Dirty Looks: Women, Pornography, Power - Softcover

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9780851704043: Dirty Looks: Women, Pornography, Power

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0851704042 ISBN 13: 9780851704043

Publisher: British Film Institute, 1993

A book about not just the theory but also the practice of pornography, Dirty Looks includes essays by photographer Grace Lau and porn-performer Annie Sprinkle as well as renowned writers Lynne Segal and Linda Williams.

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From Publishers Weekly:

This informative book of essays takes a firm stand against both the Christian right and anti-pornography feminists as its authors argue for a less dogmatic, more contextual approach to understanding pornography and erotica. The essays present a readable and accessible case for a deeper understanding of the place of porn in contemporary culture and society. Lynne Segal points out how little researchers actually know about the effects of porn on violent crime. Jennifer Wicke has some interesting observations about the cottage industry that anti-porn campaigns have created among academics--including courses, seminars and books that feed off the subject. Two essays about Annie Sprinkle (considering whether she is a pornographer or a performance artist) and a first-person account from feminist porn photographer Grace Lau examine the issues of women as producers and consumers of pornography. Throughout, the writers argue that the societies and cultures surrounding the nude bodies are at least as important to the debate about porn and its effects as the bodies themselves.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

The 14 essayists here present what they consider an oddity: feminist writings against the censorship of pornography. Opposing such procensorship feminists such as Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin, they present a case for understanding pornography as a text with indeterminate meaning. Lynn Segal examines the experimental evidence on porn and violence and concludes we cannot assert that the two are casually linked. Two essays on porn performance artist Annie Sprinkle (known to invite audience members to view her cervix through a speculum) value her contributions to the debate, finding, ultimately, that she too treats pornography as a text with multiple contexts that demand recognition. Though the writers are generally condescending to the moral Right and consider themselves and their views more unique than they really are, the work will be important to academic collections on women and pornography.
- Sarah Markgraf, New York
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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