Let's Talk About Sex

It is commonplace to argue that porn causes ‘harm’ (even whilst the nature of harm is rarely defined much less the mechanisms through which harm takes place) and that porn is ‘obscene’. I will argue, not that porn is necessarily harmful or a marginal ‘obscene’ commodity, but instead a central feature of contemporary popular culture and that gay porn in particular is an especially useful site to look at the meanings of modern masculinity.

Communication taboos surround not only women’s sexuality, but also many aspects of women’s health. To help address the stigma and silences around women’s (sexual) health, we organised ‘The VQ: a women’s health, sex & pleasure pop up’ to create a fun, safe and sex positive space for women of Birmingham. Join us to learn more about the research that led us to launch the VQ. We’ll also talk about the highs (attracting women of all ages and backgrounds to the event) and lows (poor and sensationalist media coverage) of organising the UK’s first health & sex shop for women.