Sex positive feminism

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Sex-positive feminism ( Engl. Sex-positive feminism ) is a movement that in the early 1980s in the United States was born. It was created as a reaction to the attempts of some feminists such as Catharine MacKinnon or Andrea Dworkin to place pornography at the center of feminist models of explanation for the oppression of women.

In the Anglo-Saxon world , these controversial clashes between sex-positive and anti-pornographic feminists are known as Feminist Sex Wars . Other sex-positive feminists took part in these disputes, but from their point of view they were not directed against other feminists, but against a development that they viewed as a patriarchal control of sexuality .

Among the authors represented the sexpositive positions include Nadine stopes , Susie Bright , Patrick Califia , Gayle Rubin , Camille Paglia , Tristan Taormino and Betty Dodson . In the German-speaking countries, the discussion about the PorNO campaign picked up on the most important arguments and demands of the anti-pornographic side, but a comparably intense discussion among feminists was largely absent.

Theoretical basis

At the heart of sex positive feminism is the notion that sexual freedom should be a fundamental component of all female pursuits for freedom and equality. Therefore, sex-positive feminists completely reject any social or legal effort to limit consensual sexual activity between adults. This rejection occurs regardless of whether the initiators of such measures are governments, other feminists, opponents of feminism or whatever institutions.

Gayle Rubin summarized the underlying conflict over the subject of "sex" within feminism as follows:

“There were two lines of feminist thought on the subject. One criticized the restriction of female sexual behavior and pointed to the high price paid for being sexually active. This tradition of feminist thought about sex called for sexual liberation that should work for both women and men. The second direction viewed sexual liberation as an inherently mere extension of male prerogatives. The conservative anti-sexual discourse resonates in this tradition. "

The cause of sex-positive feminism unites members of the most diverse groups, including activists against censorship, LGBT activists, feminist scholars, and producers of pornography and erotica. Sex-positive feminists reject the abuse of male sexuality and expressly acknowledge the wide range of consensual forms of sexual expression between adults. They represent restrict the sexual freedom and expression of the view that patriarchal structures and advocate instead, all people regardless of their biological, social or psychological gender ( gender ) concede more sexual freedoms, restrict rather than sexuality in the form of pornography. Sex-positive feminists generally reject sexual essentialism , Gayle Rubin defines it as "the idea that sex is a force of nature that existed before social coexistence and that forms institutions"; instead, they take the view that sexual orientation and gender are fundamentally shaped by society.

The subgroup of so-called sex - radical feminists justifies their sex-positive position with a fundamental mistrust in the ability of the patriarchy to represent the interests of women in the best possible way when drafting regulations that restrict sexuality. Other feminists see the sexual liberation of women as the real motive behind the women's movement. Naomi Wolf writes about this: "The orgasm is the natural call for feminist politics: If it is so good to be a woman, it must also be worth something to be a woman."

Historical roots

Authors such as Gayle Rubin and Wendy McElroy believe that the origins of sex-positive feminism date back to the 19th century, and see this in the work of reformers and educators such as Havelock Ellis , Margaret Sanger , Mary Coffin Ware Dennett, and later Alfred Kinsey reasoned. The current contemporary form of the movement developed much later as a reaction to the increasing focus of the feminist discourse on pornography, which has been discussed repeatedly as the basis of the oppression of women since the 1970s. The rise of US second-wave feminism in the 1960s came with the sexual revolution and a relaxation of the laws governing pornographic material. In the 1970s, the topic of sexuality and patriarchy came increasingly into the focus of feminist discussion. Some feminist groups went so far as to stipulate what correct feminist sexuality should look like and to outlaw deviant behavior. This was particularly the case with some lesbian groups, but was also partly adopted as ideas in heterosexual contexts. Many feminists began to view sexual fulfillment itself as problematic, while others defined female pleasure during sexual intercourse with a man as unnatural or even sick and the pure result of patriarchal indoctrination.

Other feminists such as B. Betty Dodson viewed female pleasure and masturbation as central elements on the path to women's liberation. At that time, pornography was not yet in the center of the discussion, radical feminists generally rejected pornography, but the topic was not considered to be particularly important until the 1970s. Individual feminist lawyers campaigned for the decriminalization of prostitution .

