Sexual Activity: Sex as a Symbol of Revolution in Gioconda Belli’s Writing

Through her literary works, Nicaraguan poet, author, and revolutionary Gioconda Belli employs graphic images of sex and the female body in an effort to empower women and stir up a revolution against inequality in the realms of sexuality, reproductive health, and politics. A woman who is highly in tune with her sexual needs, Belli has an inclination toward eroticism in her writing, which she uses to put forth her views of feminism and social equality. Believing that woman are entitled to sexual gratification and exploration equal to that of males, Belli glorifies the female anatomy in her works, presenting the female sex as a beautiful, sensual being to be celebrated, not shamed or constrained by predetermined social constructs. Depicting encounters with injustice and discrimination in the field of reproductive health, Belli exposes the trauma, health issues, and indignity that women often receive in the medical setting regarding their sexual health, demanding that reforms are made for women’s reproductive rights. Finally, Belli uses images of sexuality and sensuality for political purposes in her work, particularly metaphors of sexual intercourse to represent the political revolution against the Somoza dictatorship transpiring in her home country of Nicaragua. In her novel, The Inhabited Woman, her memoir, The Country Under My Skin, and her poetry anthology, From Eve’s Rib, Gioconda Belli strives to empower women sexually and politically by using graphic imagery of sex as a medium to inspire the idea of revolution.