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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Really fantastic, intersectional analysis of pornography.
dark
Estic dividida respecte a este llibre. Concorde amb la tesi d'Andrea Dworkin de que la pornografia tradicional ha resultat ser una arma al servei del patriarcat i que ha tingut conseqüències nefastes (deshumanització) per a les dones. Però m'alarma que aquesta crítica haja sigut apropiada en el passat per l'extrema-dreta. Si la crítica feminista a la pornografia acaba resultant en una defensa del puritanisme i de la moral catòlica... alguna cosa ha anat mal.
Alguns aspectes del llibre m'han resultat difícils de digerir, com el tractament de la raça (me dona me la impressió de que sense pretendre-ho toca amb el racisme essencialista), el psicoanàlisi freudià (també molt present en Woman Hating) i la comparació entre les dones i les víctimes jueves de l'holocaust. És una equiparació que a mi, personalment, no m'encaixa gens, la trobe absolutament prescindible.
Alguns aspectes del llibre m'han resultat difícils de digerir, com el tractament de la raça (me dona me la impressió de que sense pretendre-ho toca amb el racisme essencialista), el psicoanàlisi freudià (també molt present en Woman Hating) i la comparació entre les dones i les víctimes jueves de l'holocaust. És una equiparació que a mi, personalment, no m'encaixa gens, la trobe absolutament prescindible.
This book is typical of Dworkin's firebrand critique of patriarchy: it renders palpably disgusting and tragic the abuse of women, and demands modification. I found it exhilarating to see her charge academic pornography specifically, such as 120 Days of Sodom, as being what it is (misogynist porn) rather than what it's pretended to be (heroic edicts of freedom). The charge to structure our thinking around metaphors other than violence, and the understanding of gendered difference in the development of the ego is worthy of respect.
I ultimately didn't feel this was Dworkin's greatest work though, compared to what else I've read (Intercourse and Woman Hating). It simply isn't as compelling as her other texts. Its scope is grand and its injunctions are powerful, especially in certain chapters (e.g. de Sade), but there are moments I felt the long quotes of pornography failed to go beyond pointing out more surface level symptoms of misogyny than getting to the root.
I ultimately didn't feel this was Dworkin's greatest work though, compared to what else I've read (Intercourse and Woman Hating). It simply isn't as compelling as her other texts. Its scope is grand and its injunctions are powerful, especially in certain chapters (e.g. de Sade), but there are moments I felt the long quotes of pornography failed to go beyond pointing out more surface level symptoms of misogyny than getting to the root.
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
Dworkin’s text is an inflammatory but worthwhile read on the routine violence that occurs in pornography and real life. I can’t say I am entirely convinced of her arguments (at times I felt more nuance was required), although I do find her stance a refreshing critique of the choice-feminism that dominates mainstream discourse on women’s liberation.
Dworkin made great points by bringing up FGM and foot binding— I would go farther and say that you can simultaneously be a victim of a sexist system and continue to uphold it. Feeble, chaste women are seen as men’s prized possessions, but the mutilation of these women are sustained by the complicity of other women who themselves experienced that trauma. Understandably, this response is conditioned, and the choice made is believed to be the best option available.
Dworkin was absolutely correct in recognizing the exploitative nature of the porn industry. Mainstream platforms like the “Hub” knowingly hosted revenge porn, child trafficking, and rape videos until major payment companies dropped their services from the site, but even so, the production companies that garner millions of views and receive front-page features capitalize on the normalization of abuse, incest, rape, classism, racism, and the infantilization of women (eg step-brother, step-daughter, sleeping gf, cash-strapped girls unable to pay rent or other services, “little” Asians, BBC, women wearing children’s clothing, barely legal/teen porn are all common porn tropes). Also, just watch some interviews from actresses that left the industry and let them tell you how much further their boundaries kept getting pushed or ignored, the rape and drugging that occurs. Like Dworkin says, we want to believe that “whores” really enjoy it. Believing otherwise makes you a religious shrew.
