The Feminist Times has an excellent series on sex work, covering a diverse range of issues. (Sadly, it is only found by searching for the hashtag #SexIndustryWeek, as if finding it on Twitter was more important than a person being able to find all the discussion on the site.) Because it is a diverse series, there are plenty of articles I do not agree with; but that’s what makes it a good discussion, so, please, do take the time to read them. However, there’s one article in particular that raised my hackles and prompts me to write today ~ primarily because it has gone without comment. Such absence of comment might make people think it is “right”. And it is not.
The article is #SexIndustryWeek: Dworkin Was Right About Porn, by VJD Smith of Glosswatch. In it, Smith uses the words of Andrea Dworkin to align all porn as patriarchal misogyny abusing and raping female victims:
Via
Gracie Passette,
Deanna Dahlsad
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@Gracie Passette's comments:
Cauterucci:
"There is nothing wrong or rape-like about enjoying rough sex and being good at it. There is nothing wrong or suspicious about acting out a consensual rape fantasy. But, as in offscreen/noncommercial sex, the entire validity of porn as an industry hinges on consent. Perversely, that may be one reason why a porn actress might feel compelled to stay silent about these kinds of violations: Women who act in adult films are often portrayed as victims with little agency or know-how, who must resort to a demeaning and dangerous career because they have no other options. Stories like the ones Fires, Lux, Rayne, and Peters tell—important as they are—don’t exactly contradict that myth.
But neither porn nor rough sex subjected these women to sexual assault, and they didn’t turn James Deen into a rapist. The allegations against Deen are full of references to ways porn actresses control their own careers: through lists of acts they won’t perform, lists of people they won’t perform with, and contracts that specify exactly what will happen in a scene. Deviating from the agreed-upon variety, timing, and manner of sex is just as wrong as any other kind of assault. The women who’ve told their horrifying stories about Deen know that. Deen and the bystanders who looked on and laughed did, too."
Click links for more info on rape & rape fantasies ~ including issues in porn & sex work.