Battle in Germany: Is Sex Sexist?

A female clash of the titans has erupted in Germany over one of the nation's top feminist's declaration that heterosexual sex is, well, sexist. "Heterosexual sex is hardly possible without the subjugation of women," leading women's rights advocate Alice Schwarzer, 67, says in her classic feminist tome. Now a German minister has blasted the comments as "absurd" and attacked several feminist strategies for improving women's standing in society. "It's absurd that something fundamental for humanity and its survival should be defined as submission," Minister for Families Kristina Schröder, 33, tells Der Speigel.

Schröder, the youngest woman ever to serve in the German cabinet, also said she opposes workforce quotas for women, and blames their poor career choices for their lower standing in jobs. "Women need to get tough," she added. Schwarzer ripped her as "hopeless" and "incompetent" in an open letter after the interview, reports the Guardian. A number of female politicians have sided with Schwarzer, with one calling Schröder's views "fuddy duddy." Another said Schröder deserves to be heard because "we've moved way beyond the classical definition of feminism." (More Alice Schwarzer stories.)