Comments on: Women, Porn and the F-word

By: Ali H

Ali H — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:15:42 +0000

Thanks for the correction. I agree, Andrea (!) Dworkin and MacKinnon are old hat now if youre immersed in the intellectual debates of feminist scholars, but I think in terms of how the topic is being debated in the media, its still very much at this kind of level. I guess Candida's work is a matter of taste, and I hadnt meant to comment on that either way, but she is from what I gather still the female producer with the most clout (again, you can correct me if Im wrong).

By: Ali H

Ali H — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:00:21 +0000

Thanks for the comments Jasmine, glad you found it interesting. There are probably a number of reasons why Andrea Merkel doesnt work in the porn industry, but it terms of what youre getting at I think the issue is about how society view those people who choose to express their sexuality publically (and that doesnt just go for women, I imagine Noam Chomsky or Gordon Brown would also find it hard to be taken seriously if they got infront of the camera, but now we're getting into the realms of the bizarre…). Anyway, all of what you mentioned is certainly very true as things stand at the moment, and a great deal of what currently goes on in the porn industry is grimy and exploitative. But then some of it is also genuinely sexy and puts women on an equal footing with the men. I guess what I liked about the pro-pornography feminists is the room they leave for what could be possible – in terms of changing the misogynistic elements in a lot of porn but also in terms of changing society's negative projections onto those women (and perhaps men too) who choose to creatively express their sexuality for the enjoyment for other women and men.

The sexualising of young girls is a different matter completely, and I agree its something that needs to be looked at really seriously (I think Anna Richardson did something for Channel 4 about it a few months ago), though I think perhaps the advertising industry bears at least some of the responsibility for this too. Anyway, I agree with you, I hope the debate goes on.

By: Paul Rapoport

Paul Rapoport — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:11:57 +0000

Thanks for the article. Although quoting Andrea (not Angela) Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon is okay, they're rather old hat by now, in the sense that their ideas have been discussed and to some extent dismissed (as you realize) or improved on. Candida Royalle is by no means the best feminist porn producer. I find her work somewhat male-derived and rather limited.

Pornography is still a problem in other ways, a major one being that it is the de facto sex education where governments have refused to provide such education or have distorted and falsified it (USA is a good example, although not throughout). Blunt censorship is not the answer, especially because pornography is more a symptom than a cause (and does have some use).

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:00:45 +0000

Hi Ali,
This is a very interesting article. Ultimately, pornography is about trust; who does a woman trust with these innermost revelations of her physical being? Some women choose to put that out there, and be shaped by whatever the viewer chooses to make of her; others feel that this something that ought to strengthen and cement risible bonds that enhance personal relationships, rather than simply lend herself over to the male gaze.

It all depends on whether a woman chooses to use her sexuality to titillate, or whether she chooses to employ it in a way that will ultimately strengthen her relationships and her family. There is a reason why men are uncomfortable with their mother or sister being involved in pornography; because, yes, there is a nascent power involved in participating in pornography, but to get that power, ultimately there is still a surrender of a certain level of societal respect. It is because it ultimately cheapens women's core value insofar as she is percieved, much like how you can have more gold if it is plated, but ultimately its potential is lowered. This is why women in positions where intellectual rigour is called for very rarely participate in pornography ie. Angela Merkel, Sonia Ghandi and Golda Meir, et al, et al. They have actually realized this.

At any rate, as I have said, it was an interesting article! And I hope that the debate continues, particularly around the pornification and commodification of young girls, which is something that some feminists have been sounding the boomhorn about in recent days.