Who is allowed to want? | Open Loops, a modern academic salon
Wanting is never neutral.
We are taught what is acceptable to want, how much wanting is “too much,” and who is permitted to desire openly without consequence. Some desires are celebrated as ambition or confidence; others are pathologized, shamed, or rendered dangerous. Wanting, it turns out, is deeply political.
Open Loops is a modern-day academic salon. We are a gathering of curious minds who come together to sit with big questions through conversation, philosophy, psychology, and lived experience. This month, we’ll explore the question:
Who is allowed to want?
Together, we’ll reflect on how desire is shaped by gender, class, queerness, power, and safety. We’ll consider what happens when wanting is forbidden, minimized, or made conditional, and what it means to reclaim desire as something legitimate, meaningful, and human.
This is not a lecture or a panel. It’s an intimate, guided conversation designed to make space for nuance, reflection, and collective thinking.
No background in philosophy is required, just curiosity and a willingness to engage thoughtfully.
📍 Le Petit Monstre, Brooklyn
🗓 January 21 · 7–9 PM