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Saturday, June 2, 2012

All Sex Work & Porn Is Rape. Umm…what? F*ck You Dworkin


Okay, at this point, I am beating this topic (my disdain for the ass backwards logic of radical feminists) to death. I know that I am, but every single day I am reminded about how illogical, irrational, and just plain fucking wrong they are, and I’m going to keep writing about it until someone fucking gets it!

First, a brief history lesson.

Radical Feminism 101

Andrea Dworkin 1946-2005 (thank god there was an end date): American radical feminist who had some particularly batshit crazy ideas. In a nutshell, Dworkin hated men (although she married a gay one), believed that pornography was a human rights violation, and here’s the best one- believed that all sex is rape. That’s right…ALL SEX IS RAPE. Actually, that’s what journalist Cathy Young extrapolated from Dworkin’s famous quote “Intercourse is the pure, sterile, formal expression of men's contempt for women.”



Umm…WHAT?? I guess it’s safe to say that Andrea Dworkin never had good sex with a man (or anyone? I mean C’MON, she was SO angry all of the time!)

Oh…but it gets worse. Let the batshit crazy continue- In 1989, Dworkin testified in front of the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography. She claimed that Playboy magazine promoted  rape and childhood sexual abuse, among many other ridiculous allegations. Her half hour long speech can be found on YouTube, but don’t listen to it after eating. Friendly warning.

So, ding dong, the witch is dead…but wait. Her legacy lives on because, believe it or not, many radical feminists STILL preach these same ideals. There is a Facebook group which will remain nameless (begins with “Fem” and ends in “ism”!), and its members CONSTANTLY come up with this kind of garbage:

There is nothing empowering about being raped. Which is all sex work is. Men paying women to be raped. Paid or not, willing or not, it's still rape

Yes, somebody actually wrote that, in response to the idea that some women find sex work to be empowering. The very definition of rape is that it is NON consensual, so how the fuck does this statement make any sense? Oh that’s right- IT DOESN’T. I dare the idiot that wrote that statement to approach an actual rape victim and say “Hey, sometimes rape is consensual. I know a prostitute who was paid $500 last night to have great sex with a regular client of hers. It was totally consensual, but I still classify it as rape.” Do these rad fems have ANY idea how offensive that would be to an actual rape victim? Think before you speak, ladies. Seriously.

Here’s another scenario- A porn performer tells a radical feminist about her latest experience on set. She enjoyed the scene, is proud of her work, and got paid. Little Miss (excuse me, Ms.) Rad Fem replies with “Wow- are you ok? You were raped!”  Porn star replies “What…no, I was not raped. It’s my job, I was paid for a scene. Actually, I found it empowering!”  Ms. Rad Fem replies with the original statement above, “There is nothing empowering about being raped. Which is all sex work is.”

Ok, so what just happened? One woman told another woman that she was raped, when in fact, she was not. DENYING THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION, DISMISSING THE WOMAN’S WORDS. What does this remind you of…? It reminds me of the thousands of women who are raped every year, and are told “Nah, that wasn’t rape.” Start listening to women, and when they say they’ve been raped- BELIEVE THEM. When they say that they haven’t been raped, BELIEVE THEM, even if it goes against your moral fabric. Also- who the fuck died and gave you the right to tell another woman what is and isn’t empowering for her??? Oh, that’s right. Dworkin, in 2005. Carry on the torch, ladies (and some men).

So what’s next? Will the rad fems start asserting that a woman who accepts a gift from a man whom she is sleeping with is engaging in sex work? What about the woman who accepts a $50,000 engagement ring from her boyfriend, and then gives him a mind-altering blow job that evening. Is that rape? Or, is this acceptable, since it’s taking place within the confines of a relationship? As many of us know, giving a good blow job can be WORK, and is often rewarded! So, is that sex work? Is it rape? I’m sure Ms. Dworkin would have answered “Yes.”

Oh, and while I'm at it- F*ck you too Shelley Lubben, because the same crazy shit comes out of your mouth, regarding women in pornography. I hear that you're having a LOVELY event tomorrow, PornStars4Puppies. If you're so disgusted by the porn industry, WHY do you keep calling yourself a "porn star?" Also, I'm not too sure what the exact definition of "porn star" is, but I'm pretty damn sure that you did not meet criteria. 

Here's one of my favorite photos of Shelley Lubben below. It appears that she's posing in what might be a strip club? I'm not really sure what the hell that crazy woman is doing in that photo. Perhaps trying to hunt down Ron Jeremy so he can sign her boobs again. 

 

Okay, I'm done for the day. Thank you PMS. 
 

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Why Do Women Slut-Shame One Another???


Although I have touched on this issue in previous posts, I feel that it warrants another examination- why do women slut-shame other women? Let’s begin by taking a look at something that REALLY pisses me off- radical feminists who think that they know what’s best for MY vagina.

When I first embarked on this whole anti-slut-shaming mission of mine, I had no idea that some of my worst critics would be other women. When I began to speak up for the rights of sex workers, I did not expect that feminists would be so offended by what I had to say. After all, isn’t feminism about equal rights for men and women? A woman’s right to do as she pleases with her body, whether that be enjoying multiple orgasms or terminating a pregnancy?

