[Opinion] Dirty Movies Are Just Fine
Last week, Anthony Springer Jr. sent me a link to a recently published Ebony.com op-ed titled, “Do Dirty Movies Need to Clean Up?” While I appreciate Arielle Loren’s desire to create a much-needed conversation about sexuality in the Black community, and respect her right to voice opinion, I was disappointed to see that the article is filled with misconceptions and simplified generalizations that endorse judgment more than they promote progressive dialogue.
Loren writes: “Is it a hopeless cause to expect the adult film industry, primarily controlled by White men, to produce realistic content instead of misrepresentations of Black sexuality? Perhaps, yes. But there is a double standard in the way Black audiences call foul on misrepresentations in mainstream entertainment compared to adult film.”
This statement is entirely misinformed. According to TWV’s recent interview with popular pornstar Misty Stone (to be posted soon), as well as conversations with other adult film stars who are friends of TWV, White-owned companies generally don’t shoot all Black scenes (that’s a whole other topic). So if Loren has only been watching Black porn; the production companies for the movies she’s complaining about are almost exclusively Black owned. It’s pretty common porn-knowledge that the only major company producing all Black porn is West Coast Productions – and they offer selections of sensual porn.
These types of unfounded statements in the Ebony article wouldn’t be so disconcerting if Loren wasn’t touted in her byline for founding “the go-to magazine for all things sexuality.”
Words like “we,” “our,” “many,” and “most,” are seen throughout the Ebony article with no statistical facts to back up Loren’s views of predominant sexual practices among Black people. When did the Black version of the Kinsey reports come out? If it doesn’t exist it’s long overdue. {Author’s note: For the readers less Well Versed on the topic, the Kinsey reports, conducted in the late 1940’s and early 50s, were the first major statistical research findings on American sexuality. Although the reports weren’t without their fair share of criticism, they undoubtedly opened up an unprecedented public discussion about sex}. The only sample group Loren mentions in this Ebony article is her own bubble of friends who, although may have self-satisfying sex lives, don’t even begin to speak on behalf of all of “us.” In fact, when my personal bubble of male and female friends read the article I heard responses like “These views are puritanical”, “She is conflating sex for pure arousal with the sacred/ spiritual/romantic realm of sex”, “I’ve had plenty of ‘porn- star sex’ with my long-term partner and it was fun”, and the more straightforward, “Sorry, but I don’t want to jack off to two souls merging as one.”
Loren writes “Worst of all, together, these Black men and women feed the stereotype that sex is dirty and dishonorable instead of a beautiful way to reconnect human beings with the erotic” – but who has fed into more stereotypes about sex being “dirty” — the ones enjoying themselves, or the ones who think they need to “clean up?”
Hey Aliya,
Appreciate you sharing your perspective :-) I think you’ve mischaracterized my work on a whole. But nonetheless, I do appreciate you adding to the conversation, and representing those that don’t share my views on this particular issue. However, I’d invite you to actually read my work as a whole, and not make a judgement off one article. I think you’d actually find that we may share views. http://arielleloren.com
Regardless, I am dedicated to creating a publication that incorporates all voices that are interested in healthy conversations about sexuality. So I’d like to extend an invitation to you to write for us, if you so choose. I think you’d be presently surprised by the plethora of voices that were featured in the first issue of Corset, which was dedicated to nudity, and more to come in our soon-to-be second issue about orgasms. http://corsetmagazine.com
I think my views on sexuality in general are FAR from puritanical lol. But I also stand by them, and welcome any critiques of my work. I’m certainly not the only voice needed on these issues, but I’m always happy to contribute.
Keep writing and much love,
Arielle
Arielle,
I appreciate your voice as well — but my response was not based on your body of work — it was pretty strictly about the misinformation and generalizations in that specific Ebony article. To be sex-positive is to refrain from passing the types of judgments and generalizations that you have in that article. While I’m sure your intent was pure, the execution and final product could be seen as offensive to some– Especially by placing labels on people and their actions with lines such as “I know very few people who have sex like porn stars, and that’s a positive thing.” That line in and of itself gives negative connotation to those who don’t share your views.
As for your views being “puritanical” I did not write that — as written, that was a quote from a female friend of mine. What I did write, however, (and continue to stand by) is that the misinformation in your article was a bit disconcerting considering your position at a magazine focused on sex-positivity .
My Op ed was not a commentary on you personally, nor your body of work — but rather a clarification of many glaring oversights that you still have yet to re-address. Not that you’re required to respond to the facts presented, but your response to me just was about your interpretation of how I feel about your work when I wrote a solitary line about that. The rest was direct response to what you presented in the Ebony article. If you so choose, I’d be interested to hear your response to those facts and clarifications that I’ve made.
