What HBO´s “The Deuce“ can teach us about the intersection of sex work, power, class and capitalism

by Laura Schranz Due to new court rulings that loosened obscenity rules and left them rather ambiguous and open to interpretation, New York experienced a boom in sex work, leading to the so-called “Golden Age of Porn”. Place of action was mostly the so-called Deuce, a street in Manhattan between Times Square and 8th Avenue.

The importance of safe spaces

by Hanna Eisen There are multiple known cases of power abuse and “inappropriate behaviour” by staff members and professors towards students and other staff members within the Netherlands. Two of those cases have been revealed within Radboud University in the last two years. Additionally, cases of sexual misconduct between students happen regularly, but most of them are not being reported.

Sexually liberated or slutty? The harm of slut-shaming

By Hanna Eisen Are you a prude, a good girl, or a slut? It seems like these are the only categories women can fall into regarding their sexuality. While women learn from a young age that they have to act according to societal standards, none of the possible decisions seem to be good enough. One should be flirty, but not too sexy; being a virgin is something to be embarrassed about, but enjoying casual sex is shameful. It seems impossible to walk the fine line of being a “good girl”, especially if that does not fit with the (secret) desires one has.

Women, violence, and war: “It’s the unexpected”

by Catarina Vila Nova Western societies aspire to ideals of equality but it’s in moments of crisis that the reality of where we still are comes to the fore. When it comes to war, gender norms are almost as rooted as they’ve always been. Even with catchy stories of female soldiers in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine flooding our timelines, traditional gender roles still take hold.