Feminist Sex Discourse from the Sex Wars to #MeToo: An Interruption Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This thesis argues that contemporary feminist sex discourse has been unable to adequately address the political issues posed by the #MeToo movement due to its continued dependence on theories of harm and investment in thinking sex through the lens of women’s subordination. By tracing feminist sex discourse from the Sex Wars of the 1970s and 1980s to #MeToo, I first examine the dominance of the “sex positive vs. sex negative” framework in current feminist thought on sex. I then demonstrate how, rather than subvert this framework, prominent post-#MeToo writers Katherine Angel, Christine Emba, and Louise Perry reinscribe these existing feminist configurations through a reliance on personal desires to construct a politics of sex. I argue that this state of affairs is bolstered by retrospective feminist narrativization of the Sex Wars as a “battle” between sex positive and sex negative feminists. Through a close analysis of key texts from the early period of the Sex Wars (1979-1982), I will demonstrate the inadequacy of this narrativization in examining the stakes that animate past and present discourses of sex. The thesis concludes by suggesting that we engage asexuality studies to, as Janet Halley suggests, “Take a Break from Feminism” and its emphasis on thinking sex through the lens of sexual harm and men’s subordination of women. In doing so, we may be able to better understand the terms by which we think sex, and therefore construct a more robust and effective sexual politics.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Taking a Break………………………….…………………….. 1

Chapter One: Feminist Present……………………………………………… 6

Chapter Two: Feminist Past…………………………………………..…..… 35

Conclusion: Future (?)……………………………………….…………..…… 68

Works Cited.……………………………………………………….………..……80

Appendix…………………………………………………….…………………… 88

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	GLBT Studies Gender Studies Women's Studies
Parola chiave	#MeToo Sex Feminist Theory Queer Theory Sex Negativity Sex Wars Sex Positivity
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Sean Meighoo, Emory University
Committee Members	Samantha Wrisley, Emory University Elizabeth A. Wilson, Emory University

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