Announcing... Panelists!

Discussing the relationship between feminism and pornography, we have:

Dr. John Foubert, a feminist-identified professor of education at the College, anti-pornography activist, and founder of the all-male sexual assault prevention program One-in-Four

Jill Brenneman, the executive director of the Sex Workers Outreach Project East, a self-identified "feminist expatriate," former sex worker, and sex workers rights activist

Samantha Berg, the co-founder of the Antiporn Activist Network, self-identified radical feminist, anti-capitalist activist, and creator of the website genderberg.com

Renegade Evolution, a board member of the Sex Workers Outreach Project East, sex worker, blogger, sex workers rights advocate, and self-proclaimed sexual mercenary.

We are very excited about our panelists, all of which are very knowledgeable about the subject, and are sure to each have different and interesting takes on the issue. More info about the structure of the panel will be posted in a bit, but for now, start thinking about any questions you might have for our guests, because there will be time for Audience Q&A.

Get Excited!!!

Hey everyone,

We hope you all are as psyched for the panel as we are... we've been working really hard on fundraising and coordinating speakers. As I heard one group member say earlier, "It all pretty much came together this morning". So, yes, it looks it's going to be an awesome time (and really educational too!). Check back soon for the final list of panelists, complete with mini-biographies.

Jill Brenneman

We were fortunate to have Sex Worker's Rights activist and Sex Workers Outreach Project East coordinator Jill Brenneman come to William & Mary on March 30th. The event was successful for a rainy Sunday evening... we had about 15 people come out to Washington 201 to hear her speak. She shared some personal stories about her experience with sex work and activism, and talked about how she got to be where she is today. Check out the SWOP east blog at http://www.swopeast.org/.
We hope to have some video responses up soon! If anyone came out to the event and would like to share their thoughts, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

And, this just in: If you missed Jill, don't worry- we're happy to announce that she has agreed to come back and speak at the panel next week!!!

About the Panel

This purpose of this panel is to educate the student body in three general areas of research: the relationship of pornography to violence against women, the objectification of women/ artistic self-expression debate, and the consequences (both positive and negative) of society’s current attitude towards pornography on those who are associated with the industry. More specifically, we hope to address issues of recent campus-wide concern such the effect of pornography on instances of sexual assault within college communities, and the health and well-being of sex-workers in a society which perceives them as lower-class citizens. In light of the recent Sex Worker’s Art show controversy among other things, we are hopeful that the campus will be particularly receptive to this opportunity to learn more about all sides of the issue and offer their support in return.

The panel itself will consist of 4 speakers, and will include individual lectures, inter-panelist debate, and an audience question and answer session. We plan to make every effort possible to keep the composition of the panel neutral, the questions asked unbiased, and facilitate a tone of academic respect for all opinions voiced during the event