Sex Out Loud With Tristan Taormino

Joining Tristan Taormino in this episode are professors Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan, the authors of Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus based on their brilliant research about sexual assault on college campuses. Current discourses focus on toxic masculinity, consent education, bystander intervention, and adjudication, which they recognize are important factors. Hirsch and Khan take a new approach with their concepts of sexual projects, sexual citizenship, and sexual geographies and how they create and support the conditions for sexual assault. They share some compelling stories of students navigating their sexuality in a brand new environment, but they don’t just focus on individual players and experiences, but the systems that fail many of us. We talk about the role of sex education (or lack thereof), power dynamics, inequalities, social status, and peer pressure. Plus, they offer nuanced interventions and solutions for change. Jennifer Hirsch is professor of socio-m