Greta Christina, “Are We Having Sex Now or What?”

Posted: Tue, Aug 27, 2024

Discussion questions

[Get to know your neighbors first!]

How has the answer to “what is sex?” become so non-obvious to our author? Which potential answers has she tried, and why do they not work?
Think about the bigger picture as well: What’s the point of deciding whether something counts as sex? (Is there such a point? Is it an innocent one?) Who makes that decision for us? (Is it the right decision? Should they get to decide in the first place?)

I want to encourage us to get more and more comfortable uncovering and challenging implicit, taken-for-granted assumptions: “Sex is defined as …” -> by whom? who gets to say what sex is? on what grounds?
Philosophical questions like “what counts as sex?” can have real-world political consequences (i.e., they are not “value-neutral”): when sex is presumed to be penis-in-vagina intercourse, whose perspectives are centered? whose are being left out?
It can be useful to theorize “from margin to center”: thinking about what sex is to queer women may shed light on what sex is to straight women, but not vice versa.
Philosophy is not merely “opinions”: we can make a case for/against a view without resorting to authority, religion, etc.
Most importantly, I want us to learn to think critically and reflectively for ourselves.