The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project works to create Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sexual ethics rooted in freedom, mutuality, meaningful consent, responsibility, and female (as well as male) pleasure, untainted by slave-holding values. Read more>
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Profs. Bernadette Brooten and Anita Hill talk about injustice to sexually assaulted Black women and their conference on the topic, "Disrupting the Script," with BrandeisNOW.
Beyond Slavery
Beyond Slavery: Overcoming Its Religious and Sexual Legacies. Edited by Bernadette J. Brooten with the editorial assistance by Jacqueline L. Hazelton. Palgrave MacMillan, 358 pages.
Read the introduction to Beyond Slavery.
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The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation and Brandeis University.
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Is Rape a Crime?
A Memoir, An Investigation, and a Manifesto
Michelle Bowdler and Anita F. Hill in Conversation
Moderated by Bernadette J. Brooten, Brandeis Kraft-Hiatt Professor Emerita; Director, Feminist Sexual Ethics Projects
Aug. 17, 2021
Co-sponsored by the Women's Studies Research Center
How Do Race, Ethnicity,
and Religion Intersect
with Sexual Violence?
In the U.S., sexual violence is racially charged. Such violence occurs in all communities, but differently in each. By learning about those differences and by working to create the conditions in which all victims/survivors know that reporting will result in justice, we can reduce sexual harassment and violence.
Below are two video excerpts from the conference.
Sarah Deer: Injustice in Indian Country, Native Women and Violent Crime
Bernadette Brooten: How Religion Can Help or Hinder Survivors of Sexual Violence
Learn more about this topic and watch all the event videos here>
"Disrupting the Script: Raising to Legal Consciousness Sexual Assaults on Black Women,"
a conference convened by
Anita F. Hill and Bernadette J. Brooten
In her book Speaking Truth to Power, Anita Hill highlighted the particular hurdles Black rape survivors face in U.S. criminal justice system. Together, Anita Hill and Bernadette Brooten seek to enhance public discussion of this problem in order to promote both social and legal change. The conference drew upon theater, religion, law, history, and public policy to help participants become agents for change.
See highlights from the conference.
"Beyond Slavery: Overcoming Its Religious & Sexual Legacies,"
a conference convened by
Bernadette J. Brooten
The "Beyond Slavery" conference focused on providing a forum for leading intellectuals, activists, and the public to discuss overcoming slavery's ongoing impact on sexuality. Presenters spoke on a wide range of topics, providing insight into traditional religious support for slavery; the sexual dynamics of slavery; how religious and other people can complete the abolition of slavery; and how best to move beyond racial stereotypes about sexuality.
Watch formerly enslaved anti-slavery activist Mende Nazer respond to historical slavery and to religious teachings on it. See highlights from the conference.