Pornography, Women and Feminism: Between Pleasure and Politics

Abstract

This article draws on a qualitative research study which set out to explore women’s experiences and views of pornography within the broader context of conflicting feminist positions on pornography. The research methodology posed an implicit criticism of the kind of ‘findings’ familiar from mainstream psychological research: semi-structured interviews were conducted with women from diverse backgrounds in the UK, and feminist theory and discourse analysis were used to inform interpretation of their accounts. Although the question of feminism was not explicitly raised by the interviewer, it emerged as a recurrent theme in interviews, with interviewees suggesting that the feminist anti-porn stance in particular has influenced their perspective on pornography. Their accounts show that women’s experiences are variegated, individual and complex, and that discourses of pornography and feminism may be negotiated in unpredictable ways.