First, one thing I did like about this third required article, "A Feminist Defense of Pornography" article, is that the author actually came to her conclusion after "interviewing hundreds of sex workers." Note the phrase 'sex workers' as opposed to prostitutes: does she mean that the people she interviewed were working for sex against their will? Or did they choose that lifestyle? Conversely, did they choose that lifestyle because there was no other choice? (Just a few musings I had after reading the first paragraph).
The entire section entitled "Anti-porn feminism" had me both shaking my head in disbelief and wanting to talk back to the computer. I have a hard time believing a statement that is not backed up with evidence, so for this Susan Brownmiller to say "From prehistoric times to the present, I believe, rape has played a critical function. It is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear," I would EXPECT to see some kind of evidence, because otherwise it's just bullcrap. I am aware that the prehistoric people kept evidence of everything via cave drawings, but if there are sexual depictions on the walls, who are we to call it rape? Maybe they were trying to record how much pleasure they felt? Would the males back then have wanted or known what rape was? Did they have the time for that? I'll let these digressions fade into the wind, to be revived perhaps in the comments section.
By the end of the article, I was disappointed that the author mentioned that she talked to "the women depicted in pornographic materials"...also known as porn stars or actresses. Still, this may be a minor issue, but to say the word "sex worker," I picture a woman working in the sex industry against her will--a sex slave. I also think it would have been a more interesting article if she managed to interview the sex slaves to get their take on this issue.
So what is my ultimate view after reading these three articles? At this point in time I subscribe to the "porn is healthy" viewpoint. Although I don't know how an insane person would see porn and not want to try it out on the general public, if it does prevent some people from committing rape, then that is fine by me. I concur with the author's statement that there is a lot of Japanese anime porn, because there really truly is. It's everywhere. So if Japan's rape statistics are lower than the U.S., that's not a whole reason to support porn, but one interesting correlation to note.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Pornography readings 1 and 2
In the interest of keeping my posts to a minimum, this post will discuss the "Pornography: Men Possessing Women" article by Andrea Dworkin and the Avedon Carol article, "A Feminist Argument Against Censorship."
Article 1: I found it extremely interesting that this article (or excerpt) was written in 1981, since it sounded like it was written only a few weeks ago for today's contemporary audience. Of course, this is because the issue of pornography and which side supports it is a classic issue, but I think the reason why it sounded to relevant to me is because in the near three decades since this article was written, the author's statements have only become more pronounced. For instance, a few years ago there was a reality show (that sadly my mom loved to watch) that dealt with the daily lives of a few of the Playboy girls in Hugh Hefner's mansion. From what I know about the show, it was a light, fluffy, "it's so much FUN to work in Hefner's mansion, hehe" type of show. No issues or concerns about working in the porn and pleasure business were ever discussed: their lives were perfect, and they were in that business because they wanted to be. To me, this only reinforced the stereotype that girls enter prostitution because they WANT to, not because they NEED to in order to support their children on a single paycheck. And let's face it, most prostitutes don't need additional jobs because their one profession pays more than enough money.
In regards to the second article, I am surprised again how old the article really is--in 1996 the Internet was still young and used by very few people, so Congress enacting laws against child pornography would have hardly been a concern compared to today, when a simple Google search could uncover horrendous images and videos of exploited children. Also, where has this Congressional "decency" legislation gone? Aside from music, television and anime censorship (which is a whole other topic)against trivial things like curse words, where are the real crackdowns on child porn rings? Is that crickets I hear? Only very rarely are such discoveries and busts reported in the media, but an episode of Family Guy will be put in all of the newspapers and featured on the prime time news networks.
Granted, this is my own opinion, but I feel as if our priorities are majorly screwed up. Rant aside, I like the second article and how it mentions that often it is the feminist ideals that will often be the ones censored, even though it is for "our" benefit.
