I ran across this at Annie Sprinkle’s site and found it very interesting:
MY COVERSATION WITH AN AN ANTI-PORN FEMINIST
By Annie Sprinkle with Mae Tyme
We are two women from different worlds with very different experiences. I, Annie, have performed in, directed and produced pornography for twenty five years. Mae Tyme has been anti-pornography for equally as long. We met at a lesbian video night several years ago. You might think that wed be enemies, because we have such different viewpoints. Could we come together to record a conversation, share our ideas, and show that women of desparate backgrounds and beliefs can communicate and collaborate?Annie: Dont you think its so totally interesting to see people naked, or to watch them having sex?
Mae Tyme: I used to play a game as a kid called Peeping Tom in my suburban neighborhood. I was forever peeking into peoples windows. I hoped I would see somebody naked. I never did. It wasnt a sexual kind of thing, it was curiosity. All I saw was women cooking and doing dishes, and men watching TV or working in their garages.
A: I dont remember seeing any adults naked until I was 17, and saw my boyfriend. After that I was hooked. I wanted to see naked people all the time. I was instantly fascinated by genitalia. Here was an entire secret universe!
A year later I ended up in pornography and prostitution. Im still busy looking at genitalia.
When Annie and Mae talk about whether women in porn are victims and Annie says that they don’t want to be perceived as victims, all I can think of is that women like Mae who have such strong feelings against men are more “victim” than porn performers. And I don’t feel called upon to change or (heavens forfend!) “save” them, but I do feel sorrow that they miss out on half the human race, and that their experiences must have been truly dreadful to write off an entire sex as unnecessary to their lives.
I remember one such woman telling me that until her nephew was born, she saw no point in men at all other than as sperm donors to create more daughters. But she loved her nephew — who had just turned 4 at the time of this conversation — and he rocked her worldview every day.
People are interesting, aren’t we?
5 responses so far ↓
1 oliver // Jun 12, 2007 at 2:54 am
It’s kind of depressing that people can argue against one kind of predjudice, yet still be so anti-.
In this case Mae having anti-male sentiment but (i’m assuming from context) isn’t racist/whatever, but any numerous other places we see people who can be anti-racism, and at the same time anti-gay.
I can’t think of any particular point here, other than the fact that people are unendingly strange…
2 Peregrine // Jun 12, 2007 at 5:53 am
Contemporary feminism has a sadly damaged reputation based on a misunderstanding of the movement.
Granted, my center of reference is a little skewed where my only academic exposure to the movement is in the field of literary criticism. But Anyone under the mistaken impression that feminism is anti-male, anti-porn, or anti-sex needs to spend a good couple of hours in a library brushing up on feminist theory.
3 Neeneko // Jun 12, 2007 at 11:11 am
I have found that feminism, just like any other ‘taking power back’ movements, there will always be groups that picture their own little group being the ones that receive the authority that used to be held by someone else… so basically they seek to be the oppressors instead of whoever they are fighting.
The anit-erotica feminists are a classic example of this. They do not, deep down, wish women to have choice.. they merely want the choice to be their groups choice rather then men. In short, they are no better then those who they are fighting against.
4 regina lynn // Jun 12, 2007 at 11:28 am
Both Susie and Mae call themselves “feminists,” so I did too.
But yeah – to me, feminism pretty much means “women are people, not livestock.” Everything else associated with it is extra and often personal to the person.
5 MsNaughty // Jul 2, 2007 at 12:02 am
Thanks for directing me to this link. I’m a pornographer and a feminist, and I was definitely on Annie’s side. Like you Regina I couldn’t help but feel that Mae’s stance is based on both prejudice and ignorance. She’s made a lot of assumptions about porn and the women involved and her views are colored by a dislike of men. It’s a shame that anti-porn views is still considered to epitomise feminism for many people.
As usual Annie works magic through her amazing ability to empathise and be non confrontational. I saw her in Sydney over 10 years ago and she’s still my hero.