Organizing Pornography, Organizing Desire

Fesnak, Matt Organizing Pornography, Organizing Desire

Organizing pornography, Organizing desire Matt Fesnak

Abstract

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While libraries and librarians pride themselves on their classification systems and their ability to use cat aloguing systems to organize and access information, new technologies have forced changes onto the knowledge management landscape. Tagging and “trending topics” have become ubiquitous ways to organize the web, and give users a sense of control over the content presented to them. On websites like facebook.com, pornhub.com, and xhamster.com, users upload content and add tags in order for other people to find it, but are often restricted in the categories available to them. This leads to what Jodi Dean (2012) calls “communicative capitalism”, wherein- users are given the feelings of freedom and democracy, but actually come across many Foucaultian surveillance mechanisms and limitations. This paper specifically focuses on the role of categories and tags for the discoverabil ity of pornographic web content, and the impact that hegemonic categorization practices have on marginalized Keywordsbodies, desires, and ideas.

knowledge organization, cataloguing, pornography, porn, web categories

- Sexuality is an important aspect of life, and has the awards shows and associated industries are and- been represented in one way or another in many differ- have been in terms of those nominated. In contrast, ent media formats. However, while everyday television, pornography is a medium that provides artistic repre movies, radio, and video games provide regular repre- sentations of identities, desires, and scenarios that are sentations of sexuality, they usually adhere to clichés. not shown in any depth or with any regularity in other For instance, popular movies and television are just re popular media, allowing consumers to explore aspects cently being celebrated for and challenged to provide of themselves or their interests that might otherwise be more diverse sexual representations. A timeline from repressed. The pornographic movie industry has been infoplease.com (n.d.) titled “Gays in Popular culture” producing gay and queer content in large volumes for- show how limited queer representations have been in- decades. Pornography also has a lot of racially diverse TV and movies throughout the 20th century. Similar content. However, while there is a large quantity of di- criticisms can be made about the lack of representa verse pornographic content, it is often betrayed in the tion of racial diversity. The hashtag “#OscarsSoWhite”- way it is organized. Most pornography sites are divid- (n.d.), and to a lesser extent “#GoldenGlobesSoWhite” ed into “straight” and “gay” sections, both of which are- (n.d.) show the way that Oscars and Golden Globe con defined around men and usually represented by inter sumers are finally voicing displeasure with how white twined male-female and male-male symbols . With Defying Conventions-March 2016 Fesnak, Matt Organizing Pornography, Organizing Desire