Article 1: I found it extremely interesting that this article (or excerpt) was written in 1981, since it sounded like it was written only a few weeks ago for today's contemporary audience. Of course, this is because the issue of pornography and which side supports it is a classic issue, but I think the reason why it sounded to relevant to me is because in the near three decades since this article was written, the author's statements have only become more pronounced. For instance, a few years ago there was a reality show (that sadly my mom loved to watch) that dealt with the daily lives of a few of the Playboy girls in Hugh Hefner's mansion. From what I know about the show, it was a light, fluffy, "it's so much FUN to work in Hefner's mansion, hehe" type of show. No issues or concerns about working in the porn and pleasure business were ever discussed: their lives were perfect, and they were in that business because they wanted to be. To me, this only reinforced the stereotype that girls enter prostitution because they WANT to, not because they NEED to in order to support their children on a single paycheck. And let's face it, most prostitutes don't need additional jobs because their one profession pays more than enough money.
In regards to the second article, I am surprised again how old the article really is--in 1996 the Internet was still young and used by very few people, so Congress enacting laws against child pornography would have hardly been a concern compared to today, when a simple Google search could uncover horrendous images and videos of exploited children. Also, where has this Congressional "decency" legislation gone? Aside from music, television and anime censorship (which is a whole other topic)against trivial things like curse words, where are the real crackdowns on child porn rings? Is that crickets I hear? Only very rarely are such discoveries and busts reported in the media, but an episode of Family Guy will be put in all of the newspapers and featured on the prime time news networks.
Granted, this is my own opinion, but I feel as if our priorities are majorly screwed up. Rant aside, I like the second article and how it mentions that often it is the feminist ideals that will often be the ones censored, even though it is for "our" benefit.
Two links
Kotex sells tampons by making fun of tampons --Sociological Imagery
Kimberle Crenshaw on post-racial politics --Sociological Imagery
(Crenshaw is the "law professor who coined the term “intersectionality'". Kind of a big deal.)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Readings on Pornography
I have linked below some short readings on pornography. Please read them and be ready to discuss them in class on Monday. You may also post any questions or comments you have before Monday on the blog.
Andrew Dworkin: "Pornography: Men Possessing Women." (1981)
Avedon Carol: "A Feminist Argument Against Censorship" (1996)
Wendy McElroy: "A Feminist Overview of Pornography, Ending in a Defense Thereof" (2008) and "Banning Pornography Harms Women" (first published in PENTHOUSE magazine)
These two readings linked below are longer, and optional, but very interesting reading and I recommend them for anyone interested in this topic.
Catharine Lumby: "Why Feminists Need Porn" from Bad Girls: The media, sex and feminism in the 90's) (1997)
Annalee Newitz: "Obscene feminists: Why Women are Leading the Battle Against Censorship." (2002)
Andrew Dworkin: "Pornography: Men Possessing Women." (1981)
Avedon Carol: "A Feminist Argument Against Censorship" (1996)
Wendy McElroy: "A Feminist Overview of Pornography, Ending in a Defense Thereof" (2008) and "Banning Pornography Harms Women" (first published in PENTHOUSE magazine)
These two readings linked below are longer, and optional, but very interesting reading and I recommend them for anyone interested in this topic.
Catharine Lumby: "Why Feminists Need Porn" from Bad Girls: The media, sex and feminism in the 90's) (1997)
Annalee Newitz: "Obscene feminists: Why Women are Leading the Battle Against Censorship." (2002)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Playmate Pink
This website devoted to vintage Mustangs has some interesting discussion of this week's blog image, the "Playmate Pink" Mustang, introduced in 1965, and followed by a color known as "Playboy Pink." One poster opines that the name "Playboy Pink" sounds kind of gay.
Another random tidbit
Here is an article I read in Metroland about Women's issues. Funny enough, Didi Barett is demonstrating "genderblind universalism"!
“They are really not women’s issues,” says Barrett. “They are people’s issues. When you talk about education and health care and all the things that mothers care about and women care about, those issues impact everyone in this district.”
Are they not women's issues? Because I thought they were!
“They are really not women’s issues,” says Barrett. “They are people’s issues. When you talk about education and health care and all the things that mothers care about and women care about, those issues impact everyone in this district.”
Are they not women's issues? Because I thought they were!
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