In the late 1970s, a discussion began in American society in which there was increasing concern about the effects of social developments in the 1960s. In particular, the trend towards greater sexual freedom became the focus of the dispute. The media representation of violence and sexuality and the increasing acceptance of pornographic media in the social mainstream were criticized as well as the increasing sexual activities among teenagers, child pornography and the alleged spread of snuff films . Critics believed they saw a moral panic in this atmosphere that peaked in the mid-1980s. The concerns were reflected in the feminist movement, in which radical feminist groups increasingly focused on pornography and believed they were discovering it as one of the foundations of patriarchy and a direct cause of violence against women. Robin Morgan summed up these ideas in one statement: “Pornography is the theory; Rape the practice. "

In 1974 Andrea Dworkin and Robin Morgan began to advocate vehemently anti-pornographic positions based on radical feminist positions. Antipornographic feminist groups like Women Against Pornography picked up on the criticism and were very active in many US cities until the late 1970s.

As these groups limited their criticism and the associated actions not only to pornography but also to prostitution and BDSM , other feminists became increasingly concerned about the direction this movement was taking and the development was therefore openly criticized. Among the critics were feminists practicing BDSM (especially Samois ), groups who campaigned for the rights of prostitutes and many liberal and anti-authoritarian feminists who were central to free speech, sexual freedom and moral responsibility.

One of the earliest feminist declarations against the movement's new direction was Ellen Willis ' essay "Feminism, Moralism, and Pornography" in response to the founding of Women Against Pornography in 1979 , Willis expressed concern about the attempts by anti- pornographic feminists to embrace feminism to transform a movement with just a single concern. She argued that feminists should not condemn pornography across the board, since any restrictions on pornography could just as easily be directed against freedom of speech, which is important to feminists. In her essay Lust Horizons: Is the Women's Movement Pro-Sex? Willis coined the term "pro-sex feminism".

In Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality, Gayle Rubin called for a new feminist theory of sexuality. She argues that the existing feminist positions on sexuality viewed sexual liberation merely as a development that further cemented male supremacy. Rubin criticized anti-pornographic feminists who, from their point of view, “ have condemned almost every variant of sexual expression as anti-feminist ”, stating that this perspective on sexuality is dangerously close to the positions of anti-feminist conservative sexual morality. Rubin urged feminists to look at the political aspects of sexuality without favoring sexual oppression. She also called for the blame for the oppression of women to be blamed on factors that deserve it, rather than on relatively uninfluential sexual minorities: “The family, religion, child rearing, education, the media, the state, psychiatry, disadvantage in the workplace and inequities Payment ... "

McElroy's position is that the concentration of feminists on aspects of sexual expression in the 1970s and 1980s, the result was their frustration with the apparent failure of feminism at the political level after the Equal Rights Amendment failed and the government of Ronald Reagan , the The right to abortion was increasingly attacked.

The German lesbian erotic photographer Krista Beinstein describes herself as part of a “feminist dirty sex movement” and “uses ... her work against the morally hostile women's movement in which she was active”.

Significant subject areas

pornography

Tristan Taormino receives the Feminist Porn Award (trophy in the form of a butt plug )

The topic of pornography was probably the first to unite sex-positive feminists. To date, a wide range of different and complex perspectives on this topic has developed.

During the 1980s, Andrea Dworkin, Catharine MacKinnon, and activists inspired by them attempted anti-pornography ordinances in several US and Canadian cities. The Minneapolis City Council was the first to issue an ordinance in 1983 .

Rubin notes that anti-pornographic feminists often exaggerate the dangers of pornography by showing the most shocking pornographic motifs (e.g., from the BDSM field) out of context. This way of presentation often implies that the women depicted are actually being raped, instead of making it clear that the scenes in question reproduce fantasies and are performed by actors who agree to them. She states that feminist criticism of pornography reproduces traditional normative notions of sexuality, according to which - like a domino effect - any tolerance towards forms of sexuality that deviate more or less from the norm leads to catastrophic social effects.

