Video interview by the Goethe-Institut China with Beata on “Pornography & Society”

Written by Beate Absalon

What materials can help us get to the bottom of the elusive nature of sexuality? How are our bodies and their desires entangled in power dynamics—and how do we deal with that? Alone or with others? Publicly or privately? By emphasizing the beautiful or the difficult aspects? With playfulness or seriousness? Being sweet or being angry? Do we even have to decide—and why is it always so much about deciding “This is good and this is bad!” when it comes to sexuality?

For the issue of the online magazine “yi” focusing on “Pornography and Society,” Silvan Hagenbrock, online editor at the Goethe-Institut China, spoke with Beata about her work and vision.

You can watch the video here:

 
Beate Absalon

As a cultural studies scholar, Beate Absalon explores “other states,” such as childbirth, the grieving process, hysteria, sleep, radical happiness & collective (kill-)joy, and sadomasochistic practices. After initially investigating how ropes can induce active passivity—through bondage, but also in puppetry or political activism— she is currently writing her dissertation on inventive forms of sex education. Her theoretical interest is fueled by practice, as she enjoys putting herself and others into ecstatic states—preferably in an undogmatic way: flogging with a leather whip or a bundle of dew-fresh mint, holding with rope or an embrace, playing with aggressive cuddling or loving humiliation, letting words or spit flow. Doing what falls outside the norm and the everyday can be frightening and, at the same time, immensely pleasurable. Beata designs workshops and sessions as spaces for exploring boundaries, where limits are crossed and discovered, vague and daring fantasies are explored together, and a personal style is allowed to emerge.

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