THEME 2026

THEME 2026

Stylized text that reads "self-empowerment" in a light cream color on a black background.
Two women with their foreheads touching, eyes closed, and gentle expressions. One has blonde hair and wears earrings, while the other has darker, curly hair and a tattoo on her arm.

The bodies, lives and desires of womxn and queer people have long been policed, politicised and controlled.

We want to understand the ways in which social, cultural, and political conditions require or encourage womxn and queer people to censor themselves, their experiences, their pleasure.

How do we make ourselves and our desires palatable? In what ways do we corroborate with control in order to feel safe in our sexuality?

Political strictures around pornography, adult content and sexual expression are becoming tighter year on year - both on and offline.

Legislation and restrictive algorithms inhibit all of us - our conversations and opportunities to learn and explore pleasure and desire, in healthy and creative ways. Platforms bend us to the will of their desires, but what about ours?

We want to learn about the creative, defiant and tender ways people are pushing back and exploring the dynamic and diverse expressions of pleasure.