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Thefeminist sex wars, also known as thelesbian sex wars,sex wars, orporn wars, are collective debates amongstfeminists regarding a number of issues broadly relating tosexuality andsexual activity. Differences of opinion on matters of sexuality deeply polarized the feminist movement. The debates took place between leading feminist thinkers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continue to influence debates amongst feminists to this day.[1]
The sides were characterized byanti-porn feminist andsex-positive feminist groups with disagreements regarding sexuality, includingpornography,erotica,prostitution,lesbian sexual practices, the role oftransgender women in the lesbian community,sadomasochism and othersexual matters. The feminist movement was deeply divided as a result of these debates.[2][3][4][5][6] Many historians view the feminist sex wars as having been the end of thesecond-wave feminist era (which beganc. 1963) as well as the herald of thethird wave (which began in the early 1990s).[7]
The two sides became labelledanti-pornography feminists andsex-positive feminists. The former believed that pornography objectified women, while the latter argued that sexuality was a physical exchange of pleasure that should not be censored or restricted.[10]
In 1976,Andrea Dworkin organized demonstrations against the filmSnuffin New York, but attempts to start an organization to continue the feminist anti-pornography campaign failed. Efforts were more successful inLos Angeles, whereWomen Against Violence Against Women was founded in response toSnuffin 1976; they campaigned against theRolling Stones' 1976 albumBlack and Blue.[11] The U.S. anti-pornography movement gained ground with the founding ofWomen Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) in 1977 inSan Francisco, following a 1976 conference onviolence against women held by local women's centers. Early members includedSusan Griffin,Kathleen Barry, andLaura Lederer.
WAVPM organised the first national conference on pornography in San Francisco in 1978 which included the firstTake Back the Night march.[12] The conference led to anti-pornography feminists organizing in New York in 1979 under the banner ofWomen Against Pornography (WAP),[13] and to similar organizations and efforts being created across the United States. In 1983, Page Mellish, a one-time member of WAVPM and of WAP, foundedFeminists Fighting Pornography to focus on political activism seeking legal changes to limit the porn industry. Andrea Dworkin andCatharine MacKinnon wanted civil laws restricting pornography and to this end drafted theAntipornography Civil Rights Ordinance,[14] also known as theDworkin–MacKinnon Ordinance.
In her articleCan We End the Feminist ‘Sex Wars’ Now? Comments on Linda Martín Alcoff, Rape and Resistance: Understanding the Complexities of Sexual Violation,Susan J. Brison explores the varying opinions of Catherine MacKinnon and MichelFoucault. MacKinnon states that the patriarchy is to blame for issues like exploitation and sex trafficking. She further claims that men hold authority, and the way to overcome this is to take legal action and hold the exploiters accountable. Foucault argues that sexuality is a social construct. Opposing MacKinnon's argument, legal action does not work if the issue is deeply rooted in the structure of society. According to Brison, combining these two ideologies could potentially end feminist sex wars once and for all. Addressing the institutional issues while applying appropriate legal action would create a more feminist way to help affected sex workers.
From 1979, feminist journalistEllen Willis was one of the early voices criticizing anti-pornography feminists for what she saw as sexualpuritanism, moralauthoritarianism and a threat tofree speech. Her 1981 essay,Lust Horizons: Is the Women's Movement Pro-Sex? is the origin of the term, "pro-sex feminism".[15] In response to the anti-pornography strand of feminism, sex-positive feminists promoted sex as an avenue of pleasure for women, seeing anti-pornography positions as aligned to thepolitical right-wing's war on recreational sex and pornography.[16] Early sex positive groups includedSamois, founded in San Francisco in 1978, whose early members includedGayle Rubin andPat Califia, and theLesbian Sex Mafia, founded byDorothy Allison and Jo Arnone in New York in 1981.[17] TheFeminist Anti-Censorship Taskforce (FACT) was set up in 1984 by Ellen Willis in response to the Dworkin–MacKinnon Ordinance;[18] in 1989Feminists Against Censorship formed in the UK, its members includingAvedon Carol; andFeminists for Free Expression formed in the United States in 1992 by Marcia Pally, with founding members includingNadine Strossen,Joan Kennedy Taylor,Veronica Vera andCandida Royalle. Philosopher Amin R. Yacoub argues that defending sex work and the autonomy of those in the industry is the ethical thing to do.[19] This view continues to claim that as long as the work is consensual, this form of work is legitimate with a positive consequence of fighting the patriarchy. Advocating for the rights of those in the industry gives them potential for autonomy and empowerment.
