Bad Sex: Hookups, Harms, and the Politics of Sex in the 21st Century

Avery Lord — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:58:06 +0000

Bad Sex: Hookups, Harms, and the Politics of Sex in the 21st Century Avery Lord Thu, 06/18/2026 - 11:58

By: Zoe Moss

Abstract:

This dissertation works to politicize sex that lies somewhere between liberating and assault. In this project, I offer a comprehensive theorization of the concept of what I call “Bad Sex”. I offer the original definition of Bad Sex as sex that is legally permissible, yet morally harmful. This definition serves as a way to begin to create a cohesive language around this experience so that the harms that result from it can be made both legible and articulable. Empirical research in sociology and psychology, in addition to depictions of sex in literature, music, podcasts, movies and television shows demonstrate that this type of sex is extremely common, yet I argue that without a comprehensive political theory of it, the harms that come with bad sex – demoralization, degradation of agency, and demobilization – remain illegible.

I frame the entire phenomenon of Bad Sex as an urgent issue of what feminist philosopher Miranda Fricker terms hermeneutical injustice, or the lack of justice that results from not being able to understand one’s own experiences, and/or having one’s experiences be misunderstood by others. By taking what is perceived as an ordinary sexual experience and offering a novel and pointedly political theoretical analysis that questions why and how these clear harms have been rendered banal, I begin to make experiences of Bad Sex legible to readers.

After clearly defining Bad Sex, I work to answer the question of how it has come to be understood as ordinary through an investigation of both feminist legal theory and interpersonal and social norms in chapters two and three respectively. In chapter four, I offer an analysis of the popular television shows Girls, Euphoria, and Tuca and Bertie. I use these television shows as a means to argue that portrayals of Bad Sex on television are an important starting point for making it legible to viewers while also serving as the jumping-off point for politically oriented consciousness-raising. I conclude by arguing that potential of consciousness raising can help people to reconsider their own experiences of Bad Sex while also collectively re-theorizing what sex is and ought to be.

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Congratulations to PhD Student Zoe Moss on Her Fellowship!

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 19:05:30 +0000

Congratulations to PhD Student Zoe Moss on Her Fellowship! Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/22/2021 - 13:05

Congratulations are due to Zoe Moss for her receipt of the Summer Fellowship through the Center for Humanities & the Arts. The CHA Summer Fellowship is designed for graduate students conducting research in the humanities and the arts during the summer months who do not already receive university-sponsored funding.

Excellence of the project was the main criterion for selection and Zoe will be using the fellowship to support her in completing her prospectus, particularly studying feminist jurisprudence as it relates to sexual assault and consent.

Well done, Zoe!

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