Gail Dines

I finished reading this book late last night and it had made me so angry that I had trouble sleeping. In form and approach, ‘Pornland’ is similar to Natasha Walter’s [b:Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism|6378897|Living Dolls The Return of Sexism|Natasha Walter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415589903s/6378897.jpg|6566695]. That book recounted how fallacious biologically-based claims of gender difference are being used to market women’s objectification back to them as show more empowerment. Walter’s argument meshes very neatly with this, as she argues that the porn industry is making huge profits out of a business model that sells not just the objectification but the complete dehumanisation of women. In the cases of both the porn and fashion/beauty industry, the emphasis is on it being the woman’s choice to participate, thus it becomes empowering. Both books argue that this is totally misleading because there are no other choices - women can either try and conform to a beauty standard and porn-influenced level of sexual availability, or we can be invisible. Calling it a choice doesn't make it one.

‘Pornland’ made me angrier than [b:Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism|6378897|Living Dolls The Return of Sexism|Natasha Walter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415589903s/6378897.jpg|6566695], though, as it describes in detail how the porn industry has normalised the physical and verbal abuse of women as sexy. Women in porn are called cunts, whores, and sluts, and are choked, degraded, and humiliated. This is justified with a narrative of ‘she wants it’, which presents female sexuality as being passively dedicated to pleasing men. That’s absolutely awful. Gail Dines notes that she is often accused of being anti-sex, because the porn industry have cleverly elided porn and sex. In reality, porn is an artificial, commodified depiction of sex. Those in porn are doing it for money, not enjoyment. It’s fiction, not a documentary.

Two other chapters are especially horrifying: the one on ‘barely legal’ porn, which presents a narrative of the very young as sexually available with some coaxing, and the one on the intersection of racism and sexism in porn. The porn industry gets away with using racist stereotypes that would be totally unacceptable in the (still racist) mainstream media. This also illustrates how the industry has positioned itself at the edge of the media mainstream to achieve wider acceptability, but not sufficiently within the mainstream that its pervasive misogyny and racism are brought into question. Dines recounts how this has occurred from the 1950s onwards, spurred by Playboy magazine. Naturally, the porn industry is still run almost exclusively by white men.

Dines also recounts the effects that the industrialisation of porn seems to be having. These are of course difficult to quantify, but her claims seem credible and are not sensationalised. Her suggestions for dealing with porn culture are a bit weaker, although to be fair it is very difficult to fight huge, rich industries that have significant lobbying power. Her main solution is to completely boycott the porn industry, on the tacit understanding that it is impossible to change it. This is a similar dilemma to those concerning other problematic industries - is it better to use so-called purchasing power to influence the products supplied, or to refuse to contribute your money to the whole industry? I wonder this about supermarkets.

I found out about this book by watching a talk Gail Dines gave, which covers a number of the same points: link here. I recommend it as a complement to the book. Only watch and read them if you are willing to be depressed and angered. I think I’ll read a book about asexuality next as a palate-cleanser. show less

Holy cow, what a book. Definitely not for the faint of heart. I was alternately disgusted and angry as I read this. Dines makes the point that as pornography enters the mainstream media, it makes degradation of women a "normal" and "acceptable" thing. She also discusses how using porn affects men and their attitudes towards sex. Difficult to read (because of subject matter), but important if one is trying to understand the dynamics of sexual gender stereotypes in society.

I'm giving this the full five stars as to my mind this is an urgent and important topic for our young people - and Dines argues her case very well. The topic is so vast though, that the surface can only be skimmed .... little about the 'homemade' market (who are these people? I assume some at least put their videos up for public consumption through choice?), nothing about 'ugly' sites, or 'fat' sites or 'senior citizen' sites (where the performers fall into these categories, not the show more viewers!). Diines' descriptionsof gonzo porn sickened me (although with a weird undercurrent of titillation - and I'm a middle aged housewife, so what must they do for red blooded young men?) ... and her points about desensitization were spot on. This book should be required reading on every media studies course in the world ... and would make an ideal 18th birthday present for your average randy teen! ***** show less

Dines makes some great points in this book: that individuals try on the trappings of gender as such things are projected by the greater culture. If those archetypes are harmful, as in the ones common in 'gonzo' pornography (as Dines calls it), then the social order can be harmed. I understand what the author is trying to do, truly, but I also think she neglects some of the subtleties of sexuality that are interwoven inextricably into the fabric of each complete being. The last chapter of show more this book about 'PCP' or pseudo-child pornography is particularly horrifying, and Dines argues convincingly that pornography might help desensitize men to violent or otherwise awful sexual practices. show less