The Renegade In MN: TPoP- the basic run down.

Okay then, TpoP and MN:

I shall begin with the TpoP viewing at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN.

Now, some of you knew I was going to MN for some reason. Some of you knew I was going to MN and for what reason. The fact of it all is a few months back, Plain(s)Feminist was contacted by Prof. Jensen and asked if the women’s studies program (and others) wanted to host a viewing of TpoP on campus. The answer was yes, but she wanted a view from the other side to also be present. Guess who came to mind? So, arrangements were made. Now, I decided it was best, considering what happened with the whole William and Mary debacle, to keep things quiet. It seemed that was a good idea. In any event, the event happened on Friday the 21st.

So, I arrived at the conference room on campus and was aware of two things immediately: As always, I was the shortest person in the room, and two, I was over dressed. The East Coast proclivity to look somewhat like Neo in winter- what, with the black trench coats and boots and all was a bit much in rather mellow but damn is it cold MN. That’s okay. I rather liked my outfit; it made me a feel a bit like a gunslinger. Prior to the viewing, introductions were made, and for the most part everyone was very nice, but I noted right off the bat that Prof. Jensen did not seem at all pleased that I was there. PF introduced me to him, I smiled, he did not, he tersely shook my hand, said “Hi”, then completely turned his attention elsewhere to initiate a different conversation with PF (who is awesome and totally worth initiating conversation with, yet still, I found this very rude). There was a journalism student there who wanted to interview me, so I went someplace quieter to speak with him for a few, then it was time to get things underway. The order of events was gone over: Jensen would introduce the film, we’d watch it, I’d make a statement after the film, then Q&A time.

So Jensen introduced the film, being careful to say it was not his movie, but he also stated that the makers of the film were not affiliated with the Feminist Anti-Porn Movement*, he talked a brief bit about Feminist criticism of porn, his experiences in studying porn, how if during the film anyone who was uncomfortable or upset could look away or leave, then we watched the film (edited version). Early on it the viewing there were some giggles and laughs out of people watching, but by the time it was over, everyone was silent. When the film was over, I made my statement, which (damn camera) I hoped I’d be able to just let you listen to, but alas…so I will be paraphrasing.

I informed the viewers that they had just received a crash course in Gonzo and BDSM porn, but contrary to what the film claimed it was (which it does claim, in bold white print on a black screen), it is not indicative of the top selling and renting films of 2005- in fact there is not footage from a single Feature film in TpoP at all, and the top renting/selling porn film of 2005 (and all time), “Pirates” is not even mentioned. Nor, in any of the BDSM porn shown, is there a single female dominant featured, which within the genera of BDSM porn is a very, very popular theme. I also mentioned the way the interviews were set up and presented- very brief commentary from people involved in porn amid some of the roughest content they had filmed or content taken not from porn films at all-but rather from web sites versus lengthy humanizing statements from non-porn /anti-porn people was somewhat slanted, as was mixing drawings from torture manuals in with BDSM footage as no one who has ever been actually tortured as a political prisoner or whatnot signed on, consented and got paid to do it. I also mentioned that many people engage in sexual acts such as BDSM play consentingly in their bedrooms…and you know, there were a fair amount of people sitting there in the audience nodding when I said that.

Jensen rebutted this saying the footage they used was pulled from the most popular thirty films of 2005. Which is untrue.**

Then Q&A began, and truthfully, to me (perhaps PF has a more neutral perspective), it seems like Jensen let me handle most of that. I answered questions on how 2257/proof of age/consent works, I was asked and answered a question about how I can do porn yet still have any sense of intimacy with my husband (the gal who asked that seem flabbergasted by my answer, which is the basic intimacy is in the head and heart, not crotch), a self ID’ed gay man asked me how what I do contributes to a society that makes men like him feel dominant over women, and I explained that those feelings go far beyond porn and right into every aspect of society, and when he did not seem satisfied with that, I reminded him that changing his feelings of dominance was not on me, it was on him, and he needed to examine that rather than looking to lay blame (I suggested he buy and read Jensen’s book, to which Bob nodded and said yes, do buy his book). I talked about how porn is crap sex ed and people need to demand more quality sex ed, and how focusing on porn, when there is far more sexualized violence in mainstream media and movies seems strange to me, as one is far more widespread and available to minors than the other…

And, oh yes, as no one was carded at the event, I did ask if everyone in the room was over 18, explained that what they had just seen was actual porn, and pornographers such as John Stagliano were currently embroiled in court cases because of the possibility that minors could access his pornography on the net.

