In honor of Women's History Month, several Athens groups will sponsor the Women's Herstory Celebration today, including a keynote speech about feminists' views of pornography.
Not for Sale: Feminism and Pornography will bring Rebecca Whisnant, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Dayton, to Baker University Center. Based on the book Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography that Whisnant co-edited, the speech will bring a new perspective of the pornography debate to the table.
Two previous events this school year focused on debating pornography, said Janet Carleton, a digital initiative coordinator at Alden Library and organizer of the Herstory Celebration.
Robert Jensen, an associate professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, visited Ohio University's campus in October and gave the speech The Paradox of Pornography: Sex
Intimacy and Communication. Pastor Craig Gross and famed porn star Ron Jeremy debated the porn industry in The Great Porn Debate last month.
Although these events also addressed pornography, neither included a woman's perspective, Carleton said. The Great Pornography Debate included men who were pretty extreme in their opinions, she said, because one is a preacher and one is a porn star. Carleton said Whisnant, who is a colleague of Jensen's in anti-pornography education, would add the feminist view on the topic.
We're in a community that is an educational community Carleton said, adding that bringing Whisnant to Athens will encourage people to think about porn and make up their own minds.
Jan Griesinger, a Herstory Celebration committee member representing the Susan B. Anthony Womyn's Land Trust, coordinated Whisnant's visit to OU. Griesinger said she has been interested in this topic from the feminist perspective for a long time. Both of the previous speeches included men, who did not look at why women choose to do pornography, who it damages and who experiences the violence spurring from it.
I want to make sure that there are more than two perspectives Griesinger said.
Although tonight's speech begins at 7, people are encouraged the come early to check out tables of information from many of the Herstory Celebration sponsors, including the Campus Coalition Against Trafficking and United Christian Ministries. A reception will follow the talk at the OU Women's Center. Because this event deals with graphic images, people under 18 are not allowed.
If You Go ...
What: Not for Sale: Feminism and Pornography as part ofWomen's Herstory Celebration
When: 7 tonight
Where: Baker University Center Ballroom A
Admission: Free
This presentation will include graphic images. No one under 18 should attend.
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Caitlin Price
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Women march down East Green during the annual Take Back the Night March last spring to protest violence against women. The march concludes a week of events sponsored by the Student Senate's Women's Affairs Commission, among others.
