Nina Hartley Layeth The Smack (And The Damn Truth) Down On Antiporn-AntiSexWork Jabronae @ Desiree Alliance 2010 Keynote Speech

I always knew there was a reason people call Nina Hartley "The Goddess of Sex." After watching this speech, they should also call her something else: "Madam Freakin' President." (OK...without the "freakin'" part.)

Last week, Nina gave the keynote address at the annual Desiree Alliance Sex Worker Conference in Las Vegas; discussing everything from the struggle to make her voice heard as a sex worker/pro-porn advocate to a thorough analysis of the forces invieghed against her and her activist sex worker associates.

I could give an analysis of the speech...but since Nina has a way of rendering analysis moot by her own eloquence and passion, I figure that reposting the speech (and the ensuing Q & A) would be more than suitable enough.

The original speech was posted by sawbuckfilms via their YouTube channel yesterday; a sincere thanks to them for giving permesion to repost it here. I have also posted the speech over at my own SmackDog Chronicles blog, too.

Adult entertainment legend/progressive sex educator Nina Hartley giving the keynote address at last week's Sex Worker Conference sponsored by the Desiree Alliance in Las Vegas (via YouTube, h/t to sawbuckfilms)

"Our Porn, Our Selves": The Beginning Of The Pro-Porn Pushback To "Stop Porn Culture"...Or Is It??

Much has been written here about the group Stop Porn Culture, and its efforts to use radical feminism as a base for its long-standing critique of porn as the ultimate danger to women.

Much has also been written here that there has been not much resistance from many progressives and sex-positive people to SPC's rhetoric.

It seems that those times are a'changing real quick.

After SPC announced that they were having their second Feminist Anti-Pornography Conference in middle July at Wheelock College (home of Gail Dines, chief propagandist for the antiporn feminist "Left"), some feminists and pro-porn women decided that enough was too much, and that there needed to be a swift response in defense of women's right to sexual media.

And one of them, sex blogger Violet Blue of Tiny Nibbles/Open Source Sex fame, decided to put talk to action. First, she decided to form a Facebook page dedicated to debunking the depth of antiporn rhetoric that SPC was shilling; and now she has created a blog to the same goals and objectives.

Both are titled "Our Porn, Our Selves", and dedicated to the legendary feminist anthem "Our Bodies, Our Selves", which served as the manifesto for women's reproductive and sexual autonomy during the 70's.

The "Our Porn, Ourselves" manifesto makes their case pretty explicit:

WE who declare that organizations such as Feminists Against Pornography do not speak for us.

WE who want the world to know that organizations such as Feminists Against Pornography do not represent feminists as a group.

WE who believe that every woman has the right and power to enjoy her sexuality as she decides.

WE who believe that to tell a woman how she may or may not enjoy her sexuality in any way is to deny that woman of her rights over her sexuality.

WE who state that any woman who attempts to control the way another woman enjoys, explores or expresses her sexuality is in fact creating a world that is harmful for all women.

WE who state that we are women, and we like pornography.

WE who state that as women, we are not harmed or threatened by the creation or viewing of pornography, and we wholly support the rights of any gender to view, create and enjoy pornography without judgment.

WE who want a world in which pornography is simply a sex toy enjoyed by all genders and sexual orientations, where women and men view porn within their own self-defined healthy sexuality, without being considered sick, twisted, wrong or mentally ill, and that men who enjoy pornography are no more likely to beat their wives, rape women or become peadophiles than anyone else in society.

WE hereby declare ourselves as adult women capable of making our own choices about our bodies and enjoyment of explicit visual stimulation for our sexual health and well-being.

WE hereby demand that our voices be heard.

The Facebook page has already in two days of existence gained over 500 followers, mostly women who are either unabashed consumers and producers of "feminist-" and "women-centered" porn or supporters of "alt[dot]porn" as well as their male allies and counterparts.

It would seem to be the breakthrough that everyone who is a sexual progressive would be cheering wildly.

So..why should there be any questions??  Why doesn't this blog, dedicated as it is to pro-porn activism (hey, it's in our freakin' TITLE!!!) not fall in head first toward Violet the Sex Blogger's crusade of resistance to the likes of Gail Dines??

