by the House's decision to pass this bill. The SAVE Act is a blatant attempt at voter suppression, disguised as an "election integrity" measure. It seeks to impose ballot box barriers for low-income Americans, women, seniors, rural voters, and communities of color, by requiring strict ID documentation that millions lack, and eliminating online voter registration entirely."
Senator Alex Padilla in a statement sent to Newsweek: "Voting by noncitizens is already a federal crime, and it is extremely rare. This is just another attempt by Donald Trump and extreme Republicans to scapegoat immigrants for their loss in the 2020 election. Let me be clear: this is not about immigrants or immigration. This is about the voting rights of American citizens.
"I am leading the fight in the Senate to push back against this effort to disrupt our already safe and secure elections. This bill cannot pass the Senate—and I will fight every step of the way to block it."
What Happens Next
The SAVE Act has passed the House of Representatives, but still has to pass the Senate. It needs 60 votes to pass, and Republicans currently have a majority with 53 seats.
Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, called the bill "noxious" and said, "Let me be clear, under my Leadership Senate Democrats will make sure this power grab does not pass the Senate."
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About the writer
Sophie Grace Clark is a Live News reporter based in London, with a focus on crime stories. She has also ... Read more