Stop Patriarchy at Hunter College, spreading palm cards, taking out the war on women display, and engaging in some very important and interesting conversations. To say the least, we made waves at Hunter…
Posts tagged pornography
Stop Patriarchy protesting the war on women outside of a porn store near Times Square during our 10-day stretch of Taking Patriarchy by Storm. Yeah, we get a bit rowdy… why the hell shouldn’t we!?
Our stance on the porn industry is simple. We are against it. It destroys the lives of women. It keeps us in a constant state of oppression and degradation. It turns us into commodities to be consumed. It perpetuates patriarchy. It teaches the masses that violating and degrading women is ok, after all, “look how mainstream it is; look at the money these women are making… They have the choice. They choose to do it.” Give me a break… the choice argument is so played out. We are living in a time where it is acknowledged that are choices are completely laid out for us. We have a set of options. And as it turns out, the porn industry is made a completely legitimate option for women. Why is that? Why are we not questioning this more? BREAK THE SILENCE!!!! Questions? submit them to our website/blog. We’d be happy to engage. =)
stoppatriarchy.org
stoppatriarchy.tumblr.com
Slavery by Another Name: Sex Work and the “Empowerment” Charade in Gender Studies
An Open Letter on Sexual Subjugation and Intellectual Rationalization
Some people say that it is wrong to call for the abolition of pornography, prostitution and the entire global sex industry. They claim that doing so only further stigmatizes the women—and very young girls—who are bought and sold and denies these women—and these very young girls—their “agency.” Instead of abolishing the sex industry, these people insist, we should be “empowering” women and girls to “reclaim sex work” and we should be fighting the sense of shame that is imposed on these women and girls for the “work” that they do.
Outrageously, a great many of those making this argument are concentrated in the “Gender Studies” departments at universities and colleges throughout this country and therefore have disproportionate influence over the thinking of young people who are concerned about the oppressed conditions of women throughout the world.
To those who make this argument, and to all those influenced by it, I pose the following:
During the many long and bitter years of outright chattel slavery in the history of the United States, did Black people suffer not only physical brutality, cruelty and disfigurement on a mass scale, but also tremendous psychological trauma, shame, and humiliation as a major part of that experience?
Undoubtedly!
But, does that mean that those generations of enslaved people needed to be “empowered” to make the most of their situation within the confines of slavery? Did they need to be counseled and told not to feel so ashamed or devalued just because they were enslaved?
Or did they need people, millions and millions of people, to fight and to sacrifice to put an end to the back-breaking, spirit-crushing crime against humanity of slavery and, in that process, to repudiate the ideology and culture of white supremacy and Black inferiority which was not only promoted by the U.S. ruling class but which also inflicted deep scars on the psyches of the oppressed themselves?
For anyone with any sense of history and a conscience, the question answers itself.
Applying the same basic standard today, it is simply immoral to refuse to stand up against and demand the abolition of the global sex industry which dehumanizes, degrades, tortures, exploits, traumatizes and brutalizes millions of women and very young girls each year—and which fosters a culture where all women are demeaned, degraded, devalued and endangered. Beyond that, it is impossible to conceive of putting an end to the stigma and the shame that is heaped on women who are used and degraded in the sex industry while simultaneously rationalizing and defending this very industry as it daily treats these women (and very young girls) as nothing more than human chattel.
End Pornography and Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women!
(Source: revcom.us)
good sex, abortion, and “GIRLS”…redux
[our discussion on this uptown this past week was super interesting…so we’re doing this again downtown. If you’re in NY-area, come join us]
Come to a discussion inspired by the themes in the new HBO series “Girls”!
Thursday - May 10 - 7-9 pm
at
Revolution Books
146 West 26th Street, NYC
[btw 6th-7th Aves, #1, 6 or R to 28th St.]
* Is there such a thing as “good sex”? If so, what makes it “good”?
* Must abortion be an agonizing decision?
* What makes for a “meaningful life”? A career… friends…sex…or something more?
NOTE: You do not have to have seen the show to participate!
Discussion hosted by Sunsara Taylor and the project to End Pornography and Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women
“It is long past time that this new generation stand up, reject, and RESIST this culture of rape and pornography; this culture that labels women “selfish” if they choose not to become mothers; this culture that reduces women and girls to sexualized objects while denying their full multi-dimensional humanity (including their right-as one essential part of this-to explore their sexuality without shame or stigma); this culture that demonizes and bullies LGBT people….”
