Consenting to relations: The personal pleasures of “power disparity” in lesbian student-teacher partnerships

Given that the field of gay and lesbian studies has long been influenced by Foucauldian theory, we find it surprising that lesbian academics should rely on idealist notions of sexual practice and power. Barale and Chapkis presume that sex draws a mystical boundary between students and teachers that cannot be brooked. Such an attitude makes of sex a secret (once again) and reempowers it as an ultimate determinant of identity. We don’t want to suggest (necessarily) that every lesbian professor should sleep with a (or some) student(s), but we would like to use our own relationship as a jumping-off point to discuss the positive and useful aspects of such a relationship-and we mean positive and useful for both parties.