YNOT – Lucas Entertainment President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Lucas will participate in Oxford Union’s planned debate about gay rights and social issues. Lucas and others will deliberate the proposition “This House Believes the Gay Rights Movement has Undermined Family Values.”The debate is scheduled to occur June 3 at Oxford University in England.
The event’s organizer said New York-based Lucas was chosen to participate precisely because the gay-porn director-producer-performer is outspoken and unafraid to voice controversial notions. In addition, Lucas’ personal history makes him uniquely suited to address the topic.
“First, we thought his resolute identification with the Jewish community, in the context of open homosexuality, would lend him strong opinions on the ‘family values’ around which our debate centers,” Alexander Lau said. “Second, his vociferous advocation [sic] of safe sex in the gay community epitomizes attempts by the gay rights movement to appear more closely aligned to traditional mores, and to move away from old stereotypes. Michael’s position at the forefront of the gay entertainment industry can but make this message all the more compelling.”
Lucas, of course, was pleased to receive the invitation.
“Oxford University is a world-renowned institution and a global leader in education and scholarship,” he said. “I am honored that Oxford chose me as a debater on such an interesting and important topic. I will do my best to convey how the LGBT community has expanded and improved upon concepts about what it means to be a family.”
In the past, Lucas has lectured on topics ranging from the adult industry, safe sex and relationships, to politics, the LGBT community and Israel. Lucas has spoken at Yale University (first at a master’s tea, then as a member of a panel discussion about pornography), New York University, Rutgers University and Stanford University. His appearance at Stanford sparked five articles in the school’s press.
Lucas’ article “On Gay Porn” was included in a 2006 volume of the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism.
Possibly the world’s most prestigious debating society, the Oxford Union frequently invites international guests and speakers to Oxford. Established in 1823, the society aims to promote debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe. Previous speakers include former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert Kennedy, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, scientist Albert Einstein, numerous British Prime Ministers, several United States Presidents and many other celebrated individuals from a range of disciplines.
For more about Lucas, visit LucasEntertainment.com.