There was brief talk of feminist porn and egalitarian porn and could such things exist and what would they look like. I said yes, they could, and would probably be more representative of female centric pleasure and diverse body types…yet, hey, some females do actually like BDSM, there was talk of "barely legal" porn, at which point I had to state people who are way over legal get cast in barely legal, and a woman over 18 in a cheerleader outfit is still a woman over 18 and 2257 assures that. Bob talked about how porn, as viewed through a feminist lense, contributed on with sexism and violence in society, yet he did admit there are no real studies that suggest porn causes rape. I mentioned that porn, contrary to what the film stated, is less violent than it was several years ago- and both the government and the industry itself are regulating content- facts made evident by the recent Max Hardcore case and Extreme Porn Law in the UK, as well as the rise once again in the production of feature films by the mainstream porn industry…features which do not contain acts like bukkake and ATM. I also stated that I did not think I would be changing the minds of anyone who already had made their minds up, but I think it is important to hear both sides of any issue, and things such as bestiality porn, “granny” porn, virtual kiddy porn, and other more extreme elements shown in TpoP are not things made by the mainstream porn industry…or even most of the porn industry in general, even if this movie would have you think otherwise, and I hoped people would keep that in mind and not just buy everything they were told when it came to porn, or the people in it.

We were running out of time at this point, so Jensen made his final statement which included a quick statement about how many porn performers had been sexually abused (I let this pass…time was almost up) and how porn had to be looked at against the larger context of Patriarchy. My last statement was to thank him and everyone else for coming and to remember the first amendment was not a suggestion.

Now, real quick, two things I noted:

One, in this discussion, Jensen identified himself as a heterosexual male…I have heard he has ID’ed as gay male elsewhere, but I have no proof of this, does anyone else? If it is true, it does draw his credibility into question.

Two: And this did bother me a bit…with the exception of perhaps twice, even while engaging me, Jensen refused to look me in the eye. I have a thing about that- in when one is speaking to someone, or asking them something, or responding to something they’ve said, it is good form, polite, and general human nature to look them in the eye, and he seemed unwilling to do that. Shoot, anyone I talked to there, even people hostile to me or my stance, I looked them in the eye, it just seems like both the civilized and natural thing to do, and contrary to popular belief, I can be both.

But I do have to say, I was really happy to see that I seemed to get more nods of agreement from people and such when I was speaking, and some viewers from another local college asked me if I would be willing to come speak there, and afterwards a young woman thanked me for standing up for women who engage in BDSM, because she and her partner (also a woman) are into BDSM and feel often demonized for it.

Oddly enough, the subject of 2257 was quickly dispatched and not dwelled upon by Jensen or myself…I wonder why? Humm.

I then finished my interview with the student journalist, then myself, my student host and some other students from the school went out for pizza. Mighty good pizza too!

Now then, onto Minneapolis itself:
Cleanest city I have ever been in. You could eat off the sidewalk in Minneapolis. The one bit of graffiti I saw was of Snoopy. The people are all very, very polite, and damn is it cold. COLD. I mean, I have been in cold places before in winter: Chicago, Denver, New York, Philly, shoot, it even gets cold here, but not like it does in Minnesota! Yikes!

The Holiday Inn I stayed in was really nice, but I did have to laugh- The Iowa Hawkeyes were playing the MN Golden Gophers- last time in the 'Dome, and the hotel had become a small part of Iowa for the weekend. Hawkeye Hotel! I happen to like football though, so this was really fun for me, to watch all these crazy Hawk fans getting geared up for the game and all…which they won. Prior to all that madness though, PF stopped by and we hung out and talked for a short bit. Very nice lady with, oh, perfect skin and a very engaging way about her. The Augsburg student (whose name I won’t mention, privacy and all) who hosted me was also a really nice gal, as were the post-viewing pizza group…and yep, despite the FREEZING factor, I had a really good time and would recommend Minneapolis to anyone who doesn’t mind cold weather. I can see why the Vikings play inside…and I think I’ve come home with the accent. It’s contagious.

And as much as I hate air travel…MN has a nice airport. Very nice.

Oh, and even though they lost the big game…I did get a MN memento from a college football fan---

* Dr. Sun is linked with the Feminist Anti-Porn Movement and has spoken at Feminist Anti-Porn Events such as Stop Porn Culture.

**A great deal of the footage used was taken from internet sites such as kink.com and extreme gonzo lines like those made by JM Productions, yet not a single scene from a feature was used, though the highest grossing films such as Pirates & Island Fever 2 are features, or films from Vivid, which is a leader in the porn industry.