[In-person] Curiosity Café: The Ethics of Sexual Desire (Ticketed Event)

Being gay isn’t a choice: as Lady Gaga puts it, we’re just ‘born this way’. In fact, none of our sexual desires seem like choices. We have a certain ‘type’ we’re attracted to, we have things we like in bed, and it often seems like nothing can be said to explain these — we like what we like, and that’s all there is to it.

But surely our social world shapes our sexual desires: we internalize beauty standards from popular media; we learn how sex works through pornography; we often worry not just about what we desire, but what we’re supposed to desire.

How much might our sexual desires be shaped by our world? Is it possible that our sexual desires might be shaped for the worse? And if that’s true, what should we do about it?

The goal of this cafe is to provide a space where we can openly reflect on our own sexual desires and then philosophically discuss where they come from and why it matters. We’ll discuss questions such as:

• What’s your type? What do you like in bed? Are you happy with these desires?
• What influences our desires? And what should influence them?
• Can we change our sexual desires?
• Does it make sense to talk about sexual desires as being political? Do they ever reflect or reinforce inequalities or injustices in the world? Could reflecting on our sexual desires indicate what needs to change in our society and culture?

Join us at the next Curiosity Café on October 8th, with guest moderator Jules Sheldon, and our very own Sophia Whicher, to discuss these questions and more!

Space is limited! Please also obtain a ticket here if you're attending this event.

You can support our organization by implementing optional “Pay-What-You-Can” tickets, in addition to the usual "Free Ticket" option. We ask that you consider making a donation when you RSVP to help us make our work and growth as an organization possible. The ticketing page also has info about accessibility-related concerns at the venue.

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This event is brought to you by Being and Becoming, a Toronto based non-profit. We aim to create community around exploring everyday concepts and experiences so that we may live more intentional, thoughtful, and meaningful lives. We use philosophy as a tool with which we can come to a richer understanding of the world around us.

By offering activities, spaces, and other opportunities for conversation and co-exploration, we hope to enable the meeting and fusion of individuals and their ideas. Everyone is welcome, regardless of background: indeed, we believe the journey is best undertaken alongside explorers from a variety of disciplines, cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.

Find out more about Being and Becoming here.

About the Curiosity Café Series:

For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to join us at our Curiosity Cafés and are wondering what they’re all about: every two weeks, we invite members of our community to come out to the Madison Avenue Pub to engage in a collaborative exploration of our chosen topic. Through these events, we aim to build our community of people who like to think deeply about life’s big questions, and provide each other with some philosophical tools to dig deeper into whatever it is we are most curious about.

Doors open at 6pm, discussion starts at 6:30pm