1982 Barnard Conference on Sexuality

Part of a series on

Feminism

History

* Feminist history
* History of feminism
* Women's history
* American
* British
* Canadian
* German

Waves

* First
* Second
* Third
* Fourth

Timelines

* Women's suffrage
* Muslim countries
* US

* Other women's rights

Women's suffrage by country

* Austria
* Australia
* Canada
* Colombia
* India
* Japan
* Kuwait
* Liechtenstein
* New Zealand
* Spain
* Second Republic
* Francoist
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* Cayman Islands
* Wales
* United States
* states

Intersectional variants

* Fat
* Lesbian
* Lesbian of color
* Radical lesbianism
* Separatist
* Sex-positive
* Transfeminism
* Postgenderism
* Vegetarian ecofeminism

Socialist

* Anarchist
* Queer
* Jineology
* Marxist
* Critical theory
* Standpoint
* Materialist
* Ecofeminist
* Postcolonial
* Global
* Transnational
* Xenofeminism

Multicultural

* Africana womanism
* Black
* Hip hop
* Lesbian
* Ratchet
* Chicana
* Lesbian
* Indigenous
* Native American
* Multiracial
* Romani
* Womanism

Other variants

* Anti-abortion
* Equity
* Femonationalism
* Maternal
* Postfeminism
* Neofeminism
* Reactionary
* State
* Carceral
* Imperial
* Embedded
* Gender-critical or trans-exclusionary
* Victim
* White

Religious variants

* Atheist
* Buddhist
* Christian
* Mormon
* New
* Womanist
* Asian
* Neopagan
* Dianic Wicca
* Reclaiming
* Ecofeminist
* Hindu
* Islamic
* Jewish
* Orthodox
* Sikh

Movements and ideologies

* Analytical
* Anti-fascist
* Anti-pornography
* Cyberfeminism
* HCI
* Networked
* Ecofeminism
* Eugenic
* Individualist
* Lipstick
* Stiletto
* Liberal
* Difference
* Equality
* Social
* Labor
* Libertarian
* Post-structural
* Postmodern
* Radical
* Cultural
* Political lesbianism
* Separatist
* Technofeminism
* Women's liberation

Concepts

* Complementarianism
* Literature
* Children's literature
* Discrimination against transgender women
* Diversity (politics)
* Diversity, equity, and inclusion
* Effects on society
* Equality
* Female education
* Female genital mutilation
* Femicide
* Feminationalism
* Feminism in culture
* Feminist movement
* African-American women's suffrage movement
* Art movement
* In hip hop
* Feminist stripper
* Formal equality
* Gender equality
* Gender quota
* Girl power
* Honor killing
* Ideal womanhood
* Internalized sexism
* International Girl's Day and Women's Day
* Language reform
* Feminist capitalism
* Gender-blind
* Likeability trap
* Male privilege
* Matriarchal religion
* Media
* Men in feminism
* Misogyny
* Oedipus complex
* Opposition to feminism
* Pro-feminism
* Protofeminism
* Purplewashing
* Reproductive justice
* Sex workers' rights
* Sexual harassment
* Sexual objectification
* Substantive equality
* Toxic masculinity
* Transmisogyny
* Triple oppression
* Violence against women
* War on women
* Women's empowerment
* Women-only space
* Women's health
* Women's rights
* Women in the workforce

Outlooks

* Bicycling and feminism
* Criticism of marriage
* Views on BDSM
* Views on pornography
* Views on prostitution
* Views on sexual orientation
* Views on sexuality
* Views on transgender topics

Theory

* Feminist method
* Gender studies
* Gender mainstreaming
* Gynocentrism
* Kyriarchy
* Male gaze
* Matriarchy
* Women's studies
* Men's studies
* Patriarchy
* Écriture féminine

Areas of study

* Anthropology
* Archaeology
* Architecture
* Art
* Art criticism
* Literary criticism
* Film theory
* Science fiction
* Biology
* Composition studies
* Criminology
* Pathways perspective
* Economics
* FDPA
* Geography
* International relations
* Constructivism
* Legal theory
* Pedagogy
* Philosophy
* Aesthetics
* Empiricism
* Epistemology
* Ethics
* Justice ethics
* Existentialism
* Metaphysics
* science
* Political ecology
* Political theory
* Pornography
* Psychology
* Therapy
* Revisionist mythology
* Sex wars
* Sexology
* Sociology
* Technoscience
* Theology
* womanist theology

By continent/country

* Africa
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* Ghana
* Mali
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* South Africa
* Albania
* Australia
* Bangladesh
* Canada
* China
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Republic of Ireland
* Israel
* Italy
* Japan
* Latin America
* Argentina
* Brazil
* Chile
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Mexico
* Paraguay
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Nepal
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Northern Cyprus
* Norway
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Poland
* Russia
* Saudi Arabia
* South Korea
* Sweden
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Vietnam
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* United States
* History of women