Always,
Aliya
Aliya,
I’m currently traveling in Brasil, and writing you from an internet cafe, so unfortunately, the detailed response you’d like won’t be possible until a later date. But also because one article (or comment) is not enough to really talk about the issue at whole. Perhaps if Well Versed would like to organize a talk radio show for us to have a live discussion or depending on your location, when I return to the States, perhaps we could even do it on video, I’d be down to defend my position and discuss why I don’t see that article as sex-negative at all.
I asked you to review my work for a reason because in the article you said you weren’t sure what my familiarity was with pornography or if I was just watching free porn. I’d like in particular to point you toward an article that I wrote about black feminist pornography awhile back. I actually listed some of the independent porn filmmakers that I applaud and are doing the work that I requested in my Ebony article. But they are NOT mainstream. And that was the point of my Ebony piece. You don’t get to see their work in terms of vast mainstream distribution, whether it’s free or not. What you see is something else in entirety, which I personally feel misrepresents the way black heterosexual couples enjoy sex, at least the ones I know and that’s where I was speaking from.
http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2011/04/black-feminist-pornography-reshaping-the-future-of-adult-entertainment/
Again sis, before you drop a critique, I’d invite you to do more research on what I do and you’d find that actually my “byline” isn’t disconcerting, even if you have a problem with this one article. My work is nothing but sex-positive by most of my readers standards, who range from sex workers to academics. Thus, I have been able to organize a diverse group of thinkers to contribute to the magazine, and it’s been nothing but well-received. The manner in which you’re writing me is as if we’re on opposite teams, and my response to you was to say we’re not actually, even if we have differing opinions on this one issue. And I welcome your voice.
Like I said, I’d be happy to clarify if Well Versed would like to organize a public talk between me and you. I’d certainly look forward to a live discussion.
Much love,
Arielle
I agree that one article or comment is not enough to talk about the issue at whole — and my intent is not to create opposing sides. I’m sure there are things we agree on. I am all for real people having real sex (whatever “real” means to the people involved).My criticism is in the generalizations used in the article, and the misinformation given. Not everyone who reads an article will research the author’s entire body of work, and so my open response was to what was written in the article that I read. In addition, my response wasn’t about you as a writer — it was about the information you presented and the generalizations made in that Ebony article.
I am absolutely fine with agreeing to disagree on whatever we may disagree on but I personally don’t think your article accomplished what it set out to do regardless of intent. If the main point of your article was about mainstream vs independent porn — why was that not the focus? You mentioned nothing about independent porn that shows what you are looking for (which was one of my points towards the end). again, This isn’t about you as a writer nor your body of work — this is one response to one article which I found to have generalizations that were unfair and unfounded.
Always,
Aliya
wow. 2 responses and she still said nothing. lol
great read!
I have no idea how it’s possible to drop paragraph after paragraph and not address anything in the actual article.
Well, she doesn’t have to respond to what I wrote — though her preoccupation with that one sentence about her byline isn’t helping the real topics at hand. The point is that regardless of whatever she’s written in the past, this ebony article (which is what is in question — not her comprehensive writing history) has several generalizations and judgments. I’m sure she is an intelligent woman, and I respect her. We’ve all written things that are not the best reflection of our work (myself included). But the fact is, if her article really was about independent vs mainstream porn like she is now claiming; then her article was still poorly written because it barely (if ever) mentioned independent porn. I walked away from her article having no new knowledge about the world of independent porn. Not a single actor mentioned — not a single movie title. Nothing. I did however walk away with a handful of judgments and generalizations passed by her. That’s not an attack on her character or her career — that’s an observation that was made about the article in question.
I can’t speak about all of her pieces, because I haven’t read them all. But all of Arielle’s other pieces aren’t relevant, especially if they aren’t all in EBONY. Even if her other pieces were to tell otherwise, THIS piece had generalizations and misinformation, so this piece piece has to be held accountable. That said, I’ll check out her other material when I have the time to see if it’s better, because I can tell she does actually know how to write well – it’s the opinion that’s in question.
Loved how Aliya picked everything apart and gave her own two cents. Kudos!
Thanks William,
I agree that her body of work may reflect more open views; but you’re right — that’s not what’s in question. And it would have been interesting to read about independent vs mainstream porn if that was really her intent. But that wasn’t how the focus came across to some people. Taking my loose analogy further– I think it would be interesting to compare the underground/mainstream Hip Hop dynamic to independent/mainstream porn. The two industries are eerily similar and I’d imagine they face a lot of the same issues in that respect…
although, on 2nd thought, there’s really no longer a “mainstream” of either…
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