I'm an ex-university student who is thinking about going back to do my Honors. For my thesis I wanted to look at pornography and try and have some kind of analysis of it, try to understand why men like it, and try to see what it's saying about gender roles in society etc. I wanted to do this without sounding like too much of a feminist, so I planned to interview women who enjoyed pornography as well. I have since thought of analyzing pornography directed at women, porn for women. I wondered if you knew of any feminist theory type writing on erotica for women or any other sites that could be of help / interest. Do feminists approve of porn for women (or only if it has the woman in an empowered/dominating position?)? Thanks - Li-kim

Every feminist has a different perspective on pornography (i.e. it's okay for me, but not for men to enjoy/ it's the worse thing for anyone to enjoy/ it's anti-feminist, there's a distinction between erotica and pornography) - therefore, it's impossible to come to one conclusion about the feminist stance on pornography. I suggest you reference the work of Lisa Palac and Susie Bright - two feminists who are very pro-erotica. For balance, you should also reference the work of Andrea Dworkin and Diana Russell - two women who see the harm that pornography can cause. In general, feminists wished that women could make better choices - but that doesn't mean that we blame the women, but the limited choices that society offers women. You should also read Gloria Steinem's article "Erotica v. Pornography," which can be found in her book Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions. I hope these suggestions help - also you might want contact the women who run feminist sex shops - like the San Francisco based Good Vibrations or the New York based Eve's Garden or Seattle's Toys in Babeland. Good luck.
—Amy