Feminist Sex Wars


 * "Porn Wars" redirects here. For the musical composition of this name, see Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention.

The Feminist Sex Wars, Lesbian Sex Wars, or simply the Sex Wars or Porn Wars, were the acrimonious debates within the feminist movement and lesbian community in the late 1970s through the 1980s around the issues of feminist strategies regarding sexuality, sexual representation, pornography, sadomasochism, the role of transwomen in the lesbian community, and other sexual issues. The debate pitted anti-pornography feminism against sex-positive feminism, and the feminist movement ended up deeply divided as a result.

The Feminist Sex Wars are often viewed as the event that signaled the end of the second-wave feminist era.