Pro-Porn Free Speech Lover Doesn't Like It When We Reference Her Public Material in a Critical Context
Posted by NPNAdmin at 7/11/2007 7:43 AM 
Categories: Feminist Perspective,Debate on the Issues,First Amendment
Categories: Feminist Perspective,Debate on the Issues,First Amendment
Many things make no sense in Pornoland. The latest example is the position of Renegade Evolution, a porn advocate, "a bit pathological about the rights of free speech," who objects to our linking to her public statements without permission (even though she linked to NoPornNorthampton on July 8 with no prior notice) and our referencing her material in a critical context. A key element of what free speech is about--truth emerging from open debate--seems to have escaped her. Here is an exchange we recently had with Ren Ev by email:
From: Ren Ev
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007
To: info@nopornnorthampton.org
Subject: this is not spam or a virus,,,,please read
In your "Strip Poker Men's Club: Women's Lib to Blame for Men's Going to Strip Clubs" entry on your blog [link], you linked to my entry on my blog about stripping, porn and empowerment [link]. Which is fine, I believe in free speech, the entry is public, yet I do remind you that I am pro-pornography, involved in the sex industry, and while under no real obligation to ask to link to a post on my blog, which includes a somewhat pornographic photo of me on it, would it have killed you to ask me first? I have a deep dislike of anti-porn advocates using the words of pro-porn advocates, and their images, without their permission, consent, or knowledge. You fight exploitation of unconsenting women? Great way to demonstrate that, really. I did not in any way consent to being part of your anti-porn agenda, in fact, people like you directly threaten the way I, of my own choice, make my living. Now, you can do what is actually the right thing...perhaps mention that I did not consent to that, point out in that entry that I am pro-porn, and ask in the future if you are going to continue to use/link to the words and images of pro-porn women in your blogging, or you can choose to due what better suits your agenda with no thought to what the women whom you are linking to think about what you are doing, and I will continue to call you on it and disagree with you about it, vocally and publically. And why yes, you can make this comment public, because I certainly will, along with any response to it. You don't care about how I feel about my industry, or being used for your arguments? Very well then, I will show you a bit more consideration by at least identifying publically that you are antiporn, and letting you know that if I recieve any response to this, I will be making it public...which is more than I can say for you at this point.
Good Day-
Renegade Evolution
Sex Worker
From: info@nopornnorthampton.org
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007
To: Ren Ev
Subject: Re: this is not spam or a virus,,,,please read
Dear Renegade Evolution,
Thanks for writing. I believe we are wholly within standard blog practice to link to public information without requesting prior approval. On rare occasions we will ask permission, or people will ask us for permission to link to us, but this is the exception. We do respect the law regarding Fair Use, but that does not require prior permission for linking or excerpting. I believe that such a requirement would unreasonably bog down and impoverish debates.
Just because you are a woman does not mean that everything you do serves the interests of women as a group, that you are immune from criticism, or that you should enjoy special privileges in debates that men don't.
I fail to see how identifying you as "pro-porn" changes anything about how the following paragraph will be read and understood by most people:
Those who think the sex industry celebrates women's choices and empowerment should consider the attitudes of many of the participants. Even if stripping makes some women feel personally empowered, they need to consider how they are part of a machine that disempowers women generally. The effects of adult entertainment don't stop at the strip club door or the end of the porn shoot.Your feelings do matter to me. However, so do those of battered wives, molested children, strippers who experience harassment, and blighted neighborhoods.
Sincerely,
Adam Cohen
info@nopornnorthampton.org
Ren Ev carries on her arguments here, but the bottom line is she perceives referencing her speech to criticize it to be an inappropriate use that amounts to "exploitation". I suppose you could characterize any critical examination of anyone's speech in this way, although I doubt this encourages the kind of open debate the founders of our country prized. Free speech is not just isolated individuals spouting off without reference to each other.
Examining pornography and pro-porn arguments is critical to understanding how porn works, why it's harmful, its addictive qualities, and the toxic, narrow version of sexuality it sells. We appreciate that porn advocates may be upset or embarrassed by having their materials used in this way, but their interests must be balanced against the harms the sex industry imposes on third parties and its own participants. We will not cease to use the industry's copious amounts of self-damaging evidence against it. This includes cases of commercial exploitation of other people's likenesses without their consent, a far less defensible act than referencing material to make a political argument.
See also:
Gail Dines Presents: Pornography and Pop Culture (explicit)
Gail Dines is Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Wheelock College in Boston. For 20 years she has lectured across the country against pornography and sexist portrayals of women. A Google video (1 hr 2 min) is now available of the lecture she gave to a rapt audience at the Pornography and Pop Culture conference at Wheelock on March 24. This video describes the increasingly harsh misuse of women in modern pornography--such as in the emerging "ass-to-mouth" genre--and how the people, money and values of porn reach deep into mainstream media and corporations.
