THE JOY OF CONSENT

Is consent the ultimate answer to problems of sexual harassment and violence? In the age of #MeToo, consent is seen as the key to combating not only overt harassment but also a patriarchal erotics that urges mystery and silent compliance as the path to ‘sexiness’. But is consent just a device to avoid legal complications? And can formal consent hide coercion, when agreeing to sex is easier, and safer, than the alternative?

In this event, Manon Garcia will discuss the key themes in her acclaimed new book, The Joy of Consent: A Philosophy of Good Sex, upending the assumptions that underlie this very Anglo-Saxon debate and reframing consent as an ally of pleasure rather than a means of avoiding prosecution. In doing so, she rejects conventional wisdom on all sides. As a legal norm, consent can prove fragile. Consent alone doesn’t make sex licit: consensual BDSM remains morally and legally suspect, for example.

Drawing on diverse sources ranging from Kantian ethics to kink practices, Garcia offers an alternative framework grounded in commitments to autonomy and dignity. While consent may not be a definitive legal test, it is vital in realizing intimate desire. In seeing consent as means to sexual flourishing, Garcia adds a fresh voice to the struggle against sexist coercion and violence

Following an opening conversation between Garcia and Andrés Saenz de Sicilia, Oxford philosopher and renowned Beauvoir scholar Kate Kirkpatrick will offer a response. This promises to be a fantastic evening of philosophy from three of the most interesting and exciting voices in the field!

This is a joint meeting of the LPC and The Philosopher magazine.
Hosted by Maryam Aghdami. £8.00/£5.00 concessions (student/unwaged/retired)