Two books: Sexuality and War, by Evelyne Accad, and Unmaking War, Remaking Men, by Kathleen Barry

I'd like to bring attention to this 1992 book by feminist-author Evelyne Accad, titled:

Sexuality and War: Literary Masks of the Middle East

photo of Evelyne Accad is from here

and to this 2010 book by long-time white feminist-author, Kathleen Barry, dealing with related themes and issues:

Unmaking War, Remaking Men: How Empathy Can Reshape Our Politics, Our Soldiers and Ourselves

photo of Kathleen Barry is from here

And I'd like to thank both women for all their many years of work.

One thing that is worth noting, is how it is feminist women, first and foremost, who make the critical connections between men's wars on one another and men's war on women. Masculinist/masculist men, traditionally, make the connections in practice, uncritically.

I'll add this: I have noted to some het men personally, how it is that the ethics and power abuses of their sexual practices are protected by them in a presumed right of privacy, the same right used against women in all manner of atrocious ways. When I challenge het men to speak out and speak up about how they abuse or exploit women using sex as a means of control or harm, they get very silent very fast.

I am reminded of how men who return from war don't speak freely about what they do in military warfare: we are led to believe that this is because the experiences are too painful to recall.

And I'll add this: I live in a society that sets up a culture of dishonesty and protectionism of men's abuses of women and girls. When men do commit violations against female human beings' bodies, these men can be supported by attorneys to not tell the truth about what they did, whether or not they fully understand the political meaning of it.

That said, Accad and Barry explore far more themes far more in depth that I will ever do here. So I welcome you to read both books and bring discussion and activist challenges to the issues they explore.