Knowra Sex-positive feminism Sex-positive feminism A feminist perspective that affirms consensual sexual expression, challenges stigma around sex, and opposes coercion, exploitation, and discrimination.
Feminist sex wars : A late twentieth-century feminist conflict over pornography, sexual freedom, censorship, and sexual violence. These disputes gave sex-positive feminism its name and sharpened its arguments.
Sexual consent : Freely given, informed, and reversible agreement to participate in a sexual activity. Consent distinguishes the expression this perspective affirms from coercive sexual conduct.
Sex-negative feminism : A feminist orientation that treats sexual practices and institutions as deeply shaped by gendered power and domination. It contrasts with sex-positive feminism’s emphasis on distinguishing consensual expression from coercion.
Comprehensive sex education : Sex education covering relationships, consent, sexual health, identity, and contraception in an age-appropriate way. Its inclusion of consent and diverse identities reflects sex-positive educational aims.
Sexual revolution : A period of changing sexual attitudes and practices, especially in Western societies from the 1960s onward. Its legacy raised enduring questions about whether greater sexual freedom benefits everyone equally.
Second-wave feminism : A feminist movement from the 1960s through the 1980s focused on gender inequality in law, work, family, and sexuality. Its debates about sexuality and power formed the movement’s immediate political setting.
Sexual autonomy : A person's capacity and right to make decisions about their own sexual life and body. It grounds the emphasis on choice without prescribing a single acceptable sexuality.
Sexual liberalism : A political outlook that favors individual freedom in sexual matters, subject to limits such as consent and harm. Its language of personal liberty overlaps with, but does not fully capture, feminist power analysis.
Sex worker rights : Advocacy for the safety, labor rights, and equal protection of people who sell or exchange sexual services. This area tests whether sexual autonomy includes people whose choices are socially stigmatized.
Rape culture : Social norms and institutions that normalize sexual violence, excuse perpetrators, or blame victims. Sex-positive politics distinguishes affirmation of consensual sex from minimizing violence or its enabling conditions.
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