Porn Perspectives

Florida is positioned to become the next porn mecca, creating an East Coast rival to the San Fernando Valley. While Florida has produced some important pleasing media images (more cheesecake, Blanche?), it will be great to see what kind of images arise from an industry located a continent away from the porn mothership and filled with new entrants.

Florida's ability to enter the industry, however, hinges on a case brought against Ray Gunn Productions, which alleges that sex on camera is akin to prostitution. (As the Elliot Spitzer scandal reminded us, there is a thin line between paying for sex and paying for sex on camera.)The 1989 California Supreme Court case California vs. Freeman ruled that pornography was not the same as prostitution--the distinction cited is that porn performers are paid for acting, not for providing sexual gratification--which is why we see so many porn companies located in the state. The Gunn case, set for trial in June, will determine Florida's stance on the same issue.

Many Floridians aren't waiting, however. The state's permissive culture, proliferation of strip clubs, and population of young people eager to make money has generated a sort of underground porn industry. A St. Petersburg attorney named Brandon Kolb has started offering "Porn Camp" seminars ($4,000 for a weekend), which teaches people how to make a porn movie. Enterprising, eh?

Aren't we over this yet?

The LA Times recently published an article shaking its head at the the hordes of young women flocking to Spring Break locales in order to demonstrate or gain confidence. States the author:

'[Y]oung people, women especially, [have decided] that the way to measure their readiness for the adult world is not in terms of education or emotional maturity but sexual desirability."

I'll throw my shaking head into the mix. I am baffled that young women still--STILL--think that sexual availability is a demonstration of anything other than, well, sexual availability. When are women going to understand that it is nothing special to have men lust after you? Dare I say, it's even a trifle boring? Have we really been so thoroughly cowed by the constant media messages telling us sex is all we have to sell, they boyfriends who say they'll dump you if you don't put out, the companies that toss you out as soon as you enter the marriage/baby-making age group?

My point is this: The simple fact of a young woman able to get sex is a given, so much so that the concept is boring.  In today's post-Pill, permissive society,  sex is freely given and taken. Women have careers, raise babies alone, and run for president. So why are they still stuck in the archaic prison of believing that sexual attractiveness is what determines social worth (and nothing more)?

Obviously it's still important to look good and be able to attract men--so we are reminded every day (and of course we must constantly challenge these messages). But instead of becoming mired in this thinking and never moving past it to contribute anything, I challenge women across the board to take it as a given that they want to sleep with you and then focus on something else! It will change your life, I promise.

This post is a poorly-sketched kernel of a Manifesto which I'm preparing. It will blow your mind!

Lest I rejoice too quickly or give Texas too much credit, it has come to my attention via Slate that the state attorney general is fighting to keep the ban on sex toys. Because, y'know, it's an excellent use of his time.

Check out this guy's argument (employing some legal device called en banc), which argues that once you legalize sex toys, it's a straight shot to legalizing incest and bigamy. Because...yeah...

Women can now orgasm without fear of the law in Texas! In a Valentine's Day gift to Texan women, the state lifted a ban on sex toy sales, citing Lawrence and Garner v. Texas.

As you may know, I have a major issue with sex toy bans--not only are they anti-pleasure, they are anti-woman. Women largely drive the sex toy industry (both on the production and consumption side), and sex toys largely drive female pleasure. So the spirit behind a sex toy ban hurts women on all fronts.

I'm heartened to read this story, and hope that other state (ahem, Alabama) follow suit.