in the gay and straight sections, there are often large- the film ..., and finally, other during the film but subsections of marked, racialized categories, with a- aside from and outside of it (the social ritual white, Western man being the only unmarked catego of the projection of the film - less formal than ry. The categories used by major pornographic web in the classic theatre, but retaining its sobriety sites assume and cater to a white male audience, and even in everyday sociocultural situations - the- define almost all categories in terms of their relation furnishing and decoration of the theatre, the to straight white men or gay white men. The categories technical methods of operation of the projec used, and the ways that the categories are arranged on tionist, the role of the theatre attendants - that sites like xhamster.com, pornhub.com, spankwire.com, is to say their functions in various economic or and redtube.com, limit the possibilities of people other symbolic systems, which does not detract from than white men to be able to identify with the porn they- their practical in-utility - etc.) (1974, p. 12). consume. With pornography, these conventions vary While a lot can be said about pornographic vid greatly, but there is still a role for them in the impact- eos, images, and .gifs, I will primarily be focusing on of porn-viewing practices. Particularly, the browsing the metadata that organizes pornographic artefacts. and searching for a suitable porn video or series of vid Bill Katz (1991) defines pornography as content which- eos,items images, online. etc, is a familiar practice to anyone trying means to entice sexual stimulation. However, for my to make their way through the billions of pornographic purposes, the masturbatory functions of porn are sec - ondary to my argument, and I am instead interested For some scholars, the move from porn theatre- in the ways that pornography is consumed as a way to viewership to internet pornography represents a de shape and explore aspects of identity and selfhood, or- mocratization of pornography. Where porn theatres re as mere curiosities. As such, I will define pornography quired a person physically go to a place and be noticed simply as the searchable and browse-able content pre and potentially judged for their attendance, internet sented on pornographic websites. porn viewing allows for more anonymity. Edward Cone With porn on the web, accessed through a said “…‘the Internet represents nothing if not the great desktop, laptop, or other internet-connected device, democratization of smut—bringing skin to millions of there are various accepted and frowned upon cultural homes, dorm rooms, and offices around the world’” practices. Just as Hollywood films are no longer solely (quoted in Dilevko & Gottlieb, 2004, p. 36). While it may watched in cinemas, porn films have branched out to be the case that pornography is much easier to come DVDs and the internet, now rarely being screened in across, and easy to do so in private, the largest websites theatres. While most of us have probably never been to still show an overwhelming “androcentrism” (2004, p. a porn theatre, there are still many extra-filmic rituals- 38) that Dilevko and Gottlieb note. Dilevko and Gottlieb associated with modern porn, as well as any modern- focus on the use of a penis-shaped vibrator in videos of film. Pornography is not safe for work in most work- women masturbating (2004, p. 36), but androcentrism- places and many public libraries and public-access in is much more ubiquitous. This includes the way that ternet terminals block pornographic websites. As por most categories are either categories of types of wom- nography has been defined as that which is meant to- en (by race and ethnicity) meant to appeal to straight entice sexual stimulation,Language by Katz and(1991) Cinema, and others, men, or categories of men (again, by race and ethnic- the artistic or discursive qualities of porn are often ig ity) meant to appeal to gay men. Porn categories give- nored. Christian Metz in writing agency to men and their desires, and repeatedly objec about general film viewing, says, “What is referred to- tify women and racialized men. Laura Mulvey in her es globally as ‘cinema’ (and to a lesser degree as ‘film’) is,- say “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” writes, “In in reality, a vast and complex socio-cultural phenome contrast to the woman as icon, the active male figure non” (1974, p. 292). Similarly, pornographic films pro (the ego ideal of the identification process) demands a- vide a whole lot more than their masturbatory function.- three-dimensional space corresponding to that of the- Metz continues to say that the films themselves are: mirror recognition, in which the alienated subject in- only a small part of cinema, for the latter rep ternalized his own representation of his imaginary exis resents a vast ensemble of phenomena some of tence…” (1975, p. 2090). Drawing on Lacanian psycho which intervene before the film..., others after analysis, Mulvey notes the ways that male spectators of Defying Conventions - March 2016 Fesnak, Matt Organizing Pornography, Organizing Desire

