Sex Exposed: Sexuality and the Pornography Debate

by Lynne Segal (Editor), Mary McIntosh (Editor)

Over the past twenty years debates about pornography have raged within feminism and beyond. Throughout the 1970s feminists increasingly addressed the problem of men's sexual violence against women, and many women reduced the politics of men's power to questions about sexuality. By the 1980s these questions had become more and more focused on the issue of pornography--now a metaphor for the menace of male power. Collapsing feminist politics into sexuality and sexuality into pornography has not only caused some of the deepest splits between feminists, but made it harder to think clearly about either sexuality or pornography--indeed, about feminist politics more generally. This provocative collection, by well-known feminists, surveys these arguments, and in particular asks why recent feminist debates about sexuality keep reducing to questions of pornography.

Genres: Feminism, Sexuality

334 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 1992

About the author

Lynne Segal is an Australian-born, British-based socialist feminist academic and activist, author of many books and articles, and participant in many campaigns, from local community to international.

Reviews

[Chiara Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

My opinion on these texts ranges from "brilliant" to "not very convincing" but overall definitely an interesting and informative collection of essays on pornography.
Favourites include:
- Gonad the Barbarian and the Venus Flytrap: Portraying the female and male orgasm (Anne McClintock)
- Delightful visions: From anti-porn to eroticizing safer sex (Robin Gorna)
- Pornographies on/scene, or diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks (Linda Williams)
- 'A little bit spicy, but not too raw': Mae West, pornography and popular culture (Marybeth Hamilton)

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am pleased that the 'Good Reads' star system uses the word 'liked' rather than 'enjoyed' - because there is not a lot to enjoy in this collection of excellent papers from the early 1990s exploring feminist approaches to, understandings of and reactions to pornography. The range of analyses is impressive and includes some of the big names in feminist and gender analysis unpacking the complex set of relations between gender, pornography and sexuality. The key thing is that the collection has barely dated in the last twenty years, mainly because we have moved backwards so much as pornography with its reactionary gender politics has become more acceptable, more pervasive, and more mainstream.

[John Champagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic series of essays that anyone interested in feminism, porn, gender, or sexuality must read. Truly unique perspectives offered by important thinkers.