Sex-positive feminists claim that access to pornographic material is just as important for women as it is for men, and that pornography does not necessarily contain elements that demean women. Anti-pornographic feminists disagree with this view and often argue that the mere representation of such acts leads to the fact that perpetrators are encouraged to take real acts and therefore carry them out.

The emergence of feminist pornography was the practical answer to these debates.

The existence of a correlation between pornography on the one hand and the increase in sexual crimes on the other hand has not yet been proven by studies. Those who negate the correlation list Japan , a country known for its extensive rape, BDSM, and bondage pornography, but which had the lowest sexual violence crime report and conviction rate of any industrialized nation until the 1970s.

Regardless of the cultural and criminal incomparability, they list a study as a longitudinal study in 1991 which, despite the increase in the amount and availability of sadomasochistic pornography between 1964 and 1984 in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the USA, also finds no connection with the respective rape rates. The rape rate in European countries remained constant. The same study finds that, despite the legalization of pornography in Germany in 1973, the numbers of rape by strangers and group rape steadily decreased between 1971 and 1987. The results of the study for Denmark and Sweden also correspond to this, it states:

"Overall there was no increase in the actual number of rapes committed in West Germany during the years when pornography was legalized and became widely available."

"Overall, there was no increase in the actual number of rapes committed in West Germany in the years when pornography was legalized and widely available."

While non-sexual violent crimes increased by around 300 percent in Denmark, Sweden and Germany between 1964 and 1984, the number of sexual crimes clearly declined despite the easier availability of sexual materials.

The statistics and studies listed have led some scholars to speculate that even a reverse correlation might not come much closer to the truth, i.e. that the widespread dissemination of pornographic material could offer potential criminals a generally socially acceptable way of channeling their own sexuality.

Proponents of the correlation between pornography and violence particularly oppose a publication by WL Marshall on the use of sexually explicit depictions by rapists, which is often heavily criticized in its scientific methodology, which shows the connections between pornography and violence.

With regard to Japan, there are numerous more recent studies to be taken into account, which show, for example, that 69% of the Japanese high school students surveyed were immorally touched in the subway and that, according to a study by the Justice Ministry Research Group from 2000, it must be assumed that only 11 percent of all sex crimes are reported as rape victims are accused rather than protected in Japan.

prostitution

Some sex-positive feminists believe that women and men can have positive experiences as prostitutes and that prostitution should be decriminalized. They argue that prostitution need not necessarily be bad for the prostitute as long as they are treated with respect and the profession is not socially stigmatized.

Other sex-positive feminists have different views on this topic, since from their point of view, working as a prostitute correlates with social and ethnic origin and can be related to human trafficking . In general, however, the view is also held here that the profession must not be socially stigmatized. Artists such as Annie Sprinkle stage prostitution and pornography directly in order to destigmatize and demystify sexuality and its living out through artistic performances and thereby achieve their social capacity.

An example of the literary approach to sex work is the author Funny van Money with her book This is Niedersachsen und nicht Las Vegas, Honey (2012).

BDSM

Many feminists criticize BDSM because, from their point of view, it should erotically charge power imbalances and violence. BDSM is also accused of promoting misogyny . Those who hold this view believe that women participating in such practices behave in a way that is ultimately harmful to all women. It is sometimes denied that femdom exists.

Alice Schwarzer particularly criticizes the mixing of sexuality with violence, since it "destroys women and sexuality". She therefore rejects sadomasochistic practices in general and denies their legitimacy. Your best-known statement in this context was first published in the magazine Emma, ​​Issue 2, 1991:

"Female masochism is collaboration !"

Catharine MacKinnon said in an interview about sadomasochistic lesbians:

"If pornography is part of your sexuality, then you have no right to your sexuality."

Sex-positive feminists point out that quite a few women, both straight and lesbian, enjoy consensual BDSM activities and argue that such tendencies are perfectly legitimate. They stress that feminists should not attack the sexual needs of other women as "anti-feminist" and that there is no link between consensual sexual practices and sex crimes. While some radical feminists claim just such connections, sex-positive feminists criticize this argument as an insult to the women involved. It is repeatedly argued that activities and roles in BDSM did not develop solely on the basis of biological, social or psychological gender, but were often based on personal preferences ("hard-wired").

