Call for women to judge pornography

Press, 15 May 1985, Page 14

Call for women to judge pornography

PA Wellington Women should be the sole judges of what constituted pornography as they were its targets, says a feminist group seeking to have pornography outlawed. Women Against Pornography (W.A.P.) says an independent tribunal of women should be responsible for examining . all material which might be pornographic as only they can tell whether particular material is degrading of women. The group wants the Human Rights Commission Act amended to give women the same recognition of, and protection from, pornography as that given to racial and ethnic groups. W.A.P. says the act would provide legal recognition that pornography was a tool for oppressing women and would provide an outlet for women’s complaints against the issue of pornographic publications on all fronts. It could also hear claims from women seeking the abolition of all pornography. The group’s arguments for women leading the battle against pornography are contained in a book released this week called “Women Against Pornography—lt’s About Time”. “How can men under-

stand how we feel watching a woman being raped — and her being portrayed as enjoying it?” the book says. "The legal definition of pornography should focus on its hatred of women, and the penalties reflect the serious abuse that it is.” A spokeswoman for the group said yesterday that the 22-page book had been produced in response to requests for information on pornography and its links to violence against women. It sought to “explain women’s opposition to pornography from a feminist’s viewpoint,” she said. The book says pornography “starts at things like beauty contests, some advertisements and ends where women are actually sexually tortured, mutilated and killed as the film rolls.” It depicts women and children as mere sex objects who are available to be abused or terrorised and who enjoy pain and want to be manipulated by men. It lies about women’s sexuality and teaches men and boys that women exist for their sexual pleasure. “Such material not only portrays the sexual subordination of women but also endorses such treatment,” the spokeswoman said. “This theme is more im-

portant than the degree of explicitness in terms of its effects on the male viewer and ultimately women and children.” W.A.P. did not want all scenes of rape banned, the spokeswoman said. But, she said, the group was concerned that Television New Zealand seemed unable to distinguish between programmes which sensitively depicted and condemned rape, and those which were simply a gratuitous portrayal. “While condemning ‘The Awakening of Candra’ we praised the episode of ’Country GP’ which was screened shortly after, as this dealt with the subject of rape in a realistic and non-exploitative way. “TVNZ, however, went so far as to apologise for the ‘Country GP’ episode after finally admitting it was wrong to screen ‘The Awakening of Candra.’ “We would therefore be dubious of any subsequent banning of programmes by TVNZ without consultation with women’s groups, in the light of TVNZ’s inability to tell the difference between consenting sex, pornography, and programmes condemning assaults on women,” the spokeswoman said.