For a generation, there has been deep division within the feminist community about how to judge porn. Does it liberate women, or oppress them? Writing in Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality (1998, p.9-35), Ann Russo strives to reconcile dreams of individual liberty with the realities of social and economic inequality. For anti-pornography feminist […]
Continue reading Feminists Confront Feminists Over Pornography
Robert Jensen interviewed 13 convicted sex offenders in Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality (1998, p.119-134), to investigate how porn influenced their thinking. All of them had viewed “hard-core pornography”–sex presented in graphic detail. The average age of first viewing was 12, with a range from 8 to 19. From about age 21 on, […]
Continue reading Robert Jensen: Influence of Pornography on Sex Offenders (explicit language)
Writing in Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality (1998), Robert Jensen addresses a tactic we’ve seen a lot of in Northampton’s porn debate. Because “science” has not yet conclusively shown a causal link between the use of pornography and sexual violence, some pornography supporters argue, no collective action is possible… I will simply assert […]
Sharon A. Abbott is a social scientist who interviewed porn producers, directors, company owners, magazine editors, agents, makeup artists, camera operators, 19 actors and 31 actresses to understand why performers enter and stay in a porn career. Her analysis, “Motivations for Pursuing an Acting Career in Pornography”, appears in Sex for Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and […]
Continue reading Porn Actresses: Most Careers Are Short, Few Are Lucrative (explicit language)
Dr. Kevin B. Skinner is a licensed marriage and family therapist. He has worked with over 100 individuals and couples who are dealing with pornography-related problems. His website at www.treating-pornography-addiction.com discusses the nature and treatment of porn addiction, as does his book, Treating Pornography Addiction (2005). Dr. Skinner proposes the following as key elements in […]
The movie Deep Throat was released in 1972. Produced for $22,500, members of the FBI estimate it has grossed anywhere from $100 million to $600 million. More than 10 million Americans have seen it. Wikipedia calls it “likely the most successful and influential pornographic film of all time.” Linda Lovelace starred in the movie. Later, […]
NPN’s Jendi Reiter reviews Pamela Paul, Pornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families (New York: Owl Books/Henry Holt & Co., 2005). Freelance journalist Pamela Paul, a contributor to Time Magazine, The Economist, Psychology Today and numerous other mainstream magazines, undertook this study of the pervasiveness of pornography in modern American […]
NPN’s Jendi Reiter reviews an essay by Sherry Lee Short, “Making hay while the sun shines: The dynamics of rural strip clubs in the American Upper Midwest, and the community response”. This essay is published in Christine Stark & Rebecca Whisnant, eds., Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography (North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex Press, […]
NPN’s Jendi Reiter reviews an essay by Christine Stark, “Girls to boyz: Sex radical women promoting pornography and prostitution”. This essay is published in Christine Stark & Rebecca Whisnant, eds., Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography (North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex Press, 2004, pp. 278-91).This is the sixth in a series of reviews of […]
NPN’s Jendi Reiter reviews an essay by Adriene Sere, “Sex and feminism: Who is being silenced?” This essay is published in Christine Stark & Rebecca Whisnant, eds., Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography (North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex Press, 2004, pp. 269-274).This is the fifth in a series of reviews of the essays in […]
Continue reading A Review of Adriene Sere, “Sex and feminism: Who is being silenced?”