Plenty of people will defend such re-enactments as solely in the realm of fantasy, compartmentalized away from the world of “real sex,” but often these sites are the fertile ground where adolescents first learn about intercourse. It’s not such a leap to think what we consume will shape our worldview and ideas on relationships. In fact, men do ask women to emulate porn and beg their girlfriends or wives to try this or that method of intercourse that they had seen in porn. If you’re not into choking, slapping, hair-pulling, and other forms of aggressive sex, you are regarded as boring and vanilla. Anal and DP are no longer seen as extreme forms of sex, and porn stars are typically pushed to engage in more extreme sex the longer they are in the industry (else a younger, more desperate girl will do it if you don’t, says the directors).
It’s not lost on me that some people do enjoy intense and degrading sex, but I don’t think that means there isn’t room to criticize the aforementioned gender, age, class, and racial power dynamics that are perpetuated in porn. Plus, the majority of it is created by men for men, thus there’s an established primacy for satiating a male fantasy over a woman’s. In the words of Evan Wright, “Nobody ever goes broke overestimating the rage and misogyny of the average American male.”
I also have a lot to say about the OnlyFans economy and the grooming that occurs online. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to see how sexualizing children from a young age and begging for their nudes once they’re finally legal is at all empowering. The success stories we see of the creators who rake in hundreds of thousands in the safety of their homes also belie the abhorrent conditions that millions of working class sex workers have to go through. It is not an “easy” job that guarantees a pampered life.
I do find this text quite dense and feel that it requires several readings, including the works she mentioned from Bataille and de Sade. I’m kind of sad that Dworkin’s was so reviled as an ugly, man-hating feminist just because she was not as digestible or conventionally attractive compared to, say, Steinem. Her language is unforgiving and sometimes spiteful, sure, but I believe her viewpoints were shaped by the abuse she suffered at the hands of her first husband, her experiences as a prostitute, and the stories from the women she listened to and worked with. She was staunchly protective of and dedicated to the class of women who were most overlooked and harmed.
If you find yourself incredulous while reading about the acts of brutality committed against women, it is not because they are remarkable or rare but rather because you are privileged enough to not see or experience these atrocities for yourself. I don’t believe watching porn causes men to become sadistic rapists or pedophiles, but I do think it constitutes as a fragment of a larger problem (namely sexism).
Dworkin made great points by bringing up FGM and foot binding— I would go farther and say that you can simultaneously be a victim of a sexist system and continue to uphold it. Feeble, chaste women are seen as men’s prized possessions, but the mutilation of these women are sustained by the complicity of other women who themselves experienced that trauma. Understandably, this response is conditioned, and the choice made is believed to be the best option available.
Dworkin was absolutely correct in recognizing the exploitative nature of the porn industry. Mainstream platforms like the “Hub” knowingly hosted revenge porn, child trafficking, and rape videos until major payment companies dropped their services from the site, but even so, the production companies that garner millions of views and receive front-page features capitalize on the normalization of abuse, incest, rape, classism, racism, and the infantilization of women (eg step-brother, step-daughter, sleeping gf, cash-strapped girls unable to pay rent or other services, “little” Asians, BBC, women wearing children’s clothing, barely legal/teen porn are all common porn tropes). Also, just watch some interviews from actresses that left the industry and let them tell you how much further their boundaries kept getting pushed or ignored, the rape and drugging that occurs. Like Dworkin says, we want to believe that “whores” really enjoy it. Believing otherwise makes you a religious shrew.
Plenty of people will defend such re-enactments as solely in the realm of fantasy, compartmentalized away from the world of “real sex,” but often these sites are the fertile ground where adolescents first learn about intercourse. It’s not such a leap to think what we consume will shape our worldview and ideas on relationships. In fact, men do ask women to emulate porn and beg their girlfriends or wives to try this or that method of intercourse that they had seen in porn. If you’re not into choking, slapping, hair-pulling, and other forms of aggressive sex, you are regarded as boring and vanilla. Anal and DP are no longer seen as extreme forms of sex, and porn stars are typically pushed to engage in more extreme sex the longer they are in the industry (else a younger, more desperate girl will do it if you don’t, says the directors).
