Historical Recordings
This page brings together some important talks from the conference entitled “The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism” held at New York University Law School April 4 1987. The conference was attended by over 800 people and was held against the backdrop of the ongoing debate between radical feminists opposed to pornography and the sexual liberals. Read in detail about this background in the introduction by Dorchen Leidholdt to the book “Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism” which was published as a result of the conference. The complete book “The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism” can be downloaded in pdf form here.
These recordings are from the first 2 plenary sessions of the conference and are listed in the order of presentation. They are all in mp3 format. Clicking on a link will open that recording in your audio player.
Introductory Remarks: Zesara Chan (11 minutes)
Opening Address: Lottie Cottin Pogrebin, for Gloria Steinem (5 minutes)
The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism in the 1920’s: Sheila Jeffreys (43 minutes)
Liberal Intellectuals and the Politics of Pornograhpy: Susan Brownmiller (16 minutes)
Women-Hating Right and Left: Andrea Dworkin (48 mins)
Beyond Dominance and Submission:A Feminist View of Society: Shere Hite (12 minutes)
Liberalism and the Death of Feminism: Catherine McKinnon(45 mins)