‘This thick, landmark book is highly recommended’

My co-editor Abigail Bray, my publishers and me (of course) were delighted to read this journal article “Book Reviews: Recent Books on Pornography: From Discussions of Harm to Normalization” by Robert Brannon of Brooklyn College, US and published this week by Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence. Big Porn Inc appears at the top of reviews of nine books addressing pornography all published since 2010.

Robert Brannon

National Organization for Men Against Sexism

 

Book Reviews: Recent Books on Pornography: From Discussions of Harm to Normalization

Big Porn Inc: Exposing the Harms of the Global Pornography Industry. Melinda Tankard Reist and Abigail Bray (Eds.) (2011). Spinifex Press, North Melbourne, Australia.

This is by far the best and most significant of these recent books. It comes from Spinifex, a feminist press in Australia, where radical feminism is prospering rather more than in the U.S. (Spinifex was recently profiled by Barry, 2016). With 40 solid chapters, this is the richest such feminist collection since Laura Lederer’s (1980) Take Back the Night: Women on Pornography and/or Diana Russell’s (1983) Making Violence Sexy: Feminist Views on Pornography.

With contributions from Melissa Farley, Catharine MacKinnon, Diana Russell, Bob Jensen, Gail Dines, and Chyng Sun (and praise from Robin Morgan, Kathleen Barry, Janice Raymond, and Chris Stark), it represents much of the best of feminist analysis from the U.S. It adds many other good selections from Australia, Japan, India, South Africa, Croatia, Scotland, and Britain.

The wide range of topics is impressive: internet pornography, pornography now on campus, the sexualization of youth and of childhood, rape culture, feminist movement-building, pornography addiction, free speech issues, governmental indifference, rape video games, child and incest pornography, pornography of animal-abuse, challenging the demand for pornography, etc.

It also contains moving accounts from damaged survivors. A woman used in stripping writes: “I left with my self-esteem is shreds, my pockets empty, my body damaged, and my heart filled with shame.” A victim of pederasty and of child pornography describes the terrible lasting effects on her life.

Melissa Farley describes the many profound intersections of prostitution and pornography, and Abigail Bray reveals the highly profitable exploitative economics of each. Sheila Jeffreys describes the intermeshing of strip clubs and pornography: shared marketing, proximity, same owners, same customers, same women, used interchangeably.

Maggie Hamilton explores how sexualized marketing directly targets children. Megan Tyler describes how some sex therapists promote hard-core pornography to couples seeking help, offering films such as Jenna Loves Pain and Deep Throat. They suggest that clients model this behavior, and sometimes also recommend buying whips and bondage restraints. Teenagers’ sharing of photos they have made of themselves should (arguably) not be labeled “pornography,” but Nina Funnell’s article on this subject was good and thoughtful. This thick, landmark book is highly recommended.

Read the full journal article here

See also: Book Review: Prostitution Narratives: Stories of Survival in the Sex Trade

You can order Big Porn Inc here

Reddit ignores calls to pull ‘corrective rape’ forum

The Philosophy of Rape

By Mark Potok, Senior Fellow 

In an online world that is increasingly fraught with extreme hatred of women, the subreddit named PhilosophyOfRape may actually be the most vile and malicious English-language expression of misogyny on the Internet.

The subreddit, a forum that was created by an anonymous user last Sept. 28, promotes the “corrective” rape of “sluts,” “harlots” and just about any other woman or girl, and promises to help readers get away with it. Its founder reportedly claims to have personally raped seven women, and a visitor to the site recently bemoaned his own arrest and 10-year sentence after following the site’s advice.

“These harpies need to be humbled,” the forum’s creator, who also goes by PhilosophyOfRape, wrote in his opening statement, which he described as “serious as a heart attack.” “We’re talking about filthy, unmitigated sluts. Obvious and loud. Shameless. Belligerent. Entitled. Selfie taking, Tindr-whoring, Teenage-walking-herpes-sores. We are talking about bad, bad individuals. Unruly, neglicted [sic], children, run-amok. That badly need to be punished. Badly. For the good of society, these women need to be raped. Here we will teach how to do it safely.”

…The site attracts more than its share of the criminally minded. “Do you think fathers should fuck their daughters?” one wrote in, adding without irony that that “would ingrain in them a healthy view of men.” Another user asked when a girl is too young to rape and was told that “9-15 is a decent range to start corrections.” And still another user who said he had “fucked a girl while she was unconscious” was told by someone else on the site that if that were true, he had “done good.”

Read full article

ON Bookworld’s website, you can find My first cupcake decorating book, Children’s book of art and Children’s book of mythical beasts. But until recently, other beasts lurked among the titles hosted by the online book seller, the rebranded version of Borders.

Hundreds of titles appeared under the heading, Incest, titles far too explicit, not to mention disturbing, to be mentioned here.

Incest is a criminal act of abuse against children. About one-in-four is a victim of child sexual abuse. Yet companies are profiting from selling incest-themed fiction, supporting the views of abusers or potential abusers that it is acceptable to have sex with (i.e. rape) children.