It’s not lost on me that some people do enjoy intense and degrading sex, but I don’t think that means there isn’t room to criticize the aforementioned gender, age, class, and racial power dynamics that are perpetuated in porn. Plus, the majority of it is created by men for men, thus there’s an established primacy for satiating a male fantasy over a woman’s. In the words of Evan Wright, “Nobody ever goes broke overestimating the rage and misogyny of the average American male.”
I also have a lot to say about the OnlyFans economy and the grooming that occurs online. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to see how sexualizing children from a young age and begging for their nudes once they’re finally legal is at all empowering. The success stories we see of the creators who rake in hundreds of thousands in the safety of their homes also belie the abhorrent conditions that millions of working class sex workers have to go through. It is not an “easy” job that guarantees a pampered life.
I do find this text quite dense and feel that it requires several readings, including the works she mentioned from Bataille and de Sade. I’m kind of sad that Dworkin’s was so reviled as an ugly, man-hating feminist just because she was not as digestible or conventionally attractive compared to, say, Steinem. Her language is unforgiving and sometimes spiteful, sure, but I believe her viewpoints were shaped by the abuse she suffered at the hands of her first husband, her experiences as a prostitute, and the stories from the women she listened to and worked with. She was staunchly protective of and dedicated to the class of women who were most overlooked and harmed.
If you find yourself incredulous while reading about the acts of brutality committed against women, it is not because they are remarkable or rare but rather because you are privileged enough to not see or experience these atrocities for yourself. I don’t believe watching porn causes men to become sadistic rapists or pedophiles, but I do think it constitutes as a fragment of a larger problem (namely sexism).
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This book was a very necessary look into the links between misogyny, gynophobia and violence towards women and pornography of all forms. Much of what Dworkin presents are explicit analysis and explainations of man's subjugation of woman. While a good portion of this seems so obviously related, without this text I doubt I would have made the express connections that I have instinctually felt. Occasionally, more towards the finale of the book, I felt that Dworkin over stretched her analysis and tries too hard to make her theories be understood as universally encompasing. Despite this, I thoroughly appreciated her approach and direct style, unflinching and explicit in detail.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Andrea Dworkin's "Pornography: Men Possessing Women" is a weighty piece of feminist literature exploring the links between pornography, male power and entitlement, and rape. It's a difficult book - confronting the abuse and intellectual foundation inherent in a patriarchal society. While there are times Dworkin seems to engage in some of the same generalizations of which she accuses men, this is an essential part of the conversation about the links between pornography, patriarchy, and sexual assault.
Honestly, not my favourite Dworkin book. The message is good and I love the use of stories of women, but I just couldn’t get along with the way it was written, but I think that’s just a personal preference.
And while I do agree with the sentiment of her argument, Dworkin is far from the perfect feminist. She focuses almost wholly on how damaging pornography can be and the potential damaging nature of sex work, without truly considering what pushes a lot of women into this line of work, or what can be done to combat these issues. How can you critique sex work and it’s impact on women without considering issues such as food insecurity? You can hardly call yourself a feminist if you are unable to truly consider how poverty and systemic issues contribute to women’s problems.
And while I do agree with the sentiment of her argument, Dworkin is far from the perfect feminist. She focuses almost wholly on how damaging pornography can be and the potential damaging nature of sex work, without truly considering what pushes a lot of women into this line of work, or what can be done to combat these issues. How can you critique sex work and it’s impact on women without considering issues such as food insecurity? You can hardly call yourself a feminist if you are unable to truly consider how poverty and systemic issues contribute to women’s problems.