What We're Listening To: Does Anyone Have a Right To Sex?
Sep 7, 2023
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Tyler Cowen, an economist and host of Conversations with Tyler, interviews Amia Srinivasan, a philosopher from Oxford and author of The Right to Sex. They dive into whether we have a 'right' to be desired and discuss how societal norms shape our sexual desires. The conversation gets heated over the sufficiency of consent in relationships and the implications of declining fertility rates. Moreover, they explore the complex intersections of feminism with various ideologies, challenging traditional perceptions around sex, desire, and ethical dilemmas.
The podcast episode promotes and encourages honest and frank conversations through an upcoming live debate on the proposition 'The sexual revolution has failed'.
The interview with philosopher Amia Srinivasan in the podcast episode explores complex issues related to sexuality and gender, including the right to be desired, societal influences on sexual desires, consent in sexual relationships, falling fertility rates, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender dynamics.
The podcast episode highlights the patriarchal backdrop surrounding sex and sexual surrogacy, as well as the need to address the well-being and rights of sex workers.
Deep dives
Summary of Podcast Episode
The podcast episode starts with an exciting announcement about a live debate on the proposition 'The sexual revolution has failed'. The debate will feature participants arguing for and against the proposition. The podcast then mentions another episode of Conversations with Tyler, in which Tyler Cowen interviews philosopher Amia Srinivasan about her book 'The Right to Sex'. The conversation explores topics such as sexual desire, societal influences on desires, consent, falling fertility rates, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender roles. The episode is described as contentious yet respectful, presenting different perspectives on complex issues. The podcast episode concludes with various recommendations and discussions on topics like Israeli history, Brian Eno albums, Susan Sontag, and Walt Whitman's influence on philosophy.
Debate on the Proposition 'The sexual revolution has failed'
The podcast episode announces an upcoming live debate on the proposition 'The sexual revolution has failed'. The debate will feature participants arguing for and against the proposition, encouraging honest and frank conversations about the subject. The excitement around the debate stems from its focus on embodying and promoting good faith debates and honest conversations, which are viewed as increasingly rare in polarized societies.
Interview about 'The Right to Sex' and related topics
The podcast episode features an interview with philosopher Amia Srinivasan, discussing her book 'The Right to Sex' and exploring various topics related to sexuality and gender. The conversation delves into questions about the right to be desired, the influence of society on sexual desires, the role of consent in sexual relationships, falling fertility rates, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender dynamics. The interview is praised for being contentious yet respectful, presenting different perspectives on these complex issues.
Challenge of Redistributing Sex
The podcast episode delves into the complexities of redistributing sex and sexual surrogacy. It highlights the patriarchal backdrop that problematically reinforces the idea that men are entitled to women's bodies. It also presents the views of radical sex workers who argue that focusing on hypothetical scenarios of subsidizing sex workers for disabled individuals distracts from the reality of sex work and the need to address the well-being and rights of the majority of sex workers.
Boosting Fertility Rates and Social Reproduction
The episode explores declining fertility rates and discusses potential ways to address them. It suggests the need for comprehensive social provisions such as universal 24-hour childcare, excellent pre-K education, non-stagnating wages, better maternal healthcare, and free universal healthcare. The episode highlights the contradiction of expecting people to have children without compensating them for the labor of child-rearing and social reproduction. It also emphasizes the necessity to rethink traditional family structures and patterns of family-making in order to create a society that supports human flourishing and values the work of social reproduction.
This week, while our audio team is on summer break, we’re featuring an episode from one of our favorite podcasts: Conversations with Tyler, hosted by the wonderful Tyler Cowen. It’s a conversation with philosopher Amia Srinivasan about her book, The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century. They debate questions such as: do we have a “right” to be desired? How are our sexual desires shaped by the society around us? Is consent sufficient for a sexual relationship? How should we address falling fertility rates? What did women learn about egalitarianism during the pandemic? Why, according to her, progress requires regress. And much, much more. . .
The episode received a lot of attention and reactions, for reasons you’ll understand when you listen to it. Most importantly, it’s contentious yet respectful in a way that I think is increasingly rare in public life. As Tyler wrote at the time, on his blog Marginal Revolution, about the conversation: “You have to learn to learn from people who bother, annoy, or frustrate you. If you do, they will not in fact bother, annoy, or frustrate you.”
I couldn’t agree more. In fact, this conversation between Tyler and Amia was a big inspiration for our first-ever Free Press live debate, which is happening next week in L.A. The proposition: has the sexual revolution failed? If this conversation inspires you too, please consider buying a ticket to the event: Wednesday, September 13, at the Ace Theatre in downtown L.A.
