Mainardi and Koedt touch on very important aspects of the oppression of women, specifically their sexualities, that was rampant in the 1970s. Mainardi says that it is hard for anyone to acknowledge, accept and change how they participate in the oppression of others, especially in the subconscious actions of daily life. I think about this idea a lot; it’s present in all forms of oppression. Many people are resistant to admitting their privilege and choose to stay in their “ignorant bliss.” I see this as cognitive dissonance as they often do know that there IS a problem, but don’t want to talk about it and admit to it. Since it isn’t affecting them, they can put it off to the abstract and hypothetical. One of my favorite lines from Mainardi was “The measure of your oppression is in his resistance.”, also that “that his rationalization is little different from that of the racist who says, “Black people don’ t feel pain’ (women don’t mind doing the shitwork)”
Koedt talks about the myth of the vaginal orgasm from the 1970s which is still relevant and true in today’s society. We have a lack of sexual education in this country, so the main belief that sex is for the man’s pleasure only remains at large. Some women continue to accept this belief because they don’t know otherwise. Also, some of the talk about genital surgery regarding the clitoris is similar to trans-affirming surgery today, showing that these procedures have been around for decades.