The sexual revolution swept away traditional sexual ethics for a more permissive one based solely on consent. But three recent books question whether a consent-based ethic is good for us, especially for women. In this series, we’ll examine three new critiques of the sexual revolution from Christine Emba, Amia Srinivasan, and Louise Perry, as well as arguments about sex and marriage from first-wave feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Sarah Grimké. Does ethical sex require more than consent? What is sex, and what is it for?

In her recent book The Right to Sex, Oxford philosopher Amia Srinivasan argues that oppressive social and cultural forces shape our sexual desires, which leads us to desire and consent to things that are harmful and oppressive. A sexual ethic focusing only on consent fails to see this and keeps us from examining where our desires come from, and whether they are good for us and others. Natalie Hannan (Duke) will lead a discussion of Srinivasan’s essays “The Right to Sex” and “The Politics of Desire.”