Lists and categories

|  Lists

* Articles
* Feminists
* by nationality
* Literature
* American feminist literature
* Feminist comic books
* Feminist songs

* Conservative feminisms
* Ecofeminist authors
* Feminist art critics
* Feminist economists
* Feminist philosophers
* Feminist poets
* Feminist rhetoricians
* Jewish feminists
* Muslim feminists
* Feminist parties
* Suffragists and suffragettes
* Women's rights activists
* Women's studies journals
* Women's suffrage organizations

Categories

* Women's rights by country
* Feminists by nationality

Feminism portal

* v
* t
* e

The Barnard Conference on Sexuality is often credited as the moment that signaled the beginning of the Feminist Sex Wars.[1] It was held at Barnard College (a private women's liberal arts college in New York City) on April 24, 1982, and was presented as the annual Scholar and Feminist Conference IX, an integral part of the Barnard Center for Research on Women. The theme of the Conference was Sexuality. The Conference was set up as a framework for feminist thought to proceed regarding topics that many felt uncomfortable talking about. As Carole Vance, the Academic Coordinator of the Conference wrote in her letter inviting the participants "sexuality is a bread and butter issue, not a frill."

## History

[edit]

The Barnard Sex Conference was held in 1982 by the Barnard Center for Research on Women, then known as the Women's Center. It was organized by a group of feminists that included Ellen Dubois, Ellen Willis, Gayle Rubin, and was led by Carole Vance. Jane Gould, the director of the Women's Center then, calls it the "most controversial and perhaps the most important conference".[2] The women who took part understood that this conference was important in light of the growing Women Against Pornography (WAP) movement led by Andrea Dworkin, Susan Brownmiller, and Robin Morgan. Therefore, the aim was to "move beyond debates about violence and pornography and to focus on sexuality apart from reproduction".[2] It is important to note that the Conference was not fully supported by the college itself, as Gould narrates in her autobiography.[citation needed] Many Barnard faculty members dropped out of the planning committee. Days before the Conference, the then President of Barnard College, Ellen V. Futter, began receiving phone calls and letters from WAP and other groups against the premise of the Conference.[citation needed] The day before the conference was scheduled to begin, Barnard College officials—in response to phone calls from angry members of anti-pornography groups—confiscated 1500 copies of Diary of a Conference on Sexuality, designed by Hannah Alderfer, Beth Jaker, and Marybeth Nelson.[3][4] The Diary, which was intended for distribution to conference participants, was a compilation of steering committee minutes, personal narratives, information about conference events, and work by feminist artists.[5][6] Angry letters and threats of losing funding were also major concerns. Despite all of the contention, the organizers went ahead with the event.

The day of the Conference was extremely controversial. The Conference was picketed by the anti-pornography feminist group. WAP members picketed the conference and gave out handouts, leaflets and protests, wearing T-shirts with the words "For a Feminist Sexuality" on the front and "Against S/M" on the back.[2] Accusations about the specific sexual practices of individual women involved in the conference were central to the outcry around the event.[6] The Conference was very publicized in the news afterwards. Many articles and books have been inspired by this conference, the most famous being Carole Vance's Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality.[1] The Lesbian Sex Mafia organized a radical "Speakout on Politically Incorrect Sex" rally at the conference.[7][8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Wilson, Elizabeth (Spring 1983). "The context of "Between Pleasure and Danger": The Barnard Conference on Sexuality". Feminist Review. 13 (1): 35–41. doi:10.1057/fr.1983.5. JSTOR 1394680. S2CID 144750063.
2. ^ a b c Gould, Jane (1997). Juggling: a memoir of work, family, and feminism. New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York. ISBN 9781558611733.
3. ^ Love, Heather (2011). "Diary of a Conference on Sexuality, 1982". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 17 (1): 49–51. doi:10.1215/10642684-2010-016. S2CID 142669394.
4. ^ "In Visible Archives". University of Minnesota Press. p. 227. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
5. ^ Staff writer (2011). "Diary of a conference on sexuality". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 17 (1): 49–78. doi:10.1215/10642684-2010-016. S2CID 142669394.
6. ^ a b Basiliere, Jenna (Fall 2009). "Political is personal: scholarly manifestations of the feminist sex wars". Michigan Feminist Studies. 22 (1): 1–25. hdl:2027/spo.ark5583.0022.101. Pdf.
7. ^ E. J. Graff, "Skin: Talking About Sex, Class, and Literature", The Women's Review of Books, September 1, 1994. Copy available here.
8. ^ Carla Frecerro, "Notes of a Post-Sex Wars Theorize ", in Marianne Hirsch and Evelyn Fox Keller, eds., Conflicts in Feminism (Psychology Press, 1990), ISBN 978-0415901789, p. 311. Excerpts available at Google Books.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Vance, Carole S. (1992). Pleasure and danger: exploring female sexuality. London New York: Pandora Press. ISBN 9780044408673.

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template