These pictures demonstrate why it’s not a good idea to leave me in a television studio in front of a camera on my own…
As Neil McMahon tweeted:
My friends have amused themselves with references to leaning towers and lefties.
The topic is not quite as amusing. You can see the interview here. I’m at the 28 minute mark.
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This book throws down a challenge to Big Fertility and its minions: women are not ovens or suitcases, babies are not products. Love is not to be bought.
“Melinda Tankard Reist is at the forefront of helping…educate the public on the link between pornography and violence…” – Di Macleod, Director, Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence
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Men of Honour -written by Glen Gerreyn- encourages and inspires young men to take up the challenge to be honourable. Whether at school, in sport, at work or in relationships, we must develp our character to achieve success and experience the thrills life has on offer.
“Getting Real contains a treasure trove of information and should be mandatory reading for all workers with young people in health, education and welfare” – Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Adolescent Psychologist
Defiant Birth challenges widespread medical, and often social aversion to less than perfect pregnancies or genetically different babies. It also features women with disabilities who were discouraged from becoming pregnant at all.
September 8th, 2011 at 11:58 am
I assumed you wanted to give us a nice clear shot of the flag in the background…
September 8th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Others suggested you were leaning to your right. Keep ’em guessing, I say. Maybe they’ll eventually focus on the issues at hand and assess them on their merits 🙂
September 8th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Haha, I thought it was all very casual, like “Hey what’s up, illegal porn is sold in petrol stations and you haven’t noticed y’all…”
September 8th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
I may be a mere female, Neil McMahon, but I can tell you she is leaning to the right in these pictures.
September 8th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
Great interview Melinda.
People continue to make the mistake of saying that ‘we don’t have porn like this in the corner store because we have laws against it’.
You and I both know that we might have laws against it – but we have a broken classification system – and distributors who constantly flout those laws and get away with it.
Retailers are selling refused classification (RC) pornography (yes, inciting sex with minors & incest themes) thinking that the publications have been classified.
It is difficult in such an interview to get this point made…
Just because the law is there doesn’t mean it is effective or being adhered to!
The classification board know this. The police know this and the distributors know this.
Thank you for your work – and your very important book.
September 9th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Great interview – covered so much ground in such a short time! Had to sigh when Fran Kelly trotted out those tired old horses for a flog though…
September 11th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Hello, I happened to be watching the drum when you made your appearance Melinda, and I didn’t notice your leaning at all – I was focused on what you were saying and the discussion!
I found the host and the panel’s response to your book’s stance a curious one – based on the questions the host was asking you, he was trying to steer the conversation towards enforcement/ regulation of the porn industry and away from the harmful impact it has.
IMO the point Melinda was trying to make was that contrary to what the wider public think at the moment, porn is harmful. This however was brushed over – in preference for trying to get Melinda to make extreme demands for censorship. ( he asked pointed questions a few times demanding a specific answer about this not quitting until Melinda answered it. providing the fodder he was wanting for his panel to then discuss.)
Debate quickly shifted to: Porn is unable to be regulated or restricted, and bans are already in place on the really harmful stuff, so who cares!!
It seemed unanimous – porn? harmful? well how would you regulate it anymore than it is now? nahhh it won’t work let’s just forget about it!! – They don’t want to even begin to discuss restricting porn.
I’m not sure what the answer is..but restricting something people enjoy (even if it is harmful , degrading and full of violence); has never been a very effective solution. ( but do we do something only if it is effective?? )
I don’t agree with porn; the violence and degradation of women, and of sex itself – but I would love to hear an open debate about different ways this issue can be dealt with – It is a problem worth grappling with when society is adversely affected by it. ( And the porn business is actively working to promote it for huge profits)
In the last few years, I have been surprised at how many references there are in mainstream media, and entertainment to porn- characters in tv shows make jokes about watching porn like it is something that everyone does – this sort of representation is pure gold to the porn industry – it subtley normalises it. We need to wake up and realise porn use is something which actually needs to be discussed!