Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1127 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Stratification, Tennessee Williams, Desert Fathers

• School: Harvard University
• Department: Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
• Course: Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1127
• Professor: Maria Tatar

Document Summary

Wgss 100 - introduction to women"s, gender, and sexuality studies. This course is an introduction to the range and importance of 20th century as well as current feminist and queer theories and practices to our understanding of positive social change. It will analyze feminist and queer histories of resistance and alternatives to economic and political control, in the u. s. and elsewhere. Depending on the instructor, the course generally focuses on either lgbtqi studies or on transnational perspectives of these issues. This course examines the challenges that sexuality and sexual practice brings to feminism, by exploring feminisms" involvement in so-called anti-sex/pro-sex debates. We explore the stance of second-wave feminism, lesbian feminism, radical feminism, and queer theory and activism on issues like prostitution and sex work, pornography, butch/femme aesthetics, gender performativity, non-monogamies, sadomasochism, bisexuality, and transgenderism and transsexuality. Throughout, we study the divide between sexual agency and sexual exploitation, which emerges when thinking about the complexities of sex and desire.