Why??  Well, we can support them and cheer them on....but only from a slight distance. Here are our reasons why.

1) Violet Blue has, shall we say, a checkered history with what we call "the porn industry"...she supports wildly performers (Madison Young, Sasha Grey, Dana deArmond) who promote her own personal "sex positive" philosophy...but her attitudes towards more mainstream porn and towards those not quite behoven to her "San Francisco" values tend to range from lukewarm to outright hostile....as her continuing battles with AVN have shown.

2) Most of the supporters and biggest boosters of Our Porn, Ourselves happen to be either promoters of the kind of rebel porn (of the "porn for women" or "feminist porn" or "alt[dot]porn" variety) that was created as a counter to the supposed misogyny of "mainstream porn". That is certainly their right, and creating an alternative is certainly far better than censoring the porn they dislike....but still, it does pose a question of whether they would be willing to actively defend porn that didn't meet their exact standards.

In other words, would Violet and Ms. Naughty (another proud sponsor of this experiment) be as willing to defend as loudly the rights of more mainstream performers like Vicky Vette or Lisa Ann or Bree Olsen to make exactly the kind of porn that might squick them out???  And let us not get into Bang Bus or Anabolic or even -- gasp -- the kind of porn that folks like Ernest Greene and Renegade Evolution would call their personal pleasure??

3) And then there is the bitter taste that many performers still have against Violet the Sex Blogger for her infamous actions against the former Violet Blue the Porn Starlet (now No Name Jane) , her public breakup with Nina Hartley over philosophical differences, the feeling among some that Violet the Sex Blogger is just a bit egotisical and aims to hog the spotlight for herself. Well, that, and the popular feeling among mainstream porn performers and fans that "sex-positive" porn advocates are still just a bit too elitist and not accepting of the majority desires of most men towards the more intense and explicit content.

Also....Violet the Sex Blogger has been known to be an advocate of pilfering porn via Torrents and file-sharing, which is a major no-no for both industry producers and webmistresses/webmasters trying to make a buck and survive.

Nevertheless, in spite of all that against the messenger, the main core of the message she gives is right on point, and despite our own slight misgivings, I wholeheartedly support any effort to debunk and counter the sexual fascism of Dines and Company. Therefore, for the moment at least, count this blog in as a strong ally of their efforts....with some gritting of teeth, maybe, but an ally nevertheless.

(Of course, I speak mostly for myself here...Ernest and Ren and others may differ a bit...they can speak out here if they wish.)

A Hearty Endorsement of "Carnal Nation"

It's always good to have more allies in the Sex Wars, and today, I've discovered a new journal dedicated to promoting the pro-sex/sex-positive viewpoint.

Actually, the blog Carnal Nation has been at it for more than a month now, but it is already doing significant work in its stated mission to improve the quality of debate about human sexuality. Quoting their mission statement.

CARNALNATION provides comprehensive coverage of entertainment for grown-ups. We at CARNALNATION embrace and honor human sexuality, and we promise to be current, consistent, and uncensored. We compile event listings; we publish original and incisive content; and we provide insightful commentary on a range of related topics from health to fashion to the latest toys. We know you take your fun as seriously as we do, so we invite you, our readers, to use CARNALNATION to realize and explore your interests, desires, and curiosities.

CARNALNATION was developed out of a compelling need to counteract those oppressive forces, whether internal or external, that stifle sexual growth, awareness, and fulfillment. We believe that sex is a vital human need and that sexuality is an important component of who we are as individuals, how we relate to each other, and who we want to become. In our view, fear and disdain of all things sexual have led to a society that too often vacillates between impulsive titillation and compulsive repression. Such extremes can only have a negative impact on our physical, psychological, and social well being. Therefore, we strive to inform and entertain without being pornographic or offensive. We make this commitment at all levels of sexuality: the personal, the political, and the perverted.

If the featured columnists and articles are of any indication, then they certainly have succeeded in fulfilling that commitment.