“Women are not objects. Women are not things to be used for the sexual pleasure of men NOR are they breeders of children. WOMEN ARE HUMAN BEINGS CAPABLE OF FULL EQUALITY IN EVERY REALM!”
stoppatriarchy@gmail.com
“I Had Never Thought About It That Way Before”
Talking about Pornography and Patriarchy at a High School
Revolution received the following letter from a high school student:
During my lunch break at school, I announced to my fellow high school peers—many of them had bought IWD shirts last year from me—that International Women’s Day was approaching once again and I began to describe what was being done in response to that. I had briefly mentioned the critical issue in defending abortion and all reproductive rights. My friends all seemed to agree wholeheartedly on the importance to have such access. However, what sparked the most interest and what really got the discussion going was the idea of having a demonstration at strip clubs in the city where we live. Some of my friends were surprised or curious at what that meant. I made it clear that we were not going against the women in these institutions but the institutions themselves. One of my friends couldn’t grapple with such an idea. Such a thing had never been introduced to us before! It was then that I realized how normal, how accepting, how prevalent this issue is but rarely questioned. She argued about the individual’s right to choose and if women were willing to do it, then it’s okay. In response, I gave a small anecdote of a woman I knew who either had to choose between being on the streets or stripping for the money. In the Revolution newspaper #261, Bob Avakian’s quote really states it true: people don’t choose what their choices are. After I said that, I noticed that a big majority were listening. Some of them didn’t know what to think. Others agreed and were ready to hear more. Some were hesitant.
I began further describing the extreme pornification of the world we live in and A LOT of people had something to say about that. The conversation drifted toward the issue of the sexualization of women to sell commodities. My hesitant friend from earlier definitely agreed on that. She slammed American Apparel and described it as “full porn.” My other friend jumped in and started talking about the “sex sells” philosophy that followed that kind of advertising. We had talked so much we hadn’t even noticed the bell had rung for class. My friend expressed her thanks for such a discussion and told me, “I had never thought about it that way before. We definitely need to talk about the porn more!” The overall experience was quite a lesson. If anything, this conversation shows how normalized the sexual subordination of women is and how urgent it is to bring this movement to the front of this society. “End Pornography and Patriarchy!!”
A (perhaps suprising) Invitation!
As we have been out on campus promoting the upcoming protest for International Women’s Day, what has been most striking is the level of emotion and convictions incited by the fact that we condemn pornography.
Some of you have defended pornography at the tops of your voices…
Some of you have joined us in criticizing it, mostly in whispers…
A few of you have opened up with your deep concerns as to the scope of woman-hating in porn, but also your concerns about condemning any form of sexual expression…
Still others of you have refused to engage at all (sometimes with the insistence that even bringing up the subject of pornography and enslavement is just “too upsetting”)…
All this leads to our invitation:
TONIGHT, at 6:30 pm, join us in a group trip to a XXX porn store/peep show near Times Square. Let’s go in together, spend some time browsing, take down a few titles. Then, let’s sit together and discuss what we saw.
Is porn harmless? Is it a means for women to empower themselves? Or is it one of the most degrading and violent forms of celebration of the hatred of women?
Come and form your own opinion, but not without seeing it for yourself!
MEETUP: 6:30 tonight, March 2nd at Starbucks - east side of 8th Ave. between 43rd-44th Sts.
RSVP: stoppatriarchy@gmail.com
— from Sunsara Taylor & End Pornography & Patriarchy Crew
…that industry, pornography, is becoming more and more violent, more and more degrading, even as it is becoming more and more mainstream. The normalization of “double penetration” (and even “triple penetration” and more) as well as the mainstreaming of this into the broader public culture (which is exactly what this ad does) is very much a part of this. In the real world, this is having devastating and long-lasting impact on the lives of real women (as well as men). It has created and contributes to reinforcing and bolstering the fact that women cannot go through the world without being constantly reminded that they are viewed – by a very large percentage of men as well as other women and their own views of themselves – as nothing more than a physical object, valued and valuable only so long as it is sexually attractive to and available to men. That is a fucked up and enslaving culture. Rather the opposite of a funny, hah-hah, joke.
Sunsara Taylor in
Liquid Plumr Porn Spoof: Making Female Degradation “Cute” and Normalized
20 plays • Download
Sunsara Taylor, interviewed on KPFK-LA (The Michael Slate Show), talks about this campaign to End Pornography and Patriarchy!
Nov. 30 in NYC: “Why and How the Future Revolutionary Society Will End Pornography, Prostitution, and Patriarchy”
Wed. November 30 – 7:00 pm
A world without rape, sexism and patriarchy is possible. These things are not a product of some unchanging, unchangeable human nature. They are a product of the system and how it shapes people. Come find out “Why & How the Future Revolutionary Society Will End Pornography, Prostitution and Patriarchy!”
Last in a series of talks given by Sunsara Taylor, followed by Q&A, discussion, debate, and mobilization. Sunsara is currently working with others to launch this new effort to End Pornography and Patriarchy; the Enslavement and Degradation of Women.
At:
Revolution Books
146 West 26th Street, NYC
212-691-3345
Btw 6th-7th Aves.
28th St. stop on 1 or R train
Donation requested at the door
www.revolutionbooksnyc.org
Sunsara Taylor writes for Revolution Newspaper, is on the Advisory Board of The World Can’t Wait, and is a co-host on “Equal Time for Freethought” on WBAI in NYC.
Sunsara Taylor Protests Sex Trafficking, Pornography, & Backpage.com
Nov. 16, 2011: Sunsara Taylor spoke at protest against Backpage.com in NYC for facilitating sex trafficking. The overwhelming majority of women and girls in prostitution are tricked, coerced, or forced through male predation, outright violence, and/or desperation. The notion that women’s bodies should be available for sale to men for sexual use and sexual degradation and plunder is a product of thousands of years of patriarchy as it is filtered today through capitalism, which commodifies everything — including the flesh, the sexuality and the lives of women and girls.
