A couple of days ago I wrote about Filament, a new erotica magazine for women. Over the last few days the mag has received several mentions in mainstream media. Great PR for Filament but, unfortunately, the same old tired assumtions and discussions are being rehashed.
The Daily Mail doesn’t hesitate to come blaring in with assumptions at full mast:
Women just don’t respond to visual stimuli in the same way that men do – and if we did, I doubt whether Filament’s hairless, feminine men would be the ones to turn us on.
But then neither, in all probability, would perfectly honed, six pack-flexing, chiselled hunks. A man who can make a woman laugh is worth ten of either type. To tickle our erotic centre, we need a living, breathing, talking human being.
So why do we persist in pretending we’re just like men?
The author then goes on to say that if women do like porn, it’s because we’re embracing the “laddette” culture and trying to be blokes. She declares that “leering at pornography aimed at women” is “as innately unfeminine as drinking yourself senseless.”
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Ah yes, “femininity”. That word so often used to put women in their place. I’m sure I speak for porn-loving women everywhere when I say: Fuck off, Olivia Lichtenstein.
Meanwhile, a blogger at the Brisbane Times has declared that “there’s no decent porn for women” after having done, oh, about 2 minutes worth of research into the topic. Still, at least she doesn’t give the “women aren’t visual” myth as much creedence as others:
Are women visual creatures too? Yes. Perhaps not in the same way men are perceived to be. We might not all enjoy the close-up motion shots common in most porn (though I’m sure there are women who do – and that’s great).
But we shouldn’t be told that sex is only as good as we think or feel it is. And men shouldn’t be told that it’s only as good as it looks.
Unfortunately the majority of commenters seem to have ignored this and are rehashing the old assumptions about women and porn.
Over at the New York Press. the writer warns the magazine that it’s probably too academic and “dry”. I guess there’s no pleasing some people.
At least the New Zealanders don’t go for the usual angles. They’re just proud that the magazine’s creator is a kiwi.
I received an email from Filament’s creator, Suraya, today. I’m looking forward to hearing more about why she’s decided to go into hard-copy publishing and also her other plans for the mag.
I wrote on Suraya’s new venture myself last week:
http://publicaddress.net/default,5945.sm#post5945
In a very Kiwi way she turned out to be a friend of an old flatmate of mine. She was fabulous to interview and on the whole the comment response was very positive and pleasing.