An example of sex positive feminists is the porn actress Bobbi Starr . She admits that some feminists find pornography and BDSM degrading, but says, “I don't feel degraded because it's my own choice. I know that if I felt degraded or uncomfortable, all I had to do was say no and stop. I don't think something that women have so much control over can be called the demotion of women. "

Sexual orientation

Although there is a common prejudice about the stereotype of the lesbian feminist, McElroy points out that many feminists feared being associated with homosexuality. One of the founders of second wave feminism, Betty Friedan , warned against lesbianism and called it "The Lavender Menace," later retracting that statement. Sex-positive feminists emphasize that it is necessary to accept the legitimacy of all sexual orientations, as this is the only way women can maintain their complete sexual freedom. Instead of distancing themselves from homosexuality and bisexuality in order not to endanger the public acceptance of their theories, they are convinced that a liberation of women cannot be achieved without general acceptance of homosexuality and bisexuality.

Transsexuality / transgender

Some feminists attacked transgender people by accusing transsexual women, so-called man-to-woman transgender or trans women, that they as "men" have no right to adorn themselves with femininity and transsexual men, so-called woman-to-man transgender or trans men , accuse of denying their solidarity with their own gender and giving it up. One of the main proponents of this view is Janice Raymond , who wrote in her book The Transsexual Empire in 1979 that sex-positive feminists supported the right of every individual to destroy their own gender and softened their gender in order to mix the sexes. Raymond's doctor mother Mary Daly described transsexuality as “an example of male surgical generation that penetrates the female world with surrogates.” The bisexual trans man Patrick Califia has dealt with the subject in numerous works.

criticism

Catharine MacKinnon, Germaine Greer , Pamela Paul and Dorchen Leidholdt , for example, take critical positions against sex-positive feminism . The main argument is that certain sexual behavior patterns (e.g. prostitution) historically always served men more than women and that the undifferentiated promotion of sexual behavior therefore contributes fundamentally to the oppression of women.

