Sexual Pleasure as Feminist Choice
Posted in Event Announcements G+JI Events
Thursday, April 18, 2024
5:00 PM EST – In-Person Event
Arrupe Multipurpose Room, Georgetown University Main Campus
Hosted by Georgetown University Gender+ Justice Initiative, Women’s & Gender Studies, African Studies, Culture & Politics, Women’s Center, Anthropology Dept., and African American Studies Dept.
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Patricia McFadden, the distinguished author of “Sexual Pleasure as Feminist Choice,” as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this critical article, published in Feminist Africa (2003). The conversation will be moderated by Georgetown students Iklil Bouhmouch, Kioni Shropshire-Maina and Sarah Khan.
Patricia McFadden, a radical African feminist, sociologist, writer, educator, and activist, has dedicated over two decades to the anti-apartheid movement. During this event, she will share her insights and experiences on the socio-sexual dynamics that shape the lives of women, particularly in African contexts. She will discuss the importance of bodily autonomy and embracing sexual pleasure to counter patriarchal and heterosexist discourse.
This event is a unique opportunity to celebrate McFadden’s remarkable contributions to the fields of sociology, feminism, and racial and gender justice. Participants will have the chance to ask questions, gain a deeper understanding of McFadden’s perspectives, and explore the implications of her work in Africa and how it connects to the larger African diaspora and communities historically oppressed and marginalized.
About the speaker:
Patricia McFadden is a radical African feminist, sociologist, writer, educator, and publisher from Eswatini. She is also an activist and scholar who worked in the anti-apartheid movement for more than 20 years. McFadden has worked in the African and global women’s movements as well. As a writer, she has been the target of political persecution.She has worked as editor of the Southern African Feminist Review and African Feminist Perspectives. She currently teaches, and advocates internationally for women’s issues. McFadden has served as a professor at Cornell University, Spelman College, Syracuse University and Smith College in the United States.She also works as a “feminist consultant”, supporting women in creating institutionally sustainable feminist spaces within Southern Africa.
Moderators:
Iklil Bouhmouch (she/her), is a second-year student in the Master’s of Arts in Arab Studies from Rabat, Morocco. Iklil graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A in anthropology and a minor in gender studies. Her academic interests include gender, class, identity, and politics in Northern Africa through the lenses of sociocultural anthropology, history, and media studies. She centers a transnational feminism grounded in decoloniality, anti-capitalism, environmentalism, and racial justice.
Kioni Shropshire-Maina (she/her), is a first-year student in the Master’s in Global, International, Comparative History program. Originally from New York, Kioni recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelors in History, and a double minor in Political Science and Dance. Her academic interests are in cross-regional African history.
Sarah Khan (she/her), is a senior in the SFS majoring in Culture and Politics with a concentration in race, gender, and postcolonial studies. She has worked for the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access and the Center for Social Justice in cultivating dialogue spaces to create community and solidarity for and amongst marginalized groups on campus. She is passionate about mutual aid work, teaching, cooking, singing, laughing, and loving.
Accommodation requests can be made at genderjustice@georgetown.edu
This event is free and open to all.