This video includes explicit still images. Some may find it painful to watch, especially victims of sexual violence. Acknowledging this, activists have found that presenting today's porn in an unfiltered fashion is "an effective and rapid consciousness-raiser about misogyny and male views of women". We have seen our opposition claim that we should go easy on porn because it's a form of "art", that it represents the empowerment of women, or that today's porn is no more harmful than paintings or century-old erotica pictures. We feel the best counter to these arguments is to show people what today's porn actually is.
Video Presentation: A Content Analysis of 50 of Today's Top Selling Porn Films (explicit language)
A number of porn defenders claim that anti-porn activists harp on unusual, violent, women-hating examples of porn, and unfairly downplay the existence of 'artistic' porn on sites like Suicide Girls. anthonyjk_6319 believes that porn sites like "Gag on My Cock" and "Anal Suffering" are the "exception", and that the "overwhelming majority of porn (something like 99.8%) deals only in consenting nonviolent sex acts."
To clear up confusion about what porn is generally about, academic researchers Robert Wosnitzer, Ana Bridges, and Erica Scharrer, together with coders like Michelle Chang, analyzed 50 recent top selling porn films selected from lists compiled by Adult Video News, the leading trade journal of the porn industry.
Pornoland's unwritten law: "if we tell the truth about what's really going on here, the fan will get turned off"
At conventions and other public events, the adult industry tends to portray itself as a happy family promoting shame-free sexual enjoyment. But privately, many performers say the reality is very different. "There's some unwritten law or agenda out here in Pornoland that...if we tell the truth about what's really going on here, the fan will get turned off," said Ona Zee, a former performer who is now an advocate for reform.
Testimony in Minneapolis: Likeness of TV Star "Rhoda" Misappropriated by Pornographers; Aspiring Actresses Vulnerable to Being Enticed into Porn
...I was told about an advertisement in Hustler magazine which I saw. It was for T-shirts called Shock Tops that people could send away for. The buyer had their choice of seven famous women pictured in the nude; all of our full names were listed and, of course, choice of color of T-shirt. I was appalled and angry and had meetings with a lawyer regarding what action I should take. All my then advisors, this attorney, my personal manager (regarding career) and my business manager (regarding accounting and finances) advised strongly against taking any action whatsoever. They all concurred that it would be extremely costly and would draw attention to and sell more of the shirts...
Capital Video: Purveyors of Shame Feature a New "Celebrity Sex Tape Scandal" (explicit language)
...Capital Video excels in the wrongful uses of shame. We have already discussed their prominent offering of "1 Night in Paris" at their website, Amazing.net:
Best price on the web! We are purchasing a huge amount of them and will fulfill all orders as soon as it arrives. This collectors item is a must have for your adult video library! Paris Hilton a blue blood celebrity now forever to be referenced by her 102 minutes of shame. Watched this surveillance film of the Hilton family's worst nightmare. Rick in Paris' Hotel... Rick's tongue in Paris' Pussy...Rick's dick in Paris' mouth...Rick's cock in Paris' pussy! The finale showcases Ms Hilton's blowjob talents where Solomon jerks his load on her breasts.Featured at the top of the Amazing.net home page today is "Kim Kardashian Superstar". The movie box cover bills this as "The NEW Celebrity SEX Tape Scandal". Amazing.net's (typo ridden) sales copy reads:
Paris Hilton’s good friend socialite Kim Kardashian has been caught up in a new sex tape scandal after filming her sexploits with her ex, Whitney Houston’s reported new beau Ray J.A raunchy tape featuring the former couple engaged in various sex acts.Kim Kardishian, the daughter of famed attorney Robert Kardishian, reportedly has been offered a $2 million deal for the exclusive rights to the tape. But Kardashian insists she wants nothing to do with the sale of the sex tape, and insists her ex, R&B star Brandy’s brother, will not want to get caught up in the deal either.Not only is this a bad use of shame, but the consent of the "star" to release the film is not apparent. Capital Video appears to believe that calling attention to this will increase sales, or at least not hurt them. Consent also appears to be missing, or at least not clearly apparent, with the release of the Paris Hilton video. Many of our opponents claim that consenting adults should be allowed to do whatever they want when it comes to porn. The truth is, however, that many elements of the porn industry show little desire to be scrupulous about the appearance or the reality of consent in their products.
Martin Amis, "A rough trade" (explicit language)
A single issue of Adult Video News (April 2000) yields the following. Last October porno star Vivian Valentine attended the XXX-Treme Adults Only vacation in Mexico sporting the black eye she copped from Jon Dough on Rough Sex (Anabolic Video).
"I have no regrets or bad feelings about it," she said. Regan Starr who worked on the second film in this "line", Rough Sex 2, had a different take. "I got the shit kicked out of me," she said. "I was told before the video--and they said this very proudly, mind you--that in this line most of the girls start crying because they're hurting so bad.... I couldn't breathe. I was being hit and choked. I was really upset, and they didn't stop. They kept filming. You can hear me say, 'Turn the fucking camera off', and they kept going."
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