On Sex Beyond "Yes": Quill R Kukla in conversation with Manon Garcia

Every discussion of sexual ethics revolves around consent, but is this notion enough to help us understand good sex? How does the dominance of consent help or prevent us from negotiating the complexities of intimacy and pleasure? In this event, Quill R Kukla argues that the idea that consent is the gatekeeper between the realms of good and bad sex does not give us the tools we need to navigate pleasure and intimacy. They claim that traditional discussions of consent make no room for the reality that we can have good sex even though we may get drunk or high, or become forgetful with age, or be limited by social pressures and power relationships. There are ambiguous realms in which sexual agency requires much more than the ability to just say “yes” or “no” to sex. This event invites us to think beyond reductive concepts of consent, gender, and freedom to reframe the communication and social support we need to establish sexual relationships founded on genuine respect, open discourse, and unhindered joy.

Quill R Kukla is Professor of Philosophy and Disability Studies at Georgetown University. Their research interests include ethics with a focus on bioethics, sexual ethics, health communication ethics, and science ethics. Their fourth book Sex Beyond “Yes”: Pleasure and Agency for Everyone was published by W. W. Norton & Co. in September 2025.

Manon Garcia is a Junior Professor of practical philosophy at Freie Universität in Berlin. Her primary research is in political philosophy, feminist philosophy, and moral philosophy. Her book The Joy of Consent: A Philosophy of Good Sex was published by Harvard University Press in 2023.

#philosophy #feminism #ethics #feministtheory

0:00:45 - Why did you write this book?
0:06:15 - What role does philosophy play in the book?
0:09:39 - What does philosophy have to say about sexual ethics?
0:16:57 - How do different cultural norms affect sex?
0:23:00 - Inequalities and misogyny in society
0:29:52 - Sexual agency or autonomy?
0:39:17 - Audience Q&A