Chicks who like porn?

[geminigirl]

I know a lot of people watched Porn 'n Chicken last night. I didn't; I watched American Dreams, and The Sopranos. And it would have ended too late for me to watch it anyway.

But, while reading my friends page this morning I came accross this in demonfafa's journal.

"Also, while watching Porn N' Chicken, an interesting question was brought up and I pondered it until they turned it into a stupid joke:
Can a woman who enjoys, sells, or makes porn also be a feminist?"


I think he knows the answer, but he claims not to have credentials to answer it. It's an interesting question, which people have tried for a long time to answer...what do you think?

(My answer, maybe, later, when I'm not cloudyheaded and sniffly)

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/grimkitten_/]

I've heard people ask that question before. My opinion is YES, women can like, make, whatever, porn and still be a feminist. One can view porn as degrading but what really is degrading about sex? We all do it, even feminists. Enjoying human sexuality has nothing to do with the rights or equal treatment of women. But, that's just my two cents.

[malte.livejournal.com]

Of course she can. She might not have much of a choice, or she might well be selling/enjoying/making lesbian porn, gay male porn, anything other than crappy porn for straight men.

[sabbysteg.livejournal.com]

Hey, how was American Dreams? I finally saw an episode the other day on VH1 and I really enjoyed it. I'll have to catch Sopranos and American Dreams on rerun because I went to Fright Fest and fell down some stairs.

[geminigirl]

American Dreams falls into the same group of shows as Seventh Heaven...Good family drama, kind of sappy, touches on some interesting issues (last night, there was an african american kid who was going to start at school with the kids, and he came to the house for dinner-interesting palpable tension scene) but I'm a goober so I watch em anyway. If you like those sorts of things, it's worth the hour.

Re:

[sabbysteg.livejournal.com]

I like those sorts of things. :)

[entirelysonja.livejournal.com]

I support a woman's right to do whatever she wants, including being a sex worker, acting in pornographic films, enjoying pornography, whatever. I believe that this is the fundamental basis of feminism.

That said, I can see why some feminists think pornography is anti-feminist.

I do believe that when we encourage the world to see us (individually) as sex objects, we inherently discourage the world from seeing us (individually) as anything else. There is something hilarious about a woman in a tight, low-cut blouse complaining that everyone is always staring at her boobs instead of engaging her in intelligent discussion. HELLO! If you don't want people to be distracted by your boobs, why on earth are you drawing attention to them with your attire?

Speaking just of pornographic films, when someone (male or female) chooses to act in a pornographic film, they are making a decision to allow thousands of unknown people to see them as a sex object. Hopefully, to be turned on by the film, to find that it inspires them to some sexual activity of their own. I can easily see how some feminists might perceive this as encouraging the objectification of women outside of the context of the pornographic film itself, or at the very least, the objectification of the particular woman who acted in the film.

I think this may even be true.

But I don't think the right way to deal with it is to decide that being involved in such an enterprise is anti-feminist; I think it illustrates something flawed about the way our society thinks about sex, and that this is what requires change.