In October 1980, theNational Organization for Women identified what became known as the "Big Four" through declaring that "Pederasty, pornography, sadomasochism andpublic sex" were about "exploitation, violence or invasion of privacy" and not "sexual preference or orientation".[20] One of the more memorable clashes between the pro-sex and anti-porn feminists occurred at the1982 Barnard Conference on Sexuality.[21] Anti-pornography feminists were excluded from the events’ planning committee, so they staged rallies outside the conference to show their disdain.[22]
The two sides of the feminist sex wars clashed over a number of issues, resulting in intense debates held both in person and in various media.
Toward the end of the 1970s, much of the discourse in the feminist movement shifted from the discussion oflesbian feminism to focus on the new topic ofsexuality. One of the primary concerns with sexuality was the issue ofpornography, which caused a great divide among feminists. The two recognized sides of the debate were anti-pornography feminism and "pro-sex" feminism.[23] One of the major influences ofanti-pornography feminism was its predecessor, lesbian feminism.[citation needed] Anti-pornography movements developed from fundamental arguments displayed by lesbianism, such as the notion of patriarchal sexual relations.[23]Ellen Willis described these relations as being "based on male power backed by force."[24] From this perspective, pornography is created exclusively for men by men and is a direct reflection of the man-dominant paradigm surrounding sexual relations.[21][23] Another idea taken from lesbian feminism by anti-pornography groups was that sexuality is about creating a compassionate bond and a lasting relation with another person, contrary to the belief of the purely physical nature of sex.[25]
In her book,Pornography: Men Possessing Women,Andrea Dworkin argued that the theme of pornography is male dominance and as a result it is intrinsically harmful to women and their well-being. Dworkin believed that pornography is not only damaging in its production but also in its consumption, since the viewer will mentally internalize pornography'smisogynistic portrayal of women.[23]Robin Morgan summarized the view of anti-pornography feminists that pornography andviolence against women are linked in her statement, "pornography is the theory, rape is the practice".[26]
Jackie O’Brien criticizes the use of paywalls in the pornography industry. Pornography filters possibly take away autonomy from the sex workers. Their profits go to the companies they work for, which potentially means exploitation. However, a consequence is that the content from the sex workers gets used and distributed by third parties or private platforms. The content barricade does not address the structural roots of the issues in the porn industry. Anything surrounding this argument comes with nuance. It is difficult to find a middle ground between protecting the public from explicit content while protecting the rights of women in the industry.[27]
The anti-pornography movement has been criticised bysex-positive feminists as a repression of sexuality and a move towards censorship.[23] In her article,Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,Gayle Rubin characterizes sex liberation as a feminist goal and denounces the idea that anti-pornography feminists speak collectively for all of feminism. She offers the notion that what is needed is a theory of sexuality separate from feminism.[28] InXXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography,Wendy McElroy summarizes the sex-positive perspective as "the benefits pornography provides to women far outweigh any of its disadvantages".[29]
The pornography debate amongradical andlibertarian feminists has focused on the depictions of female sexuality in relation to male sexuality in this type of media.[30] Radical feminists emphasize that pornography illustrates objectification and normalization of sexual violence through presentation of specific acts.[30] In contrast, libertarian feminists are concerned with the stigmatization of sexual minorities and the limited right to practice sexual choice that would be hindered without pornography.[30]
