Past and present of radical sexual politics.
Content of the Conference:
In the past, radical sexual politics have most often been closely connected to leftist movements: from utopian socialism and anarchism to marxist feminism. And most movements for sex reform, homosexual rights or birth control were closely linked to progressive ideologies. Notwithstanding major changes in the field of sexuality, many of them engineered by socialist governments, the seduction of the left for sexual politics has disappeared. The radical left has become marginalized while the successes of sex reform and gay and lesbian emancipation have loosened the links between their demands and particular political currents. New social movements against global capitalism have not included sexual issues in their platform. The change from the old to the "New Left" did not mean a breakthrough because the New Left is reluctant to deal with controversial issues like child sexuality, public expressions of sexual pleasure, sexual citizenship, new reproductive technologies or societal heterosexism, or is even reviving old moralistic discourses for example on prostitution. The conference will deal with the histories of radical sexual ideals, their survival and their renewal in contemporary culture.
Information: Gert Hekma at hekma at pscw.uva.nl