See also

literature

  • Jessica Benjamin: Master and Slave: The Fantasy of Erotic Domination. In: Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, Sharon Thompson (Eds.): Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality. Monthly Review Press, New York 1983, ISBN 0-85345-609-7 , pp. 460-467.
  • Pat Califia : Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism . Cleis Press, Pittsburgh 2003, ISBN 1-57344-180-5 .
  • Betty Dodson : V-Day, Inc. , 2001.
  • Dossie Easton, Catherine A. Liszt: The Ethical Slut. Greenery Press, California 1998, ISBN 1-890159-01-8 .
  • Jane Gerhard: Desiring Revolution: Second-Wave Feminism and the Rewriting of American Sexual Thought, 1920 to 1982. Columbia University Press, New York 2001, ISBN 0-231-11205-X .
  • Germaine Greer: The Whole Woman. Knopf, New York 1999, ISBN 0-385-72003-3 .
  • Susan Hopkins: Girl Heroes: The New Force In Popular Culture . Annandale NSW, 2002, ISBN 1-86403-157-3 .
  • Dorchen Leidholdt, Janice Raymond: The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism. Pergamon Press, 1990, ISBN 0-08-037457-3 .
  • Ariel Levy: Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Free Press, New York 2005, ISBN 0-7432-4989-5 .
  • Catharine MacKinnon: Feminism Unmodified. Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1987, ISBN 0-674-29873-X .
  • Wendy McElroy: A Woman's Right to Pornography. St. Martin's Press, New York 1995, ISBN 0-312-13626-9 .
  • Pamela Paul: Pornified: How Pornography is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families. Times Books, New York 2005, ISBN 0-8050-7745-6 .
  • Carol Queen: Real Live Nude Girl: Chronicles of Sex-Positive Culture. Cleis Press, Pittsburgh 1996, ISBN 1-57344-073-6 .
  • Janice Raymond: The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-male. Teachers College Press, 1979, ISBN 0-8077-6272-5 .
  • Gayle Rubin : Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality. In: Carole S. Vance (Ed.): Pleasure and Danger: Exploring female sexuality. Boston Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984, ISBN 0-04-440867-6 , pp. 267-319.
  • Gayle Rubin: Misguided, Dangerous and Wrong: An Analysis of Anti-Pornography Politics. In: Assiter Alison, Carol Avedon (Eds.): Bad Girls and Dirty Pictures: The Challenge to Reclaim Feminism. Pluto, Boulder Colorado 1993, ISBN 0-7453-0523-7 , pp. 18-40.
  • Samois : Coming to Power: Writings and Graphics on Lesbian S / M. Alyson Books , Boston 1983, ISBN 0-932870-28-7 .
  • Nadine Strossen : Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights. New York University Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8147-8149-7 .
  • Ellen Willis: Feminism, Moralism, and Pornography. 1983. In: Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, Sharon Thompson (eds.): Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality. Monthly Review Press, New York 1983, ISBN 0-85345-609-7 , pp. 460-467.
  • Ellen Willis: Lust Horizons: Is the Women's Movement Pro-Sex? In: Ellen Willis: No More Nice Girls: Countercultural Essays. Wesleyan University Press 1992, ISBN 0-8195-6284-X .
  • Naomi Wolf: Feminist Fatale: A reply to Camille Paglia. The New Republic, March 16, 1992.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Wendy McElroy: A Woman's Right to Pornography. , 1995
  2. ^ Translated from: Gayle Rubin: Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality , 1984. In: Carole S. Vance (Ed.): Pleasure and Danger: exploring female sexuality . Routledge & Kegan Paul, Boston 1992, pp. 267-319, ISBN 0-04-440867-6 .
  3. ↑ See Carol Queen: Real Live Nude Girl: Chronicles of Sex-Positive Culture . Cleis Press, Pittsburgh 1997, ISBN 1-57344-073-6 .
  4. ↑ Translated from: Gayle Rubin, 1984 (see above)
  5. ↑ Gayle Rubin (1984)
  6. ↑ Wendy McElroy: XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography , New York, St. Martin's Press 1995
  7. ↑ Ellen Willis: Feminism, Moralism, and Pornography . In: Ellen Willis: Beginning to See the Light: Sex, Hope, and Rock-and-Roll. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press.
  8. ↑ Ellen Willis: Lust Horizons: Is the Women's Movement Pro-Sex? In: Ellen Willis: No More Nice Girls: Countercultural Essays. Wesleyan University Pr.
  9. ^ Ellen Willis: Lust Horizons The 'Voice' and the women's movement ( Memento of August 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), The Village Voice
  10. ↑ http://www.kristabeinstein.de/bio.html
  11. ^ Gayle Rubin: Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality
  12. ↑ McElroy: XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography
  13. ↑ Nadine Strossen: Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights. , New York University Press 2000.
  14. ↑ See WarZone
  15. ↑ See Milton Diamond and Ayako Uchiyama in "Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japan" [International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 22 (1): pp. 1-22 (1999)] online under "Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japan " ( Memento from June 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ Berl Kutchinsky, Pornography and Rape: Theory and Practice? in: International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Vol. 14, 1991, pp. 47-66
  17. ^ WL Marshall: The Use of Sexually Explicit Stimuli by Rapists, Child Molesters, and Non-offenders. Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 25, No. 2, May 1988
  18. ↑ http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/victims-are-finally-learning-to-speak-out-against-japan%E2%80%99s-outdated-rape-laws
  19. ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/02/world/main571280.shtml
  20. ↑ Sabine Schmidt: "It's like behind the post office counter", in: Buchjournal, September 10, 2012
  21. ↑ Melissa Farley: Ten Lies About Sadomasochism , on mediawatch.com ( Memento of February 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  22. ↑ Mark Thompson (Ed.): Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics, and Practice. , Alyson Publications 1991, ISBN 1-55583-630-5
  23. ↑ Interview with Xrent , accessed on February 2, 2010
  24. ↑ Monica Roberts: Trans Exterminationalists In Their Own Words. Retrieved May 22, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Pat Califia: The Politics of Transgenderism (2003)
  26. ↑ See Catharine MacKinnon: Feminism Unmodified
  27. ↑ See Germaine Greer: The Whole Woman
  28. ↑ See Pamela Paul: Pornified: How Pornography is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families.
  29. ↑ See Dorchen Leidholdt, Janice Raymond: The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism