There’s a post at the Smart Girl’s Porn Club by Sarah about the book Pornified by Pamela Paul.
Sarah says:
“She lists of the reasons that Pro-Porn fems aren’t really feminists at all, and why they don’t really get the dark truth about porn: They only view the soft stuff, the Candida Royalle collections, the womens erotica shelf. They are brainwashed by the patriarchy and the media to think that the only way the can be cool or PC to accept Porn and act into it. Or they are slutty to begin with – women who will do anything for a buck. “
I haven’t read the book, but if what Sarah says is correct, here’s my response:
I consider myself a pro-porn feminist, and by damn, it pisses me off when people suggest I’ve been brainwashed or fooled.
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I know perfectly well what I’m doing. I make porn that I like. I also make porn with a very strong pro-woman slant. I don’t do it to please men. I don’t do it to be “cool.” I do it to please myself, and my female surfers.
And I’ve had pro-porn people suggest that because I occasionally like hetero romancy stuff (“the soft stuff”) that my sexuality has been shaped by patriarchy as well and that I’m really oppressing women because that’s what I offer. Apparently I’m perpetuating the oppressive patriarchal paradigm of sexuality. In a way, it’s the same argument, that somehow I’ve been duped and should know better.
So, thanks for the condescension everyone.
What really bugs me is that anti-porn feminists insist on seeing everything in black and white, and they also want to portray “porn” as this amorphous scary monster that’s essentially all the same – sexist, offensive and oppressive.
I want them to understand that, as a feminist you can enjoy sexually explicit material, AND you can also speak out against the sexism that exists in a lot of porn.
Because yes, there’s some seriously awful, nasty, obnoxious porn out there. Take for example those horrible “reality” sites like Bangbus whose main aim is to show humilation or degredation, and sex is just the method. A lot of them raise issues because they depict a lack of consent. They certainly don’t depict the women with any respect. I personally find those sites horribly offensive and sexist. I don’t think they encourage men to think of women (or sex) in a positive way.
Nonetheless, I will not advocate banning that kind of thing. It’s fine to speak out against it, or to have an open discussion as to whether this kind of porn is just fantasy or a more sinister thing, but it’s not up to me to censor. There’s a difference between trying to dissuade people through discussion and simply banning something.
And, again, just because that kind of porn exists doesn’t mean that all porn is like that. Porn can be uplifting, pleasurable and intimate, just as it can be “addictive”, divisive and offensive. I’d like to see these people argue that Tony Comstock’s films are dangerous or sexist.
I want the feminists to get a little more sophisticated in their stance on porn. And to stop treating other women like they’re fools if they don’t follow the company line. It doesn’t have to be either/or. Admitting that porn can be good does not detract from the argument that some porn is bad, or vice versa.
They need to wake up and smell the porn revolution that’s happening on the internet. It’s quiet, but it’s gaining ground. People are making respectful, inclusive, intelligent, funny, instructional, erotic, positive porn. They’re proving that porn has it’s place in our society, and within our sexuality.
And if all porn was like that, would feminists still be wringing their hands about “addiction” and sexism and porn’s possible affect on children?