Sex, Science and the Pursuit of Knowledge

Okay, this is the third and last in what has become a series about sex (in every sense of the word) and science. 

The whole "prostitution/stripping/porn ALWAYS equals oppression/sexism vs. prostitution/stripping can SOMETIMES be viewed, by the prostitute/stripper as empowering" argument got me thinking about the so-called waves of feminism. A little googling confirmed my dim memories that Second-Wave feminism, at least as espoused by the likes of Catherine McKinnon and Andrea Dworkin, tended toward a victim theory of women and sex work/pornograpy, while Third-Wavers rejected these propositions, dismissing them as, in their own, probably less objectionable way, stereotypical, reductive and puritanical (essentially, not dissimilar from the anti-sex views of conservative, patriarchal churches, even if coming from a different rhetorical place).

Phew. That was one easy-reading paragraph.

Anyway, defining feminism in terms of monolithic "waves" is itself reductive, and obviously very few women would define themselves by either term. And, of course, the argument over the meanings of these terms continues to rage. 

For example, witness this (admittedly outdated) exchange between feminists, one a sex worker and the other a women's study professor. Regardless of where one falls in the argument, the emails illustrate how fallacious it is to presume someone else's motives - and also to presume that sex workers are necessarily uninformed about feminist theory. 

Erroneous presumptions are just one unfortunate consequence of people being so guided by political principle that they miss out on contradictory truths. It's been suggested to me - not directly, but that's the inference I gleaned - that research like the kind I've referenced in the last couple of posts is dangerous because it could be interpreted as a justification for the continued oppression and objectification of women. I get that, and I get that, as a man, I have the luxury of considering these things in purely philosophical terms. But the notion that experiments should not be undertaken, or not reported on, because the results might upset our political beliefs, is deeply disturbing to me.  

An equality based on the suppression of knowledge, or even the suppression of attempts to gain knowledge, is a false equality.