Pornography for Women? Really?

This little doozy by the Cambridge Women's Pornography Collective recently appeared in my inbox...

"I like to get to these things before I have to be asked."

"Hold that thought a second, I want to pull over to ask for directions."

"Don't want anyone "falling in" in the middle of the night."

"The NFL playoffs are today. I bet we'll have no trouble parking at the crafts fair."

"As long as I have legs to walk on, you'll never have to take out the garbage."

"Is that the baby? I'll get her."

Perhaps something like this is far too easy to critique and I shouldn't be wasting valuable space, the likes of which could be taken up by much more titillating fare. Aside from the way the CWPC rely on essentialist notions of gender while trolling around heterosexuality and middle class consumerism as everyone's wet dream, it frustrates me that this so-called "pornography" desexualizes women even as it tries to present the things that "really get women hot." While I object to the portrayal of this sort of campaign as porn, it is telling that getting men to do domestic tasks like vacuuming and cooking is still a fantasy for some women.

However, in my humble opinion, the part of the feminist project dedicated to achieving equality with men is not only about sharing chores but also about creating the time and mental space for women to explore their sexuality outside of the pressures of traditional femininity. In this scenario, women can get hot over whatever the fuck they want, be it anything from paddling the babysitter with a wooden spoon to sucking their neighbour's big hard cock. And yes, ok, I do get a little happy feeling when my floors are freshly mopped but it's not like that compares to my partner sucking my clit.

Feminism is still as relevant as ever, and yes, everyone deserves to have partnerships based on sharing and repect, but please, let porn be porn. Don't invisiblize the desire of some women for hardcore images and things traditionally understood as only arousing for men. Part of feminist action is creating types of porn all kinds of women might or might not want to see. Conveying equality is sexy-- just maybe put a little more sex in the picture.