At Talk Back Northampton, Peter Brooks said he believes that the founders of NoPornNorthampton are “victims of the hysteria and fear that history shows can grip a community that is regarded as relatively educated.”We reply that if you want to see hysteria and fear, take a look at how porn films and magazines view women. […]
Feminist Perspective
A Feminism that Looks Out for Women
Not all of today’s young feminists accept the message that porn, prostitution and stripping are “liberating” for women. In this article from the Bucknell University student magazine The Counterweight, first-year student Lee Markison shares her disappointment that a university women’s group invited local “sex workers” to put on a sexually explicit show on campus: Nipple […]
A Response to Wendy McElroy’s “Banning Pornography Endangers Women”
As part of his defense of porn, “paco” suggested we look at Wendy McElroy’s essay, “Banning Pornography Endangers Women”. NPN’s Jendi Reiter did so and offers this analysis. Before we begin, we reiterate that NPN does not advocate censorship or banning of any kind of speech. We do mean to educate people about the nature […]
Letter to Gazette: “Porn company’s products degrading to young women”
Today’s Gazette publishes a letter to the editor from Diana Jo Davies of Northampton:“Recently, I went to the Web site of Capital Video because a branch of this large enterprise is planning to locate close to downtown Northampton. Capital Video is a big pornography company. While looking over this site, my most prominent impression was […]
Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture
NoPornNorthampton is amassing a growing library on porn, its development, and its impacts. Here Jendi Reiter reviews Ariel Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture (New York: Free Press, 2005)…. Why have today’s young women decided that it’s empowering to emulate porn stars? This is the question that Levy, a contributing […]
Letter to Gazette: “Residents should protest the proposed porn shop”
Today’s Gazette includes a letter to the editor by Pat Styer of Northampton. She writes,“For the past several days I’ve been talking to a lot of people, from strangers to friends, about the proposed Capital Video pornography store that moves toward occupying a large building on the corner of King and North Streets. More than […]
Gazette Publishes Guest Column by NoPornNorthampton Co-Founder Jendi Reiter
The editorial page of today’s Daily Hampshire Gazette features a guest column by Jendi Reiter, co-founder of NoPornNorthampton. She writes,“What kind of community is Northampton? The debate over the proposed adult video store at 135 King St. should make us look more closely at the values that our economic choices support.“Northampton prides itself on being a […]
Feminist Action Mobilization Holds First Demonstration at 135 King Street
Members of Feminist Action Mobilization (FAM) rallied today at 135 King Street to show their opposition to a Capital Video porn shop there. Signs and banners greeted afternoon rush-hour commuters at the busy corner of King and North Streets. Many drivers signaled their support with vigorous horn honking.More rallies are scheduled for every Wednesday in September […]
Bringing Compassion to the First Amendment
Blogger Hugo Schwyzer is a “progressive Anabaptist/Episcopalian Democrat (but with a sense of humor), a community college history and gender studies professor, animal rights activist, ENFP Gemini, avid marathoner, aspiring ultra-runner, die-hard political junkie, and (still) the proud father of the most amazing chinchilla on God’s green earth.”On August 25, Schwyzer reprinted the post that […]
Gail Dines and Robert Jensen: “Pornography Is A Left Issue” (explicit language)
Gail Dines is a professor of American Studies at Wheelock College in Boston. She is helping to organize the National Feminist Antipornography Movement. In her essay with Robert Jensen, “Pornography Is A Left Issue”, she calls on members of the left to apply the same critical thinking to pornography and its impact as they do […]