YJ's blog

In the age of what many believe to be the “third-wave” of feminism, one that challenges the notion of what it even means to be “female” or “feminist” and has expanded to include those who may not or could not have been part of the first or second waves of feminism, it becomes clear that one of the major differences between the older waves of feminism and the one we are in now is exemplified in the attitude towards pornography. Here, I use the term in a very broad sense since so many feminists define it differently and I mean it to include both sex/sexual work such as prostitution and stripping as well as the pornographic movie industry.

In the age of what many believe to be the “third-wave” of feminism, one that challenges the notion of what it even means to be “female” or “feminist” and has expanded to include those who may not or could not have been part of the first or second waves of feminism, it becomes clear that one of the major differences between the older waves of feminism and the one we are in now (third-wave) is exemplified in the attitude towards pornography. Here, I use the term in a very broad sense since so many feminists define it differently and I mean it to include both sex/sexual work such as prostitution and stripping as well as the pornographic movie industry.

As I have been reading various essays addressing the feminist perspective on pornography, it seems one thing is clear: there are only multiple perspectives but no dominant one that can be called representative of the “feminist” perspective on pornography.[1] It seems that a lot of categorical mistakes, unclear definitions and a sort of muddling of the various issues that may or may not legitimately be counted as

It is only halfway through the semester and already it seems clear to me that much of what I thought I knew and/or understood about feminism can essentially be thrown out the window. It has been both refreshing and a bit unsettling at the same time to tread this new ground and think these new thoughts. In fact, all of the readings have really pushed me (as well as our sometimes intense class discussions) to examine my preconceptions and assumptions of the meaning of feminism on the one hand, and the meaning of being a feminist on the other. Whether or not these two things are necessarily incompatible is not something I am ready to deny or confirm-just that there certainly seems to be a fundamental