A public lecture by visiting professor, Annette Lynch. She will discuss how the mainstreaming of pornographic imagery into fashion and popular culture at the turn of the millennium in the United States and Great Britain signaled a dramatic shift in the construction of femininity and masculinity. She will share research from her book, Porn Chic: Exploring the Contours of Raunch Eroticism, focusing closely on film, campus culture, Facebook profiles, and marketing campaigns that promote “raunch as the new cool.”

Famous for questioning the status quo, Lynch’s research observes how hyper-sexualization trends—from sexy Halloween costumes marketed to 6-year-olds, to posting explicitly sexualized images across media—have served not to liberate men and women (as they claim to do), but instead play a role in rising incidences of sexual assault, rape, predatory behaviors, and passivity when students are confronted with relationship violence both on and off campus.]