Politics of Pleasure

Question 1

In a vacuum of educational silence, _______ flourish

Answer 1

oppressive discourses

Question 2

1960s Sexual Revolution

Answer 2

1. Intensification of
   Commercial Discourses on
   Sex
2. Revival of “Free Love”
   Discourse
3. Birth of Gay Liberation
   Discourse

Question 3

Corporate America and Sex

Answer 3

1.Increase in permissibility of novels with
sexual content
2.Playboy Magazine Mass Distributed
3.Birth Control Widely Available (1960)
4.Popularization of porn films (1969)

Question 4

Revival of Free Love

Answer 4

18-19th Century
Freedom from
State Regulation
of Sex, freedom to have sexual relations but not freedom from sexism

Question 5

Gay liberation and pleasure cultures

Answer 5

*Art and Art Shows
*Health and Body
Workshops
*Music Festivals
*Sex Workshops
*Sex Toy Stores
*Informational booklets

Question 6

Our Bodies, Our Selves

Answer 6

Course for women about anatomy, sex, reproductive control, self pleasure

Question 7

Betty Dodson

Answer 7

creator of Bodysex workshops
- women learned, looked at, felt bodies
- open sexual discussions

Question 8

Dell Williams

Answer 8

first woman-centered sex toy store
sex positive products and books

Question 9

Arguments of anti-pornography feminists

Answer 9

sexually explicit media dehumanized women to produce sexual arousal in viewers
- depictions are symbolic violence
- industry exploits women workers and endorses subordination

Question 10

symbolic violence

Answer 10

visual depictions of
humans as objects,
which strengthens
relations of
domination and
subordination.

Question 11

Pro-pornography feminist argument

Answer 11

• sexual material not inherently harmful
• most media genres objectify women, not just sexual media–all wrong either way!
• sexual content must be protected in the same manner as other speech
• porn industry is no more harmful than any other capitalist industry

Question 12

Feminist representations in porn

Answer 12

*Show sexual chemistry and authentic pleasure
*Decenter penis-in-vagina sex
*Center women’s pleasure
*Include a diversity of performers
*Resist or strategically employ porn tropes
*Include all types of sex, including rough sex, not just
“softer, gentler” porn (which can reinforce stereotypes
about women’s sexualities)
*Make space for explicitly educational content

Question 13

Feminist production of porn

Answer 13

*Performers set their pay rates to ensure fairness
*Uphold industry standards regarding STI testing
*Provide access to safer sex supplies
*Create clean, safe, and comfortable work
environment
*Emphasize consent and performer agency: “Yes”
lists
*Consult performers about their representation

Question 14

Power of pleasure-based sex education

Answer 14

has the capacity to challenge normative discourses that tell us
1. how to feel about our bodies and desires
2. how to relate to one another
3. and with whom we should relate

Question 15

Sex ed has been a tool to transmit and reproduce ___

Answer 15

norms.

Question 16

Traditional sex ed narratives

Answer 16

Focus Attention on:
*Penis penetration of
vaginas
*Reproductive sex
*Passivity of vagina
“missionary position”
*Biology and the danger of
disease and pregnancy

Question 17

Tone of traditonal sex ed narratives

Answer 17

*pending doom of
STIS and unwanted
pregnancy
*shame and fear
looms large

Question 18

Abstinence only sex ed narratives

Answer 18

Amplify the Power of
Commercial, Religious
and Peer Narratives

Question 19

comprehensive sex ed narratives tend to omit information about…

Answer 19

*Sexual practices other than
penis penetration of vagina.
*Trans and intersex bodies
*The female anatomy
*The erotic
*The power of pleasure