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Feminism and Pornography

By Jesse Singal - Apr 10th, 2008 at 12:33 pm EDT

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Tags: feminism, pornography

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"Can feminism and porn coexist?" asks Sarah Hepola at Salon's Broadsheet blog. Maybe I'm out of my element here, acting as I am as the token male commenting on a feminist issue, but my immediate reaction is, Why not? It's one of those overly broad, provocative questions designed mostly to spark discussion, but the answer seems simple enough and I'm having trouble thinking of a counterargument. Since Hepola's not asking "Can feminism and porn made by men coexist?" or "Can feminism and porn-as-we've-known-it-since-the-1960s coexist?," why couldn't feminism and porn coexist, so long as we admit certain things about most porn would have to be altered or excised?

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Sure.

By Superduperficial Apr 11th 2008 at 3:51 pm EDT

So long as you accept the notion (as I do) that objectification (of both men and women) is perfectly acceptable in some contexts and entirely unacceptable in others.

Much the same way as I can be opposed to BumFights videos, and still appreciate a Tony Jaa fight scene.

Porn is not automatically objectification

By echomikeromeo Apr 12th 2008 at 1:00 am EDT

There's certainly women-friendly and women-made porn out there (though not as much as there should be, of course). Much as loads of major release films are lame, but there are really cool indie films out there as well, a little searching unearths porn that isn't mainstream and misogynist and terrible.

An M/f power dynamic in porn is not automatically reflective of the evils of the patriarchy. It can be fantasy, a story - and consensual at that.

Feminism should be about giving women the freedom to enjoy their porn as much as anyone else.

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