Bookworld says it is working on solutions to monitor content more closely.

‘‘We agree with you that these titles should not be on sale and are very grateful that we have been made aware of them so that we can remove them from the site and ensure none like them will be available on Bookworld in the future,’’ said Bookworld’s Kim Noble.

While their prompt response is welcome, didn’t one staffer notice the titles and ask questions? And while Bookworld says it didn’t market the titles, surely carrying them at all achieves the same thing?

Why no audit checks of the data feeds they were channeling through their site? Why effectively traffick contraband materials without checking they weren’t breaching Australian laws?

It is just the latest example of the mainstreaming of child sexual assault material.

The Federal Government has established a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. There are various other state and internal inquiries. Rightly so. The issue is a blight on our nation and everything must be done to stop it. But while millions are spent on these inquiries, we live in a culture which sends messages that child abuse is sexy. There’s no inquiry into the permission-giving drivers which encourage and enable the sexual abuse of children.

Like teen-themed sex toys which eroticised sex with girls advertised through Condom Kingdom; or a Melbourne sex store advertising a ‘‘back to school’’ sale complete with school uniforms, blackboards and apples for the teacher.

Amazon also lists incest titles. Last year, a global campaign forced a recall of A paedophile’s guide to love and pleasure.

Then there’s porn in the corner store. Pictures include one of a girl (allegedly over 18 but posed as a child, which is illegal) on a bed in bobby sox and pigtails, holding a hand puppet.

For years, child development advocates have called for action, sending multiple copies of illegal titles to the Classification Board. Board chief Donald McDonald has written hundreds of ‘‘please explain’’ letters to porn distributors but none bother replying. The board’s annual reports bear that out, documenting ‘‘no reply received’’.

The system is broken. Jeff Sparrow’s new book, Money Shot, reveals the contempt porn profiteers have for the system. Those in the industry say the risks of getting caught aren’t that great. Sparrow writes: ‘‘The adult industry of Australia was almost entirely outside the legal system . . . the remote possibility of a fine was like the spectre of shoplifting, an annoyance that just went with the trade.’’

Why haven’t state and federal attorneys-general, who are responsible for classifications, done anything to intervene?

Melbourne author Jayneen Saunders wrote Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept about helping children stay safe from child sexual abuse, but she has struggled to get a publisher and has been prevented from reading from the book at public places such as libraries, because of the nature of the content.

Yet, mainstream companies can profit from trading in products encouraging child sexual assault.

All these permission-giving examples undermine child protection. The idea it is acceptable to fantasise about children is given the tick by those who profit from trading in such fantasies.

If we are serious about addressing child sexual assault, when are governments going to address the culture which fuels and feeds it?

Despite the fact the system is stuffed, the Australian Law Reform Commission has endorsed selfregulation.

There are endless complaints about all the above and more, but the system doesn’t change.

I’ll vote for whoever decides to take this seriously.

Published in the Sunday Herald Sun March 3 2013

‘The pornification of culture and the normalization of (increasingly violent) porn is contributing to a society where pornography, even the most brutal forms, are in many ways sanctioned, defended as well as protected’

By Hennie Weiss

Edited by Melinda Tankard Reist and Abigail Bray, Big Porn Inc: Exposing the Harms of the Global Pornography Industry is a compilation of essays by researchers, experts and activists concerning the harms of pornography. All and all there are 40 written pieces divided into five categories; pornography cultures, pornography industries, harming children, pornography and the state and resisting big porn inc.

Overall, the notion is that pornography has found its way into everyday cultures all over the world. The pornification of culture and the normalization of (increasingly violent) porn is contributing to a society where pornography, even the most brutal forms, are in many ways sanctioned, defended as well as protected through legislation. For example, in the United States the notion of freedom of speech (also called freedom of expression) helps protect the production, distribution and purchasing of porn. The stronghold that porn has tends to be contributed to the enormous profitability and influence of the porn industry. As noted in the book, it is difficult to resist and battle the porn industry as a whole, even though small grassroot movements opposing pornography have made significant gains over the last few years. Yet, more knowledge about the industry, the way it harms women and children (as well as men), and the lasting effects of the pornification of sexuality and culture are important (many articles discusses how porn is the same as prostitution).

Even though the many different contributions tend to deal with various aspects of pornography (within the five categories), there are some statements that are generally agreed upon and reiterated throughout the book. In one way or another all contributions contest the notion (most often used by those in the porn industry and those who are pro-porn) that porn does not cause harm and is a form of fantasy. When discussing prostitution, strip clubs, PTSD, sexual and physical assaults, rape, intrafamilial rape, the sexual objectification of women and the spread of child pornography, it should prove to be difficult for anyone to look at porn like mere fantasy, especially since real women and men are involved in the making of pornography. What the different categories of Big Porn Inc brings to light is the fact that the porn industry is not glamorous, as high-paying as many believe, and that women are sexually objectified, dominated, demeaned and degraded. Pornography has also become increasingly violent, and most scenes or movies include physical violence, rape, or the threat of violence. The notion that women are sex objects who like to be degraded and thrive on physical violence is based on a patriarchal backlash to women’s overall gains towards equality.