I have been a self-proclaimed feminist since the age of 12, during which time my crush on punk band Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna was turning into a raging obsession. I drooled over pictures of Hanna, the word “Slut” scrawled on her stomach, while listening to her sing the lyrics “I can sell my body if I want to, God knows you already sold your mind!” 




Didn’t all feminists believe in a woman’s right to do as she pleases with her genitals? Apparently not. Cue…THE RADICAL FEMINISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (dramatic horror movie music plays in background)

So, here I am (well, there I was, 2 months ago), all excited about my new little blog, and I want to share it with other feminists!! Look at us…we have vaginas and you can’t tell us what to do with them…HOORAY! I wanted to spread the gospel of sex worker advocacy, and find other like-minded women!! This was my thought process when I posted one of my blog posts on Facebook’s Feminist page. Big. Fucking. Mistake. Well, perhaps it wasn’t a mistake, because I learned something very valuable that day: republicans aren’t the only ones who want to control my genitals, so do the rad fems!! Shit! They’re all coming after my snatch! RUN!!!!

Many of these women accused me of supporting sex trafficking (um no…when the women are over 18 and consenting to their occupation, this is NOT trafficking), and of being under the wicked spell of the patriarchy. A couple of them even accused me of being a man posing as a woman on Facebook. At that point, I decided to double check, and I unzipped my jeans. Nope…no penis down there. Still a woman.

When I started to pay attention, I realized how much slut-shaming and stigmatizing is really going on among these abolitionist groups. They say that they want to help enslaved women, but they confuse sex workers with victims of sex slavery. In my opinion, that’s doing a huge disservice to actual victims. They discuss the sex industry as a vile, misogynistic, abusive, drug-ridden hell hole. Ok, so what does that say about the women who choose to do sex work? The women who strip to help pay for their education, or hell, just to pay their rent? The women who work as porn performers? The women who escort, AND ENJOY IT? It says that they should be ashamed of their career choices. Remember when society believed that a woman’s place was in the kitchen? I guess we haven’t progressed that much since those days, have we? Society is STILL telling women what they should and should not be doing for a living, and the sad part is that so many of these so-called feminists are engaging in this behavior. I even had one of these rad fems tell me that I am supporting violence by watching pornography. Really? C’mon…get a grip.

So, where do I think a woman’s place is? Wherever the fuck she wants it to be- whether that be the kitchen, the stripper pole, or the office. Choice….CHOICE. REMEMBER?

“That girl thinks she’s the Queen of the neighbourhood, well I’ve got news for you SHE IS. They say she’s a slut, but I know, she is my best friend” Bikini Kill

So, back to my original question- why do women slut-shame other women? I was reading some articles last night for my dissertation, and stumbled across some interesting literature about sexual economics and intrasexual competition (Baumeister & Twenge, 2002; Vaillancourt & Sharma, 2011). I have provided the citations below, but will summarize the basics of these theories (which have empirical support to validate them): In a heterosexual environment, the principles of sexual economics influence the way females behave towards one another.

Sexual Economics 101 (Crash Course):

Sex is a valuable resource, possessed by women. Women use this resource to obtain other resources from men. The same is not true for men- a much lower premium is placed on their sexuality. Basically, men pay for sex, and women do not. Now, as in any economy, the market value of sex decreases if there is too much supply and not enough demand. In other words, if women are slutting it up, the value of the vagina decreases. Women compete with other women for the attention of men, and become resentful of women who “give it up too easily.” Thus…slut-shaming.

Very interesting stuff. I can’t say that I agree with all of it, but I do see a lot of value and truth in it. The articles also go into female’s perception of pornography and prostitution, stating that women are generally more disapproving of the sex industry than men. Well, naturally, the accessibility of porn and hookers = too much supply! Here is a direct quote from one of the articles:

“Second, just as any monopoly tends to oppose the appearance of low-priced substitutes that could undermine its market control, women will oppose various alternative outlets for male sexual gratification, even if these outlets do not touch the women’s own lives directly. Prostitution, pornography, and other forms of sexual entertainment may offer men sexual stimulation. By satisfying some of the male demand for sex, these entertainment forms could undermine women’s negotiating power, and so women would naturally have an interest in stifling them (Cott, 1979, as cited in Baumeister & Twenge, 2002).”

So, there’s one theory as to why women slut-shame each other. Jealousy…competition…fear? But what about lesbians who slut-shame other women? What about the radical feminists who truly aren’t trying to compete, but still claim that they know what is best for all women? Perhaps it’s just a case of “I think that I know everything, and I know what’s best for you.” That’s my best guess, for now.




Baumeister, R.F., & Twenge, J.M. (2002). Cultural suppression of female sexuality. Review of General
Psychology, 6, 166-203.

Vaillancourt, T. & Sharma, A. (2011). Intolerance of sexy peers: Intrasexual competition among
women. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 569-577.