It is unsurprising that the relationship between sex and power involves immense passion and emotion. The conflict has been manifested throughout history, traceable in ancient civilizations and mirrored in our own. In every culture, the connection between sex and power has caused legal battles, inter-family feuds, and bloodshed. However, the interpretation of what is meant by ‘sex’ is ambiguous. Does it refer to sexual intercourse? Sex as in male/female? Both have merit to be explored, and both have their own significance to the human race and its fascination with sex and superiority.

If ‘sex’ refers to male/female and the biological and sociological differences manifested in both, the possibilities for discussion are endless. Men are viewed as the ‘stronger’ sex, whereas women are viewed as the ‘weaker’ sex. While physically men are indisputably built for physical superiority, recent studies of men’s and women’s brains have shown that women’s brains are biologically connected better than men’s, which results in women’s ability to multitask and see the ‘big-picture’, while men are more compartmental and are only able to focus on one thing at a time. These differences bring into question the location of power, whether it lies with the physically strong male, or the cerebrally strong female. It can be said for the physically weaker female that cerebral prowess overcomes physical inferiority, which makes the female all the more powerful, and severely disadvantages the male. However, it can also be convincingly argued that men’s and women’s specific strengths cannot work solo, but are at their best when complimenting each other. This is obvious in the hunter-gatherer culture of our ancient ancestors, and of some primitive African tribes still subsisting in this manner today. The man’s physical ability to pursue and kill or trap game is essential to the survival of the women of the tribe, and to state the obvious, without women the human race would not continue. But women provide more than breeders; women raise the children, make clothing, contribute the nutritional basis of meals from cultivated foods, and most essentially; communication. No matter how a member of one sex proclaims complete independence from the opposite, the two exist for a reason; if there was no point to one or the other, pragmatism and natural selection would have killed off the useless creatures long ago.

The other interpretation of sex and power comes in a cruder and less profound package. Put simply, the woman holds the key to the pantry. While men have physical superiority over women, the ‘fairer’ sex arguably controls the man through the distribution or deprivation of sexual acts. While it is possible for a man to ‘take’ sexual intercourse from a woman, he can’t make her enjoy it, and therefore the woman still holds the power no matter how emotionally scarred she is. The man has gained nothing but personal satisfaction; a conquest. Some would argue, though, that the man has emotional control over the woman due to the affect her experience had on her. For every situation there is an opposite. However, as seen between Ophelia and Hamlet, the emotional and mental strain from their tempestuous relationship affects the sanity of both, which raises an interesting point of equality between the powers the sexes hold over one another.

The questions raised by the battle of the sexes and the relationship between power and sex are endless; undoubtedly they have filled the numerous pages of a graduate thesis. However, the inherent differences in power between men and women must always be recognized whenever comparing the two sexes. Despite the archaic opinion of male superiority, 21^st century science has proven many historical stereotypes and assumptions completely false. Though men and women are not and never will be completely equal, much can be learned and understood by studying and comprehending their differences and how these can be utilized for the greatest good.