THE PILLOW BLOG

 

Video interview by the Goethe-Institut China with Beata on "Pornography & Society"
Beata Absalon Beata Absalon

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

What materials can be used to trace the elusive nature of sexuality? How are our bodies and their desires entangled in power relations - how to deal with them? Alone or with others? Publicly or privately? By emphasizing the beautiful or the difficult sides? With play or seriousness? Being sweet or being angry? Do you even have to decide - and why is it always so much about deciding "This is good and this is bad!" when it comes to sexual matters? Silvan Hagenbrock, online editor of the Goethe-Institut China, spoke to Beata about her work and vision for the issue of the online magazine "yì" focusing on "Pornography and Society".
Watch the video here.

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Sex /vs./&/?/ Violence. Attempt at a conceptual delimitation on the basis of demarcation
Beata Absalon Beata Absalon

Sex /vs./&/?/ Violence. Attempt at a conceptual delimitation on the basis of demarcation

"What is sex?" we asked in a discussion round during Xplore. Anna Natt and Matís invited us to break down this impossible question: "How do you use the word sex?", "How do you do sex?" and "How do you know you had sex?" One participant explained that he was attending this discussion group because he thought it would be a good idea to hear what "sex" means to the participants at a sex-positive event. Community = shared language. Makes sense. But after the first round, it becomes clear that "sex" means something different to everyone. And yet it would be too easy to stop at private language and pseudo-enlightened "Everyone sees it differently, everyone is right, no one is right. Namaste." Surely we can find good arguments for common denominators in order to agree on convincing conceptual limitations. The answers to the questions vary between references to certain...

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Sexmoralism - Compulsory Sex - Sexpositivity - Sexnegativity
Beata Absalon Beata Absalon

Sexmoralism - Compulsory Sex - Sexpositivity - Sexnegativity

I would like to take up the cudgels for sex negativity. Why?
1) Despite all the fantastic things that are made possible under the label "sex-positive", there are also some weak points, stumbling blocks, traps and misunderstandings. These go hand in hand with an uncritical understanding of sex positivity when a too one-sided diagnosis of the problem is made: that sex is primarily repressed and taboo.
2) I would like to propose a very specific understanding of sex negativity that cannot be confused with a kind of ecclesiastical-conservative or political-right sexophobia.
3) In general, I want to abandon binary divisions and make it clear that sex-negativity and sex-positivity do not have to be two opponents, but rather as two progressive strategies that both could pull together from opposite directions in order to achieve a huge victory together.

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A mixed bag, please! Definition difficulties
Beata Absalon Beata Absalon

A mixed bag, please! Definition difficulties

Difficulties in understanding. When people talk about their wildest love affairs in friendly conviviality and then the extra hint is dropped: "...and then we also had sex". Oops, and what was the other thing you did together? It's actually a classic: where does sexuality begin and where does it end? Generally, the term refers exclusively to the penetrative act. This is particularly surprising when the people you're talking to are people who otherwise celebrate sexuality in all its diversity and engage in various experiments, techniques, games and pleasures that go beyond the heteronormative compulsory matrix...

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