Michelle Baldwin, a.k.a. Vivienne VaVoom, will lead the first Feminism & Co. discussion at the Lab at Belmar.

Frank discussions about gender and sexuality are often relegated to either the academy or the dorm room, but the new Feminism & Co. series seeks to make the topics relevant, interesting and most importantly, fun. The three-part series kicks off Thursday at the Lab at Belmar with “History and Politics of Burlesque,” and continues through April with titles like “Girls! Girls! Girls!” and “Women and Work.”

We talked to co-organizer Gillian Silverman, a professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, about the innovative program, which mixes lectures with films, performance, guest speakers and open, two-way discussions.

Where did the idea for Feminism & Co. come from?

(Co-director) Elissa Auther, a professor at CU-Colorado Springs, and I had the idea. Part of it was it felt like there was real public interest in issues of women and gender, and not just in academia.

What are some examples of that?

From the breakout success of shows like “The L Word” to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, it’s everywhere. So it’s a lecture and performance series that explores these issues that are really important and relevant to our everyday lives, but that we don’t always have the space and time to think about. And I think we’ll be exploring them in a way that’s both playful and thoughtful.

The Lab always seems to do a really good job of that.

They care about the substance as well as the form and are really interested in analyzing things in detail, but without sacrificing that need to play. It’s a non-traditional format that injects a spirit of liveliness. For example, Michelle Baldwin from Burlesque as it Was is curating on Thursday. First she’ll talk to the audience and explain the history of burlesque, but you also get a chance to watch her and her troupe perform a burlesque show.

So all the programs sort of follow that mixed format?

Yes, because in the following program, “Women and Work,” you can listen to a professor talk about problems related to women in the workplace, but you can also hear an activist speak about how we might change that workplace, then see a film of Hollywood’s representations of women. The last program “Girls! Girls! Girls!” is all about girl culture, so one of the things we’re planning is to have a series of mother-daughter pairs talk about princess culture.

Princess culture?

You know, Barbies and Bratz. Not to condemn it but just to sort of explore it. In fact, one of the girls we’re having speak is six years old.

Really? That’s awesome…

She’s actually really articulate about why these things are important to her. It’s going to be fun.

If this goes well will you do more?

Yes. We thought starting with three spaced out a couple weeks apart would be good. We’re hoping in the fall to have another series of three, and then again next spring.

What do you hope the average person will get out of this?

We’re basically trying to arrange a program that will feel relevant to the general public, and so adding the dance component to Michelle Baldwin’s talk is one example of that. A lot of relevance comes out of watching a performance and thinking about it, but also in the discussions afterwards we want people to talk about their own experiences. I’m hoping it will also lead to interesting conversations about every day sexuality, both for men and women — because this event is absolutely for men too.