About this Event

In a world where sexuality is talked about more and more from same-sex marriage to non-monogamy, it is important to further break the taboo of this topic through learning and discussion. Come join us for an evening where two of our experts will discuss sexuality from different perspectives - an anthropologist with a focus on the biological and societal meaning of 'sex' and an actively polyamorous events organiser who has experience at such events as Kinkfest and Polydays who will talk about non-monogamy drawing from his own experiences.





Luke Phoenix: Love Outside the Box - an introduction to Polyamory and Ethical Non-monogamy



Whilst monogamous relationships have been the cultural and social norm for much of Western civilisation, more and more people are discovering it's not the only option for having a happy and healthy relationship. As sex and sexuality are becoming less of a taboo subject and diversity is increasingly celebrated rather than marginalised, we are seeing an increase in dialogue and openness about non-traditional relationship models. It is perfectly possible to love more than one person at a time, and there are numerous ethical ways of having relationships with multiple people.



In this talk, Luke will use his own experiences with relationships to discuss different forms of ethical non-monogamy, including polyamory, relationship anarchy, and open relationships, covering the benefits of non-monogamy, as well as the various challenges and changing public perception.



Bio:

Luke is heavily involved in the alternative sexuality scene in Oxford as an educator and events organiser. He has been a speaker at the last two Polydays, and has been involved in organising Kinkfest - an educational BDSM conference - since 2014. He is currently in relationships with at least three people, and has been actively polyamorous for the last four years



Dr Jamie Lawson: Getting Down to Business: What is sex anyway?



Sex: We talk about it, we write about it, we legislate about it, occasionally we have it... but what, exactly, is it? Despite being an important aspect of life for many people, it turns out that finding a single definition for sex is extremely hard. It's as if the concept of sex itself is somehow...slippery. Anthropologist and sexologist Dr Jamie F. Lawson presents a crash course in the slipperiness of sex and lays bare structural inequalities that operate in our society. Join us for a talk that covers biology, society, virginity, kink, consent and leopard slugs as we explore the meaning of sex.



Bio:

Jamie F. Lawson is an academic sexologist and anthropologist working at Bristol University. An interdisciplinary academic, Jamie has worked in and teaches across various aspects of anthropology; biological, evolutionary and social. Jamie is a queer researcher, who has worked on sex, attraction and relationships using a variety of methodologies. His research currently focusses on the role of identity, embodiment and power in sex and sexuality, particularly in kink and BDSM. Jamie is also an LGBTQ+ activist, and was a founding member and executive director of Durham Pride (2013-16).