Dr. April Nowell, an anthropology professor at the University of Victoria, will speak Friday night about her research concerning Ice Age Venus figurines.

In her presentation “Pornography is in the Eye of the Beholder: Sex, Science and the Media in the study of Ice-Age Figurines,” Nowell will examine the popular theory that such objects were pornographic in nature. The 2009 discovery of the Aurignacian Hohle Fels figurine in Germany, considered a sex object by academics and popular culture, serves an example for the lecture. 

Nowell will argue that denoting Ice Age figures as sexual undermines their objective and has modern-day consequences. She will address why such sexualization has persisted in the media and will contend that the analysis of the figurines must take place within context.

The Department of Anthropology is hosting the lecture, as part of their annual marquee event.  It will take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in room 101 of the Behavioral Science Building.

Collegian Diversity Beat Reporter Hannah Ditzenberger can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter at @h_ditzenberger.