25 April 06 in Commentary
In a thoughtful blog entry, author Susie Bright discusses the interracial question in porn:
It is only asked of fair-skinned women, and it only means one thing: will Miss Anne fuck a black guy? Men are not asked this question. Black women are not asked this question. Asian, Polynesian, Chicano, and biracial actors are not given a rag to bite down on. This is the Mandingo-cliche of the film biz, a throwback to the notion of “the flower of white womanhood.” To see it on casting interviews still makes my eyes cross. It’s part of mainstream movies too—it’s just baldfaced in porn casting, for obvious reasons.
Her interpretation of Joanna Angel’s controversial remarks in the House of Ass video is about the same as mine:
Joanna hasn’t simply foregone a black lover in her history—I doubt she’s had COFFEE with a black person before this shoot. You can tell that her life is segregated, like most suburban teens. It occurred to me that that entering a porn career might be many people’s first social encounter of any kind outside their demographic. Hello Amerikka!
Have a look. The essay is definitely worth a read.
[Via Susie Bright’s Journal]
More: Porn,
Racism,
Racial Bias,
Controversy,
Joanna Angel,
Tristan Taormino,
Susie Bright
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7 April 06 in Commentary
Pornography occupies a precarious position in American life. On one hand, social conservatives would just as well do away with it altogether. On the other, social liberals and sex-positive types have profound misgivings about the industry, its practices and its products.
Alt-porn was supposed to get us out of this bind. If its proponents were to be believed, the new sex-positive erotica would undermine the old stereotypes, treat everyone fairly and deliver a product progressives could feel good about. As it turns out, the new porn looks a lot like the old porn plastered over by a clever facade of “cruelty-free” marketing.
I’ve been following the Joannagate controversy closely, in part because I was curious what the pied pipers of alt-porn might have to say about Joanna Angel’s remarks. In her response to Sam Sugar, Tristan Taormino, producer of the video segment in question, was kind enough to quote Joanna verbatim:
Continue reading “Don't shit in my mouth and call it a sundae”...
More: Porn,
Racism,
Racial Bias,
Controversy,
Joanna Angel,
Tristan Taormino
(7)
6 April 06 in Roundup
Last week’s shitstorm blew in and blew over. This week brings the happy news that racism is no longer racist:
- Sam Sugar reverses his position on Joanna Angel. Tristan Taormino weighs in: “Some female performers’ choice not to work with black men may be fueled by racism, but not every woman who makes the choice is automatically racist.” [SugarBank]
- We should all watch more television, if only for the black hottie upskirts. [TVgasm]
- Hiromi waxes eloquent on one of the lesser-known films in the Kurosawa canon. [Hiromi]
More: Porn,
Joanna Angel,
Tristan Taormino,
Film,
Television,
Racism,
Controversy
