Pleasure Matters

In this one-of-a-kind episode, we bring to you a dynamic and engaging discussion that took place on the 5th of September 2024, titled 'Pleasure Matters', in collaboration with The Pleasure Project and Agents of Ishq.
This discussion followed the launch of SRHM's first-ever Special Collection on Sexual Pleasure, and comes at a time when sex and pleasure continue to be associated with stigma and shame, and the need for pleasure for the sake of pleasure is often overlooked in discussions around sexual health and rights.

Panellists, whose work also features in this Special Collection, provided unique perspectives on the integration of pleasure, politics, and SRHR, pleasure in the context of disability, rights, and gender, what pleasure could mean for different individuals and communities, and the need to engage with the lived experiences and politics of pleasure to achieve holistic SRHR.

Moderators:

Eszter Kismodi, Chief Executive, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

Anne Philpott, Founder and Co-Director, The Pleasure Project

Paromita Vohra, Creative Director, Agents of Ishq

Panellists:

Sherren El Faki, Director for Solidarity for Change and Voice at the International Planned Parenthood Federation

Lawrence Shapiro, Deaf and Disability Artist with the Canada Council for the Arts and a leading disabled dancer in his native Canada

Zahra Stardust, Sexual media scholar working at the intersections of sexuality, technology, and social justice. 

Additional resources:

Finding the cosmos of intimacies: where pleasurable safe sex dances with liberation - Editorial by Anne Philpott and Paromita Vohra