Free concert, talk, and Q&A: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, Commencement Hall
TACOMA, Wash – What do song titles such as “Warm, Bloody, and Tender” and “Santa Baby” make you think of? If it’s a good steak and a glass of mulled wine, think again.
Musician Rachel Lark will happily fill you in on the context of her song titles as she appears in Tacoma on her one-woman mission to help the public think positively and fearlessly about sex.
Armed with her ukulele, Lark has been writing and performing songs about sex-positivity, healthy relationships, and sexual consent at San Francisco counterculture venues for the last few years. Her repertoire has garnered her attention and acclaim from alternative and traditional media such as The Savage Lovecast podcast series and Salon magazine.
Rachel Lark will perform at the University of Puget Sound at 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 27, in the Tahoma Room, Commencement Hall. The event will include a live performance of her songs, a brief talk about feminism and sex-positivity, and questions and answers with students and community members. The event is free, and everyone is welcome.
“College audiences are always a blast!” said Lark. “For some students, it’ll be their first taste of what sex-positivity looks like. That’s a really powerful thing to witness.”
Lark’s songs are not only entertaining but enlightening, too—especially at a time when universities are increasingly taking proactive measures to improve the campus sexual climate. The academic blog Feminist Philosophers, for example, has highlighted Lark’s songs for their educational value.
“Rachel Lark's song ‘For the Guys’ is the best consent education you could ever hope to find,” said Jennifer Saul, co-founder of Feminist Philosophers; professor of philosophy at the University of Sheffield, U.K.; and director of the Society for Women in Philosophy UK. “And it's hilarious too. A wonderful example of the not-well-enough-known fact that feminist thought can be not just interesting, but fun and entertaining.”
University of Puget Sound Department of Philosophy Chair Ariela Tubert agrees.
“It’s exciting to have the chance to bring Rachel Lark to the Puget Sound campus,” she said. “Her songs seek to promote positive attitudes towards sex in a witty and fun way. In addition, her work nicely demonstrates how you can have art inspired by philosophical ideas.”
The free event is organized and sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and co-sponsored by the Gender and Queer Studies Program; Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Center for Intercultural and Civic Engagement; and Student Activities/Sexuality Issues, Relationships, and Gender Education (SIRGE).
To learn more about Rachel Lark, visit rachellark.com.
For directions and a map of the University of Puget Sound campus: pugetsound.edu/directions
For accessibility information, please contact accessibility@pugetsound.edu or 253.879.3236, or visit pugetsound.edu/accessibility.
Photos of Rachel Lark are available from rachellark.com/media
Photos on page: Rachel Lark, by Evan Spiler
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