The Feminist Porn Book

Starred review from April 1, 2013
Sex industry workers, academics, and feminists explore whether pornography is inherently anti-feminist in this intelligent, accessible, and relevant collection of essays. Porn has often been branded as sexist, with "feminist" groups decrying all forms; however, many women over the decades have sought to bridge their love of erotica with their feminist values by supporting and creating porn that adheres to these values. With contributions from some pioneers of feminist porn such as Candida Royalle, the book features a variety of critical perspectives that examine all sides of the issue. Contributors aren't afraid to both objectively praise and criticize advances the industry has made (such as the way feminist porn has, for some, come to equate "soft" porn, and prescribe stereotypes of female desire), and provide both practical ways to become a smart feminist or queer porn consumer alongside academic approaches to the movement. The collection also rightfully includes essays on racial, queer, and transgender representations in porn, topics often marginalized in this discussion. Besides being extremely thoughtprovoking, this must-read collection is accessible to all readers, and the topic inherently makes it engaging and fun.

April 15, 2013

Freedom for women to express their sexuality on their own terms has always been at the center of feminist thought and activism. Pornography, however, presumptively aimed at men and often degrading of women, has engendered powerful disputes among feminists. This collection of new essays compiled by sex educator and pornographer Taormino (Opening Up: A Guide To Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships), Celine Parrenas Shimizu (Asian American studies, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; Straightjacket Sexualities), Constance Penley (film & media studies, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; NASA/Trek: Popular Science and Sex in America), and Mireille Miller-Young (feminist studies, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara), features work from feminist scholars and theorists, porn filmmakers, and performers such films whose work assumes that both the author and the viewer of feminist pornography are women and that feminist pornography empowers them. Sections of the book address the history of feminist porn; the inclusion and exclusion of groups of women from the feminist porn project; the teaching of feminist porn; and the current state of the art. VERDICT Despite the authority of the writers included and its provocative title, this dense work, suitable for a college-level course, will appeal to a fairly narrow audience of feminist theorists and scholars.--Cynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC

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