230667 Uneasy Bedfellows? Sex Positivity and Feminism (S) (SoSe 2023)

North American Feminism of the 1960s and 1970s wasn't only dominated by white Anglo women, it was also historically divided into two strands: those opposed to sex (understood as patriarchal concept and practice) and those in favor of it, seeing it as self-assertive and empowering. Sixty years later, this intellectual and ideological debate is far from over and neither is the discussion of normativity in all things sexual. What is the right way to be sexual is still very much a question, since, as Marija Cetinić and Stefa Govaart point out: "antinormativity is itself constrained by that which it denounces." Feminism becomes an exclusionary practice when for instance female sex workers in the heterosexual industry are considered wannabe or subpar feminists by virtue of their porfession. At the same time, feminist and queer sexual politics and theorization have made it abundantly clear that sex is fraught with meaning and morality, and that these have been coined by patrirachy to an extent that is difficult to undo and unlearn.
This seminar is interested in these very contradictions and complexities and seeks to problematize them further. We will look into the historical divide among feminists and the scholarly discourses surrounding them, touch upon sexuality and porn studies, and critically examine sex-positive feminist activism, on social media amongst others. There will be few concrete answers in this class and much productive academic headache.