The main focus of the sex wars' debate onsadomasochism and otherBDSM practices took place in San Francisco.Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) was founded there in 1977. Its first political action was to picket a live show at a strip club featuring women performing sadomasochistic acts on each other, in line with its stated aim to end all portrayals of women being "bound, raped, tortured, killed or degraded for sexual stimulation or pleasure".[31] As well as campaigning against pornography, WAVPM were also strongly opposed toBDSM, seeing it as ritualized violence against women and opposed its practice within the lesbian community.[32] In 1978Samois was formed, an organization for women in the BDSM community who saw their sexual practices as consistent with feminist principles.[33] Several black lesbian feminists have written on this topic, includingAudre Lorde,Alice Walker,Darlene Pagano,Karen Sims, andRose Mason, condemning sadomasochism as an often racist practice, insensitive to the black female experience.[34][35]
Another debate of the feminist sex wars centered onprostitution. The women in the anti-pornography camp argued against prostitution, claiming it is forced on women who have no alternatives.[neutrality isdisputed] Meanwhile,sex-positive feminists argued that this position ignored the agency of women who chosesex work, viewing prostitution as not inherently based on the exploitation of women.Carol Leigh notes that "The Prostitutes rights movement of the early 1970s evolved directly from the women's movement", but adds: "The women's movement in the U.S. has always been ambivalent about prostitutes".[36]
In her articleThe Sex Wars: Prostitution, Carceral Feminists, and the Consolidation of Police Power[37], Jessica R. Piley explains dominantfeminists and how they tried to end prostitution for good. These feminists collaborated with law enforcement. InSex Work and the Law, Anne Gray Fisher reframes the debate in terms of socioeconomic class, coming to the conclusion that although feminists on both sides of the debate had noble intentions to end the dangers of sex work, neither addressed the problems faced by marginalized communities. In Fisher's view, enforcement of anti-prostitution laws especially targeted Black, impoverished, and LGBT sex workers, while legalization strategies have primarily served to benefit white, affluent, and educated women.[38][failed verification]
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The polarization of feminist ideology during the sex wars has had wide-ranging effects. Examples include: "The confusion in the interpretation of the definition of human trafficking is a consequence of opposing feminist views on prostitution."[39]
According toNew Directions in Sex Therapy, the fields ofsexology andsex therapy were made to keep a "low profile" during the 1970s and 1980s due to attacks fromsocial conservatives and anti-pornography feminists.[40]
The Feminist Sex Wars were a source of inspiration for the Canadian lesbian art collectiveKiss & Tell.[10] In 1994, the collective wrote a book calledHer Tongue on My Theory: Images, Essays and Fantasies, which explored the debates surrounding this topic, specifically as they affected the censorship of queer art in Canada.[10] Kiss & Tell's Vancouver exhibitionDrawing the Line (1988-1990) also addressed the Feminist Sex War debates by presenting 98 photographs of lesbian sexual practices. Women viewers of the exhibition were invited to write their responses on the walls surrounding the images, bringing the debates to life in a physical space.[10]
Third-wave feminist writings promote personal, individualized views on the gender-related issues focused on during the feminist sex wars, such as prostitution, pornography and sadomasochism. Items such as sex objects and porn, identified by somesecond-wave feminists as instruments of oppression are now no longer being exclusively used by men but also by women.[41] Feminist criticTeresa de Lauretis sees the sex wars not in terms of polarized sides but as reflecting a third wave feminism inherently embodying difference, which may include conflicting and competing drives.[42][43] Meanwhile, critic Jana Sawicki rejects both the polarized positions, seeking a third way that is neither morally dogmatic nor uncritically libertarian.[42]
Sheila Rowbotham and the other socialist feminists who dominated the British women's movement saw women's liberation as inextricably linked to the demolition of capitalism. But it also required—and this is where they diverged from the Old Guard—a reconsideration of common patterns of life, such as sex, love, housework, and childrearing.[44]
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