CAST 268 - The Feminist Sex Wars: 50 Years Later

FC ARHU

4 credits
The Sex Wars, also called the “porn wars,” was the name given to the series of debates that began in feminist academic and activist spaces in the 1970s. On one side, feminists like Catherine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin, dedicated to fighting violence against women, anchored their strategy in attacking the porn industry. On the other side were the Sex Radicals, a group of mostly queer scholars and activists, who argued that feminist sexuality could include pornography, kink, sex work, and other “sexually deviant” practices. Fifty years later, feminists are wrestling with these same questions, but in a dramatically different landscape. This class will explore the history of these debates as well as grapple with what it means to bring a feminist lens to sex today. We will also imagine: what is sexual liberation within and against white supremacy, capitalism, and an ecological crisis?

This course is appropriate for new students.