Intercourse, by: Andrea Dworkin - Feminish

one in which men have social, economic, political, and physicalpower over women. Some men do not have all those kindsof power over all women; but all men have some kinds ofpower over all women; and most men have controlling powerover what they call their women— the women they fuck. Thepower is predetermined by gender, by being male.Intercourse as an act often expresses the power men haveover women. Without being what the society recognizes as rape,it is what the society—when pushed to admit it— recognizes asdominance.Intercourse often expresses hostility or anger as well asdominance.Intercourse is frequently performed compulsively; and intercoursefrequently requires as a precondition for male performancethe objectification of the female partner. She has to looka certain way, be a certain type— even conform to preordainedbehaviors and scripts—for the man to want to have intercourseand also for the man to be able to have intercourse. The womancannot exist before or during the act as a fully realized, existentiallyalive individual.Despite all efforts to socialize women to want intercourse—e. g., women’s magazines to pornography to Dynasty, incrediblerewards and punishments to get women to conform andput out— women still want a more diffuse and tender sensualitythat involves the whole body and a polymorphous tenderness.There are efforts to reform the circumstances that surroundintercourse, the circumstances that at least apparently contributeto its disreputable (in terms of rights and justice) legendand legacy. These reforms include: more deference to femalesensuality prior to the act; less verbal assault as part of sexualexpressiveness toward women; some lip service to female