Senior and UNControllables member James Hoopes said the kickoff event, called “‘But Do You Feel Empowered?’: Feminist Frameworks in Sex Work Discourse,” will explore feminism that’s hard to come by in traditional introductory women’s studies courses.
“It’s the kind of feminism that isn’t based in academia but is based in the experiences of women who face oppression,” Hoopes said. “I think it’s important for students to get that kind of perspective with the ideas that they learn about and to hear about how they apply to women in real life.”
The discussion is a part of the group’s second annual Radical Rush Week, a 10-day series to encourage student support of anarchist ideas.
Junior and member Madeleine Scanlon said she hopes the talk will closely examine how we talk about women and sex.
“Women who do have sex are often slut-shamed — called dirty whores and stuff like that,” she said. “I want to talk about how we talk about sex.”
Scanlon said she’s interested to see how L will address these topics.
“This speaker is going to have a really awesome perspective because she’s choosing to work in sex work,” she said.
Internationalist Books and Community Center is partnering with UNControllables for a second year. Store manager Katie Yow said in 2013 the store hosted more events at its West Franklin Street location, but this year the store is in the process of moving to Carrboro, leaving most events on campus.