Taylor is a supporter of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA which is led by Bob Avakian and which is building a movement for revolution. This revolution takes the complete liberation of women as a driving force, and a dividing line. Find out more at: revcom.us
Sunsara blogs at: sunsara.blogspot.com
Recently, two college students (young women) insisted to me that it was wrong to oppose pornography because we should be ‘sex-positive.’ They also insisted that many women choose to go into pornography out of their own ambitions and that ought to be respected as a means of ‘empowerment.’
This is bullshit on so many levels…
Lots more of this at:
“Sex-Positive” Feminism and Sasha Grey; No Defense for Porn
End Pornography & Patriarchy! Series of Talks by Sunsara Taylor at Revolution Books - Start Nov. 2
A series of three talks given by Sunsara Taylor, followed by Q&A, discussion, debate, and mobilization. Sunsara is currently working with others to launch this new effort to End Pornography and Patriarchy; the Enslavement and Degradation of Women.
- Wed. November 2 – 7:00 pm
The Woman-Hating Reality of Pornography and Why You Should Want No Part of It
- Wed. November 16 at 7:00 pm
No More Defensiveness, Conciliation, or Reliance on the Democrats:
Abortion On Demand and Without Apology!
- Wed. November 30 – 7:00 pm
Why and How the Future Revolutionary Society Will End Pornography, Prostitution, and Patriarchy
All events at:
Revolution Books
146 West 26th Street, NYC
212-691-3345
Btw 6th-7th Aves.
28th St. stop on 1 or R train
Donation requested at the door
www.revolutionbooksnyc.org
Sunsara Taylor writes for Revolution Newspaper, is on the Advisory Board of The World Can’t Wait, and is a co-host on “Equal Time for Freethought” on WBAI in NYC.
We are told that “equality for women has been won” and that “there are no limits to what girls can achieve.” BULLSHIT!
Every 15 seconds a woman is beaten. Every day three to four women are killed by their partners. One out of four female college students will be raped or sexually assaulted while in college.
In recent years, pornography has become increasingly violent, cruel, degrading towards women; women are referred to as “cumdumpsters” and “fuckbuckets,” the “money shot” (ejaculation in a women’s face) is standard, humiliating cruelty – like violent “ass-to-mouth” penetration – is normalized, and racist bigotry is sexualized. Meanwhile, the broader culture has been pornified; pole-dancing is taught at gyms, “sexting” is a national phenomenon among teens, and the strip club is the accepted backdrop to male-bonding. All this is tied in with, and reinforces, the trafficking of millions of women as literal chattel in the international sex industry.
This is NOT society becoming more comfortable with sex. This is society becoming saturated with the sexualized degradation of women. If you can’t imagine sex without porn, you’re fucked.
At the same time, a Christian fundamentalist-driven assault is imperiling abortion, birth control, real sex education and women’s lives. Doctors are killed. Women who seek abortion – or even birth control – are stigmatized. 2011 has seen the largest spate of legal restrictions on abortion since Roe V. Wade in 1973. Women who are not virgins or who do not choose to become mothers are shamed.
ALL THIS MUST BE STOPPED!
Women are not objects. Women are not things to be used for the sexual pleasure of men NOR are they breeders of children. WOMEN ARE HUMAN BEINGS CAPABLE OF FULL EQUALITY IN EVERY REALM!
It is long past time that this new generation stand up, reject, and RESIST this culture of rape and pornography, this culture that reduces women and girls to sexualized objects while denying their full multi-dimensional humanity (including their right— as one essential part of this—to explore and experience mutually respectful and fulfilling sexuality without shame or stigma), this culture that labels women “selfish” if they choose not to become mothers and stigmatizes them for having abortions.
- RESIST THE CULTURE OF RAPE AND PORNOGRAPHY – Join us in protest at strip clubs, porn distributors, and places that profit in the trade in women’s flesh.
- STAND UP FOR ABORTION RIGHTS – Fetuses are not babies. Women are not incubators. Abortion is not murder.
Contact stoppatriarchy@gmail.com with your questions, comments, ideas, and interest in getting involved. Get flyers to hand out, bring a speaker to your campus, ask your toughest questions. The future of women depends on YOU!
Our purpose is NOT to lobby for new legislation to ban pornography (“decency laws” have always served to further repress homosexuality, boundary-challenging art, and scientific sex education). We oppose the criminalization of women in the sex industry. Our mission is to challenge the new generation in particular to reject this culture of rape and pornography, to resist the shaming of women who have sex and/or abortions, to wage fierce cultural and political resistance to wake others up, and to bring forward a liberating culture that celebrates the full equality and liberation of women.
stoppatriarchy.tumblr.com
check out the conversation going on on Sunsara Taylor’s blog at
http://sunsara.blogspot.com/2011/09/sasha-grey-on-tyra-banks.html
