With the “Hear, Here” series, we aim to facilitate conversations around new research in the humanities. Faculty fellows at the Institute for the Humanities will discuss a part of their current project in a short talk followed by a Q & A session.

About this talk:
In the late 1970s, a single-minded crusade against pornography emerged within the feminist movement, and quickly displaced a rich history of analysis and critique of issues having to with sexuality, gendered violence, and social power. This talk explores the trajectory of that crusade and its more current manifestations in movements whose goal is to abolish sex work, framed as “trafficking.” The rhetorics developed within feminism have been adopted by non-feminist and often anti-feminist constituencies such as religious organizations, law enforcement, nation states, and real estate developers for their own agendas and goals. Although much of the current rhetoric about pornography, prostitution, and trafficking was incubated in obscure feminist publications, these frameworks have had a huge impact on how the media, the general public, and institutions of the state treat sexual behaviors and commerce.

Gayle Rubin is a 2024-25 Jean Yokes Woodhead Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of Anthropology and Women’s & Gender Studies.