XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography

XXX: A Woman's Right

to Pornography

by Wendy McElroy

1

"Wendy McElroy's most valuable contribution is to introduce the voices of the women who work in the sex industry. Her fascinating interviews defy many stereotypes and should deter all who are concerned about women's rights from supporting censorship measures."

Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union and author of
Defending Pornography

"Wendy McElroy's book strikes a rare blow for sexual tolerance in a world that has never tolerated much sexual freedom."

Bart Kosko, author of
Fuzzy Thinking

"Wendy McElroy has made an astonishing contribution to the well-being of contemporary sexuality."

Rachel Hickerson, president of Feminists for Free Expression "Wendy McElroy eloquently exposes and courageously opposes the evil na•vetŽ of the currently fashionable antipornography movement."

Thomas Szasz, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, State University of New York

"Wendy McElroy's most valuable contribution is to introduce the voices of the women who work in the sex industry. Her fascinating interviews defy many stereotypes and should deter all who are concerned about women's rights from supporting censorship measures."

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Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union and author of
Defending Pornography

"Wendy McElroy's book strikes a rare blow for sexual tolerance in a world that has never tolerated much sexual freedom."

Bart Kosko, author of
Fuzzy Thinking

"Wendy McElroy has made an astonishing contribution to the well-being of contemporary sexuality."

Rachel Hickerson, president of Feminists for Free Expression "Wendy McElroy eloquently exposes and courageously opposes the evil na•vetŽ of the currently fashionable antipornography movement."

Thomas Szasz, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, State University of New York

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Originally Published (1995) by

St Martin's Press 175 Fifth Avenue,

New York, NY 10010.

Entire text now available on-line!

&RS\ULJKW‹E\Wendy McElroy

I am delighted to m ake
XXX: A W om an's Right to Pornography
available online.
XXX
w as first
published in hardcover in 1995 by St. M artin's Press then released in paperback tw o years later. If
you decide to dow nload the book, and if you enjoy it, I ask that you m ake a donation to this site
using the PayPal donation button. I m aintain all rights to w ork and dow nloads should be for
personal, non-com m erical use, only. Perm ission to reprint sections of the book w ill alm ost alw ays
be granted upon request.
w endy@ ifem inists.net.

4

Pornography As an Industry

Two

Defining Pornography

Three

Feminism and Porn: Fellow Travelers

Four

A Critique of AntiPornography Feminism

Five

Liberal Feminism: The Glimmer of Hope

Six

Individualist Feminism:A True Defense of Pornography

Seven

Interviews with Women in Porn

Eight

Whither Pornography?

Nine

A COYOTE Meeting

Appendix

COYOTE Survey

End Notes

5

PREFACE

Pornography benefits women, both personally and politically. After reading this, antipornography (or radical) feminists will consider me a heretic-fit only for burning. Or, to put it in more politically correct terms, I am a woman who is so psychologically damaged by patriarchy that I have fallen in love with my own oppression. My arguments will be dismissed.

In other words, if I enjoy pornography, it is not because I am a unique human being with different preferences. It is because I am psychologically ill.

Antipornography feminists try to silence any real discussion of pornography. Catharine MacKinnon, for example, flatly refuses to debate women on this subject. Feminists who disagree are treated as traitors. Their bottom line is: Individual women must not be allowed to question the sexual interests of women as a class.

Liberal feminists often argue against censorship rather than for pornography. Many of them view censorship as being far too dangerous a solution to the "problem" of graphic sex. They believe censorship could and would be used to stifle the voices of women. Nadine Strossen's book
Defending Pornography
eloquently argues this point. In response, radical feminists consider their liberal counterparts to be the "dupes of men," or "coconspirators in gender oppression."

Yet many liberal feminists accept the basic antiporn assumptions of radical feminism. For example, they generally accept the idea that pornography degrades women. This agreement does not seem to create common ground, however.

Why? Because antiporn feminists will not tolerate any attempt to apply freedom of speech to pornography. In her book
Only Words,
MacKinnon goes so far as to deny that pornography consists of words and images, both of which would be protected by the First Amendment. She considers pornography-in and of itself-to be an
act
of sexual violence.

For years, antiporn feminists effectively silenced dissent on pornography. Here and there, a renegade like Sallie Tisdale became so fed up with being ashamed of her own sexual responses that she would admit to enjoying adult films. When Tisdale explained in
Harper's
how pornography enriched her life, her admission caused a sensation. Tisdale's latest book bears the same title as her pioneering article,
Talk Dirty to Me.
It continues her celebration of sex.

A group of hardy feminists are now standing up to defend pornography ... as harmless, as pleasurable, as fun. Some of these women have worked in the porn industry for decades. Candida Royalle, for example, has risen through the ranks of that industry to become one of its most powerful producers.

But something is missing from their defense of pornography. In fact, four things are missing: 1. A realistic picture of how the pornography industry works; 2. A full-scale attack on the fundamental assumptions of antiporn feminists; 3. A forum from which the women who work in the day-to-day business of pornography can air their views; and