16 Comments »

1. Indeed, people think in stereotypes, don't they? (Maybe you could even add that the 'dumb blonde' stereotype suggests a blonde, mainstream-pretty porn star is seen as, well, dumb, and thus is probably being manipulated by someone.)

   Stereotypes creep out of the flimsiest statistical correlations, or the strangest stories that 'are going around'... It is apparently cognitively difficult to actually take people one by one, as they come. Too much processing time, it seems.

   Comment by Asehpe — January 6, 2011 @ 9:00 pm

2. Thank you so much for liking this Furrygirl! You get it, though you don't wax either ;)

   A sex worker's appearance is usually about making money, not a statement. Her beliefs very often have nothing to do with her appearance -- yet a whole set of assumed values will be assigned to her (without her consent) based solely on her appearance.

   XX

   Comment by Amanda — January 6, 2011 @ 9:21 pm

3. "A sex worker's appearance is usually about making money, not a statement."

   Mine is both; the statement is "I like being thought of as beautiful." And I think that's just as valid a desire (if not more so) as a radical feminist's desire not to be beautiful. :-)

   Comment by Maggie McNeill — January 6, 2011 @ 9:35 pm

4. Amanda: I never fit in correctly with any group. I'm vegan, have long hair, and don't shave, but I actually can't stand hippies. My appearance is based on being low-maintenance and tomboy-ish, and a lot of people assume it's some kind of overt "fuck you, men/society!" sort of statement. My body-as-statement isn't nearly as uppity or political as people assume. It's based on boring stuff like, "Since I got awful ingrown hairs shaving my legs as a teen, I never shaved my crotch, because it would probably just look all herpes-y." What a political statement, I know!

   Maggie: Re: "And I think that's just as valid a desire (if not more so) as a radical feminist's desire not to be beautiful. :-)" Haha, perfect! I once read a poem by a loony feminazi that was titled something like "I want to be so damned ugly", about how being ugly is a great way to stick it to men/The Man. There are many different ways to be sexy/attractive, but rejecting all beauty as kowtowing to men/The Man is just stupid.

   Comment by Furry Girl — January 6, 2011 @ 11:06 pm

5. Ha!!! I wax because I got terrible ingrowns shaving my crotch and waxing solves that problem (then I realized it fits neatly into my personal laziness because I don't have to do anything other than show up once every 3 weeks). The herpes look isn't hot no matter who you are.

   Rejecting "beauty" is -- to me -- akin to rejecting part of your humanity. And I mean "beauty" in a very broad sense for any gender. I know making that statement begs for elaboration but I just want to leave it at that.

   XX

   Comment by Amanda — January 7, 2011 @ 12:38 am

6. This chimes very much with my own experience, where the only thing worse than a right-wing moralist prude is a left-wing moralist prude.

   I spent three years working as a male stripper and it was very interesting seeing the contortions a lot of the 'right-on' lefties would go through when I detailed the things a lot of the men have to put up with - such as tying off and having to expect attempts to injure us by the female audience (by stark contrast gay audiences were always very well behaved and polite IME).

   Comment by Katabasis — January 7, 2011 @ 3:29 am

7. Katabasis: Thanks for chiming in from Team Dude. That is a very interesting observation about how men or women treated you.

   Comment by Furry Girl — January 9, 2011 @ 12:22 am

8. Amanda: I think I understand what you mean, and why "beauty" is in scare quotes. And I think I agree with you: giving up "beauty" means giving up part of our humanity.

   Katabasis: Have you written somewhere at any length about your experience as a male stripper? It looks very interesting -- I'd like to know more.

   Comment by Asehpe — January 9, 2011 @ 2:51 pm

9. At the risk of hindering any discussion (and perhaps being insulting), Katabasis is an awesome name for a stripper; I wonder how many people pick up on its meaning.

   Comment by Epode — January 9, 2011 @ 4:33 pm

10. You mean, the 'descend' meaning? :-)

    Comment by Asehpe — January 9, 2011 @ 6:37 pm

11. Katabasis -- Apologies from the female side. Assault and degradation isn't cool no matter who does it.

    XX

    Comment by Amanda — January 9, 2011 @ 8:42 pm

12. That sounds like the beginnings of a talk for next year's Arse Elekronika...
    http://monochrom.at/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1113&blogId=4

    Comment by Threadbare — January 13, 2011 @ 12:14 am

13. Threadbare: I think I have attended Arse more than anyone else who has not been a speaker. (3:4 years.)

    Comment by Furry Girl — January 13, 2011 @ 12:50 am

14. • Tweets that mention Feminisnt » Quote: Amanda Brooks on activism, subculture beauty standards, and the invisible majority of sex workers -- Topsy.com
    • What’s the Buzz? « The Honest Courtesan
    • Image and Representation in Porn - CyDy Blog: the sexy brains of Cyber Dyke

    Comment by Trackbacks — May 17, 2012 @ 8:05 am

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