Hollywood film are able to narcissistically identify with- theory. It refers to the way language alters the base theacters. agency of the male protagonist, while everyone else meaning of a word by adding a linguistic particle that is left to identify with the one-dimensional female char has no meaning on its own” (1993, p. 392). In the case - of porn categories, the marked categories of different With pornographic videos, female actors are- female and gay-male identities do have meaning on regularly given a lot more agency than Mulvey’s Hol their own, but here are given their contextual meaning lywood films, and made the central character. For ex in the way that they provide arousal to the white male ample, in the video “Japanese amateur141 by siitake2” spectator. Tannen continues, “The unmarked form of a (2012), a woman in the centre of the screen undresses, word carries the meaning that goes without saying – masturbates, and later commands the camera man to what you think of when you’re not thinking anything undress before they have sex. In “Cowgirl gets caught special” (p. 392). In many porn videos, white men are- fucking herself,” (2013) a woman masturbating gets present but are unremarked upon. ‘caught’ by a man, and they decide to have sex. Yet, this Outside of xhamster, similar patterns are re agency and exploration of female desires in the videos peated, with some variations between different sites is not represented in the categories. On the porn site and publishers. All of pornhub.com, pornmd.com, xhamster.com , the category “Female choice” is defined spankwire.com, and porntube.com have categories as “scenes are selected by our users for their appeal to separated by straight, which overwhelmingly include women,” as if any of the other hundred-plus categories categories of presumed straight male desires, such as- were specifically not meant for women. Additionally,- women of different race, big boobs, women with big the category is said to “cover a wide range of topics, butts, etc., or gay (two men having sex, or men mastur- though there is often a more erotic and sensual dynam bating). Some include “tranny” or “shemale” categories, ic at play. Lesbian sex is common, as is the exploration which are meant to cover trans porn, but often only in- of sexual desire between amateurs.” At xhamster.com,- clude trans women (and no trans men or gender-fluid the description of female choice seems to make it out people). Redtube.com does not separate out gay or les to be a substitute for softcore porn. However, brows bian from its straight categories, but requires users to ing through the videos tagged “female choice” shows leave the home page and go to Redtube.com/redtube/ a range of videos including ones containing BDSM and gay to browse videos of men having sex together or- other kinks, including “Kinky Girlfriend Dominates Her masturbating. Male porn consumers are able to browse Man With a Strap On” (2014) and “Captive girl used in a- porn websites knowing that they will likely find some cell for conjugal visits” (2016). Clearly, the designers of thing they are interested in watching with ease, and xhamster’s categories have oversimplified or misiden homophobic straight men are able to browse websites tified female desires. - without having to worry about accidentally watching, Instead of honestly exploring female desires, and potentially identifying with, gay porn. Returning to women are more often represented in categories as ob Laura Mulvey’s essay, she writes: jects. Categories like “18 year old,” focus on “18 year old Camera technology (as exemplified by deep girls,” “Austrian Porn Videos” says “Austrian porn scenes focus in particular) and camera movement- show the girls come in all shapes and sizes, but they do (determined by the action of the protagonist), share a desire to please in the bedroom,” and “Blue hair” combined with invisible editing (demanding re shows “a remarkable number of girls dye their hair blue- alism), all tend to blur the limits of screen space.- and play naughty on camera to show it off” (Xhamster. The male protagonist is free to command the com “Categories,” n.d.). Looking at the gay porn catego stage, a stage of spatial illusion in which he ar ries, and specifically focusing on the identity categories,- ticulates the look and creates the action” (2090) there are ones for Asians, bears, black gays, emo boys, While porn films often make the editing noticeable, fat gays, hunks, interracial, Latin, and twinks. On porn there is still a sense that spectators are meant to view hub.com, the gay categories include Asian, bear, black, porn through the perspective of the camera operator,- college, euro, Japanese, Latino, muscle, and twink. In all- who is almost always male (when their presence is cases, the unmarked or uncommented-upon presence made known), and often involved in the sex acts. Be is that of white American or British men. Deborah Tan yond the camera work, the categories of porn websites nen writes, “The term ‘marked’ is a stable of linguistic extend the effects described by Mulvey. Defying Conventions - March 2016

Fesnak, Matt Organizing Pornography, Organizing Desire

html#2000 #GoldenGlobesSoWhite. (n.d.). Twitter.com. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/search?q=golden globessowhite&src=typd “Japanese amateur141 by siitake2.” (2012). Xham ster.com. Retrieved from http://xhamster.com/ movies/5786909/japanese_amateur141_by_ siitake2.html Libraries, Erotica, and Katz, Bill.Pornography (1991) Pornography in the Library? Yes! in Martha Cornog (ed.), (pp. 241-256). Phoenix, AZ Oryx Press. “Kinky Girlfriend Dominates Her Man With a Strap On.” (2014). Xhamster.com. Retrieved from xham ster.com/movies/1980909/kinky_girl friend_dominates_her_man_with_a_strap_Language and Cinema. Trans on.html?from=video_promo Metz, Christian. (1974). lated by Donna Jean Umiker-Sebeok. Berlin Walter de Gruyter. Mulvey, NortonLaura. (1975).Anthology Visual of Theory Pleasure and and Criticism Narrative 2nd Cinema.Edition In Vincent B. Leitch (ed.),

(pp. 2190-2198). NYC: W.W. Norton & Company. #OscarsSoWhite. (n.d.). Twitter.com. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Oscars SoWhite&src=tyah Pornmd.com. (n.d.). RetrievedThe X-Rated from Videotape http://www.porn Star md.com/III. Riley, Patrick. (1999). Scarborough CollectionAmherst, Finding New York:Aid. Prometheus Books. Sexual Representation Collection. (2012). [Toronto]: Mark S. Bon ham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies. “Straight”.Straight (n.d.) Spankwire.com. Retrieved from http://www.spankwire.com/categories/Marked women, unmarked men. Tannen, Deborah.The world (1993). is a text 4th edition In Jonathan Silverman and Dean Rader (eds.), (pp. 391- 394). NYC: Pearson Education, Inc. tags. (n.d.). Xvideos.com. Retrieved from http://www. xvideos.com/tags

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