Editor Chris Hall (also co-founder, along with the equally wonderful Elizabeth Wood, of the related pro-sex site Sex in the Public Square) has arrayed an all-star cast of liberationist columnists....and the depth and breadth of quality of commentary is fascinating to say the least. A sampling based on issues recently debated here in this journal:

1) Chris Hall's follow up on The Price of Pleasure and its issues with "fair use" doctrine, in synch with comments here by both Ernest and Trinity:

The record-keeping requirements have been around for a while, but standards of enforcement have become even more arcane and inflexible in the last few years. Especially troublesome has been the law's requirement that records of the performers' ages be kept not only by the original producer, but by anyone redistributing the images. In October, Ernest Greene wrote an extensive four-part deconstruction of the film's content and Sun's ethical and legal obligations regarding the performers and 2257 records (Part 1, 2, 3, 4). Sun and her supporters claim that the film is protected by "fair use." Even the sex-positive bloggers haven't been united on whether Sun's film is fair use or not, which make the most recent entry in the debate even more interesting. Harper Jean Tobin at Polymorphous Perversity has a very precise and thoughtful legal analysis of the issues involved. Her conclusion? The Price of Pleasure can't claim "fair use" protections because fair use and 2257 apply to two entirely different sections of law. The former has to do with protecting the intellectual property rights of the original work's creator; the latter are federal regulations to prevent criminal exploitation of minors. Whether Sun (or anyone else) should be able to use those images is an entirely different matter that speaks to the nature of the impact that 2257 has on free speech.

2) Dr. Carol Queen (through her Live Nude Woman column) discusses the etiology of the philosophy of "sex-positivity", and defends the use of the term as it relates to defining her base sexual liberationist philosophy (in lieu of criticism from others):

So let me tell you what I think sex-positivity is now, lest I’ve given you the impression you have to start turning tricks to do it right. You don’t have to be bisexual (or trisexual), kinky, non-monogamous, or even sexually active. In fact, some of the most interesting discussions about sex-positivity I’ve had this year have been with a guy who’s busy organizing asexuals into a community of support and affiliation. Yep, you can even be sex-positive if you don’t ever want to have sex, just as you can be very sex-negative indeed and still have plenty of hot sex that you enjoy to the fullest.

Here’s the deal: Sex positivity means you acknowledge that sex is, or could be under the right circumstances, a positive, healthy force in anyone’s life… even if it isn’t right now. Those circumstances may not be the same for everyone (though some may be universal, like consent), but they include things like access to information, support, condoms (if relevant), a loving (or at least friendly) partner, healing from past negative sexual experiences like rape or abuse, privacy, enhanced self-esteem, etc. This list could be very long and, again, it won’t contain the same exact elements for everyone. This leads to the rest of what sex-positivity is, namely, the acknowledgement that not everyone’s sexuality, including sexual needs and desires, is the same, such that one person’s optimum, positive sexuality may not look anything like another person’s. That is, sex-positivity includes the acceptance of sexual diversity, and acknowledges that optimum sexual wellbeing for you might look different than it does for me.

3) Dr. Betty Dodson and Carlin Ross team up for a discussion on the uses and abuses of porn, via a videocast recorded through their site through YouTube. (original video here)

Other interesting articles include Chris' discovery of a proposed Chinese program for seeking out and screening adult material; Kingfish's article on the recent revival of burlesque; and a joint response to an inquiry about talking personally about kinky sex.

All in all, Carnal Nation is a welcome addition to the "sex positive" discussion, which I wholeheartedly recommend to all sexual freedom fighters.

Nina Hartley Bringing The Fire To "THE" OSU (YouTube Video Clip)

This was from the porn debate at The Ohio State University last year....the one that Ernest said that she was promised airtime from ABC, who then stoned her for the Yale Sex Week debacle.

Perhaps this is why Gail Dines and the antiporn fascists want no debate with her...as sweet and professional she can be, she does have the occasional short fuse that can blow up in your grill at the wrong time if you set it off.






Nina Hartley at THE Ohio State University (via YouTube) -- hat tip to Ren, Lisa Roenig, and Amber Rhea

(Oh...and slightly OT memo to Buckeye fan: What is up with "THE" OSU?? Like, you need to distinguish yourself from Ohio University??? LOL