Besides stating that pornography is mere fantasy, proponents of pornography also often refer to a lack of evidence, or link between pornography use and overall behavior. But the book has that too. Pornography does not only lead to an increase in acceptance of rape culture, but people who watch pornography are less likely to view sex as an intimate act and more likely to engage in gendered violence. Diana E.H Russel writes in the article “Russel’s Theory: Exposure to Child Pornography as a Cause of Child Sexual Victimization”, that watching child pornography can help cultivate sexual interests in children in several ways. It predisposes men to objectify children, it intensifies already existing desires, undermines social inhibitions and internal inhibitions as well as undermines children’s abilities to avoid, resist, or escape sexual victimization.

It is important to note that many of the contributions include explicit language, profanities and words that describe various ways in which women are demeaned, humiliated and abused when discussing different aspects of pornography. Many contributions also discuss notions of rape, group rape, incest or intrafamilial rape, sexual assault, violence and even the killing of animals. Therefore, readers should note that the material might be triggering to some. Even though the language is often explicit in nature, it is easy to understand the links between harm, prostitution, the degradation of women, patriarchy, power and sexual assault made by the contributors. The personal accounts of Stella and Amy (Stella was a stripper and Amy the victim of intrafamilial rape) contribute to a greater understanding and awareness of the harm of pornography and how women are mentally, physically and emotionally impacted by porn culture.

The intended audience could be anyone, both women and men, who are interested in the consequences and harms of the global pornography industry. With its sharp analysis and research, the book can also contribute to changing, or challenging legislature in terms of discussing the harms of pornography, especially when using the findings that makes connections between watching pornography and overall behavior. The book can also be used in the classroom (even though it might be more suitable for students that are a little older) in gender studies, men and masculinity studies, women’s studies and sociology.

What the book does so well is to capture, discuss, analyze and provide evidence for the many ways that pornography is harmful to women and children. We know that pornography is based on profit, capitalism and a patriarchal worldview and is therefore complicated to combat, but when reading the book it becomes difficult to understand why pornography is legal in the first place.

© 2013 Hennie Weiss 

Hennie Weiss has a Master’s degree in Sociology from California State University, Sacramento. Her academic interests include women’s studies, gender, sexuality and feminism.

Published in Metapsychology Online Reviews, February 5, 2013

Big Porn Inc. available here

How Bookworld profited from intra-familial child sexual abuse

*Trigger warning – child sexual abuse, incest*

We’ve just campaigned against Condom Kingdom selling products that eroticise sex with underage girls and therefore, paedophilia. But Condom Kingdom isn’t the only retailer providing masturbatory material for sexual predators. Bookworld – formerly known as Borders – has been selling multiple titles eroticising incest.

Recently one of our supporters alerted us to a book they had come across on Bookworld’s website, entitled ‘Tina sits on Daddy’s face’.

Bookworld is the rebranded online version of what used to be Borders bookstores. After searching the website more thoroughly, we found hundreds of titles under the heading ‘incest’, including:

• Double teamed by Daddy and Uncle
• Daddy takes my virginity
• First time with my twin brothers
• F*cking my black Daddy
• Daddy’s naughty girls get what they deserve
• Breaking in the babysitter

Below is our complaint to the Classifications Branch of the Attorney-General’s department about Bookworld’s trading in and profiting from incest titles. Be warned, the content is distressing. The good news is that Bookworld has now withdrawn these titles from sale.

Caitlin Roper, our State Coordinator for Western Australia, wrote to the Classifications Branch of the Attorney-General’s department to inquire as to why novels promoting intra-familial child sexual abuse, a serious crime, were allowed to be sold:

These ‘incest fantasy’ titles typically involve an older male family member, typically a father, engaging in sexual acts with a daughter, characterized as young, innocent virgins. Incest is a serious and criminal act of abuse against children. An estimated one in four children is a victim of Child Sexual Abuse, with a significant number being abused by a family member, often a father or brother.

The publication and sale of incest themed erotic fiction in mainstream bookstores gives credibility to the idea among abusers that sex with children is permissible, or that children want, like and deserve to be abused- even that behind each innocent, young child lies a filthy whore waiting to be broken in.

According to the Classifications Act 1995, the Classification Board only classifies ‘submittable publications’ that are likely to be classified RC, are likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, or are unsuitable for a minor to see or read. As well as promoting criminal behavior, I believe these books meet all three criteria and like pornographic magazines that depict children or appear to depict children, should be refused classification.

The Classifications Branch responded yesterday, advising that Bookworld would remove the titles (click image to enlarge):

We are relieved to hear that Bookworld has removed these titles. However we do have to wonder how it came to be sold in the first place. Bookworld ‘appreciated being advised’ – they didn’t know they were selling pseudo incest child pornography?

Caitlin was recently interviewed on RTR fm about Condom Kingdom, Bookworld and illegal pseudo child pornography sold in service stations and corner stores. Listen here:

http://www.rtrfm.com.au/restream/20981

As published on Collective Shout