Why "No more Page 3" is a bad idea (from Hunter Not The Hunted)
Hunter Not The Hunted - Why "No More Page 3" is a bad idea
Now this is a very, very interesting article, and I find myself agreeing with the author completely. I've always believed that if people chose and want to do sex work, they should be allowed to do so, and found the moralising of people who'd ban erotica but happily condemn those who used to live off it to wage-slavery in dead end jobs, abhorrent, but Hunter Not The Hunted puts it very well indeed.
As they sat, Page 3 isn't the problem, and given it features willing, paid models who know where their pictures are going, is arguably much less of a problem than the "slut shaming" paparazzi shots that litter the Daily Wail's website, and are in large part responsible for that site's vast local and international success - one of the most visited newspaper sites in the world.
"The problem" isn't women's bodies, regardless of whether wrapped in burkhas or willingly exposed in pornography, the problem is a global culture that says other people have some right of control over the bodies of women they've never even met, on the basis of either aesthetic preference or perceived morals, or both. This is what leads to female genital mutilation. This is what leads to teenage girls being kicked to death by a mob for daring to like or speak to the wrong person. This is what leads to so many young women having "body issues". And this is what leads to the suppression of the female half of our species.
Mixed up in it is the idea that only "nice girls" can be feminists. That feminism is incompatible with kinky sex, or BDSM, or going to nightclubs in insane heels, spandex, and corsets. Feminism is only "real" if it's frumpy women in baggy dungarees and no make-up. And don't even whisper that there might be guys (and girls) out there who actually get more turned on by women in dungarees than naked ones, because that would shatter the illusion that women can only be free if they have no sexuality. Which of course is just the old virgin purity thing that drives horrors like female genital mutilation all over again.
I'm a feminist. and I'm a guy. A guy who shoots fetish movies for sale. Sometimes of women in kinky boots. I'm pretty sure all of my models are feminists too, given we all regard each other as equals and believe in the freedom of the individual to do whatever he or she likes within an equal legal system, achieve our own goals, and generally agree to do or not do things on the basis of whether we want to, not whether some random third party, or holy book, is going to worry about any of our morals.
I don't have a problem with Page 3, even though I've no interest in it (yes, I'm one of the weird people who prefers women in overalls to naked ones). I do have a major problem with moral crusades though, especially ones with absolutely no objective evidence to back them up. I'm aware of research in the USA which suggests that in fact the incidence of rape actually declines when there is easier access to pornography. Until there is some objective data available, I'd really prefer the government to stick to fact-based policy making.
Now this is a very, very interesting article, and I find myself agreeing with the author completely. I've always believed that if people chose and want to do sex work, they should be allowed to do so, and found the moralising of people who'd ban erotica but happily condemn those who used to live off it to wage-slavery in dead end jobs, abhorrent, but Hunter Not The Hunted puts it very well indeed.
As they sat, Page 3 isn't the problem, and given it features willing, paid models who know where their pictures are going, is arguably much less of a problem than the "slut shaming" paparazzi shots that litter the Daily Wail's website, and are in large part responsible for that site's vast local and international success - one of the most visited newspaper sites in the world.
"The problem" isn't women's bodies, regardless of whether wrapped in burkhas or willingly exposed in pornography, the problem is a global culture that says other people have some right of control over the bodies of women they've never even met, on the basis of either aesthetic preference or perceived morals, or both. This is what leads to female genital mutilation. This is what leads to teenage girls being kicked to death by a mob for daring to like or speak to the wrong person. This is what leads to so many young women having "body issues". And this is what leads to the suppression of the female half of our species.
Mixed up in it is the idea that only "nice girls" can be feminists. That feminism is incompatible with kinky sex, or BDSM, or going to nightclubs in insane heels, spandex, and corsets. Feminism is only "real" if it's frumpy women in baggy dungarees and no make-up. And don't even whisper that there might be guys (and girls) out there who actually get more turned on by women in dungarees than naked ones, because that would shatter the illusion that women can only be free if they have no sexuality. Which of course is just the old virgin purity thing that drives horrors like female genital mutilation all over again.
I'm a feminist. and I'm a guy. A guy who shoots fetish movies for sale. Sometimes of women in kinky boots. I'm pretty sure all of my models are feminists too, given we all regard each other as equals and believe in the freedom of the individual to do whatever he or she likes within an equal legal system, achieve our own goals, and generally agree to do or not do things on the basis of whether we want to, not whether some random third party, or holy book, is going to worry about any of our morals.
I don't have a problem with Page 3, even though I've no interest in it (yes, I'm one of the weird people who prefers women in overalls to naked ones). I do have a major problem with moral crusades though, especially ones with absolutely no objective evidence to back them up. I'm aware of research in the USA which suggests that in fact the incidence of rape actually declines when there is easier access to pornography. Until there is some objective data available, I'd really prefer the government to stick to fact-based policy making.