"Political Influence of Adult Sites" and "Free Speech Coalition" pressure.

[DJilla]

Originally Posted by furrygirl

I'm down for working on something like this. How about Seska, Tasty Trixie, Darklady, Violet Blue, or Heather Corinna? Or bigger names like Nina Hartley, Annie Sprinkle, and Tristan Taormino? Has anyone heard of any of these kick-ass women?

The other half is based on protecting women

Nothing confounds the shit out of them like having a porn chick back-sass their perfectly formed notions about how women need someone to protect them from themselves.

Very good points! Personally, I have found that a well spoken women in conservative dress that is calm and clear always makes the best "spokesperson" and is commonly received better by a public than her gender counterpart. BUT, I would seriously suggest that there should be a context and manner without militancy, no bashing, no attack style, no overt feminism (you try not to attach additional potential irritants to an already irritable subject to the people you're speaking too hence conservative style and look). Again, its all about the "message in a wrapper". I'm all for a female (s) voice, face, front, whatever. All she/they have to do is step forward.

Which brings me to my next point: As these posts (and the one also going on about labels and metatags is a perfect example) develop themselves into "good rounded ideas" and a seeming general agreement begins to appear, all it takes is someone to step up and begin doing some work on the project that interests them and other people will fall in line to help and support. Don't necessarily need to wait for someone to be "appointed". Like the Nike commercial used to say "Just Do It"! Do the work and then report back here or start a thread asking for feedback and reporting on updates. For example, I'm going to follow up on preliminary emails with FSC re: a webpage that will outline examples in the history and consequences of government (and religious) censorship. If they don't want to host it I'll put it on one of my own mainstream sites. The same can go for the technical subject of tags with someone of that experience. All it takes is contact. Its amazingly easy (and interesting) to reach out and contact people who count and can exert influence. Collect position papers, suggest changes, etc. There are staffs at W3, MS & MSN, Google, and the like whose whole job is to respond to things like this with position papers and the like. Anybody can begin to move them forward by just tickling a little. This is the preliminary or reaguard actions that are needed for any "movement" to be successful. IMHO

Also One More Idea For Individual Action: it has been my experience that reporters are a generally fun, easy going, and approachable group more than willing to exchange info and resources. If you know any or like a particular one's writing, email them and begin to cultivate a relationship that you can feed into down the road. The important point to remember is that one is representing a large group when they speak or write upon these subjects and you/they have the responsibility to always tone down one's personal point of view and soften it to include the larger group's perspective.

[furrygirl]

Originally Posted by DJilla

Don't necessarily need to wait for someone to be "appointed". Like the Nike commercial used to say "Just Do It"!

I don't think I'm the only one who does take small actions all the time. I am out about being a pornographer to everyone but my landlord and bank, from grand parents to people I meet on buses and on non-adult boards. (The reason I don't tell me bank or landlord is because I am not willing to risk being out a bank account and a place to live, which puts be out of business.) I have been in countless discussions about the industry with people who range from fascinated by the glitzy world of porno to those who believe I am no better than a rapist ans treat me as such. I see many of the women I mentioned above also taking on such discussions, but I don't think they're as widely read by webmasters as say, Conner Young.

I think that the best personal action anyone can take is to tell even one friend/family member about what they do. The reason that there's this image of pornographers as waiting around high school parking lots trying to drug and trick girls into fucking on camera is that very few of us are willing to counter that. I certainly do not look like someone who makes "extreme porn", I look like a nerdy college student who dresses relatively conservatively. I'm not outing myself to *everyone* in my life, but the more people who we all come out to, the more we shatter stereotypes about who we are.

Originally Posted by DJilla

BUT, I would seriously suggest that there should be a context and manner without militancy, no bashing, no attack style, no overt feminism (you try not to attach additional potential irritants to an already irritable subject to the people you're speaking too hence conservative style and look). Again, its all about the "message in a wrapper". I'm all for a female (s) voice, face, front, whatever. All she/they have to do is step forward.

I'm not sure if it's how you meant it, but I could read that to say that you're not interested in feminist perspectives, just a woman to say what the guys would be saying. Involving women in any project like this involves taking into account their own perspectives, and for many of us females in adult, that perspective includes the big scary F-word.

Anti-sex and anti-porn feminism has slowly been dying out, and the "new wave" tends to embrace sexuality and smut a lot more than we did 30 years ago. My personal sum of being a feminist is that all women should do whatever they want with their own bodies, and that anyone telling them otherwise needs to mind their own business. (Be it anti-abortion lawmakers, homophobes, or people who don't think women should be allowed to fuck for money, or fuck before marriage.)

It amazes me that some women who tout themselves as "feminists" believe that their job is to tell other women how they are supposed to live and what they're allowed to do. Excuse me? Makes no sense, but it's a part of our "nanny culture" in America.

So, while a lot of people might only be thinking of Andrea Dworkin when they conjure up the image of "feminist", "feminism" really isn't something to be afraid of and dismiss as some out-there militant bull dyke idealism. And trust me, if having "women can do what they want to do with their own bodies" sounds too radical as a part of a pro-porn project, remember how extreme it is in many eyes, in and of itself, to be a pornographer.

[docholly]

It amazes me that some women who tout themselves as "feminists" believe that their job is to tell other women how they are supposed to live and what they're allowed to do. Excuse me? Makes no sense, but it's a part of our "nanny culture" in America.

REAL feminists don't label themselves. They act, live and do.