I find it mildly amusing that you find my feminism “hardcore.” You must not get out to a lot of feminist meetings anymore, eh?

I’m sorry to hear that you don’t care about any of this. That’s rather too bad, but there will always be those who don’t. As for the notion that Post 6 isn’t going to disappear . . . well, that’s not really my primary objective in any case. I’d love to see Post 6 change, but my primary objective is to get people thinking and talking about these issues. I’d say that your post actually suggests that this aim is succeeding.

There are a couple of fairly important fallacies in your comment that I would like to briefly address.

My objections to rape RP have never (and if you HAD been following my comments elsewhere, you would know this) had very much to do with the actual participants. They relate, instead, to the effects of representations of violence against women, and the way in which these reinforce rape myths. It doesn’t much matter if that is a man or a woman in RL hitting the “accept” button, as the RL identity of the female avi isn’t likely known anyway. What the RP rapist, and anyone else watching sees is a putative female saying “Yes! Women DO fantasize about rape! We DO get off on it! Rape is so much fun, let’s make it into a GAME!”

I actually value highly the fact that feminism has liberated women sexually. But feminism isn’t just about “Me.” It’s about the social conditions of ALL women. And a woman who gleefully accepts the gift of sexual liberation without considering the larger impact upon other women of the choices that she accordingly makes is being, to say the least, irresponsible. It’s trite but true: with freedom comes responsibility. Yes, women have the liberty now to choose how they express their sexuality, but if they choose to do so in a manner that potentially endangers OTHER women who might be more vulnerable to abuse and sexual violence as a result of the perpetuation of rape myths and outmoded attitudes, then that is itself a form of misogyny. Where I come from, we call this attitude “Fun Feminism”: reap the rewards, but ignore the social responsibilities that are also part of what feminism is about, and that enabled this new liberty in the first place.

(Incidentally, and for the record, I am not, despite strong reservations about the practice, actually opposed to rape, Gorean, or BDSM role play in SL. I am opposed to PUBLIC role play of these things, for reasons that the above should make clear.)

As for the notion that any flavour or variety of feminism is “anti-sex,” as you imply . . . well, that’s just nonsense. My comments on erotica in this same thread should make that clear. The issue isn’t sex: it’s violence, be it the kind of perceptual violence that comes through objectification, or the very very real violence that far too many Women experience in RL. And ultimately, THAT is what this is about.

Your hardcore feminist rampages are getting really tiring. So Post 6 objectifies women and you don’t like it? Well, Post 6 has been objectifying women for years. There have been countless wannabe feminist activists like you attacking it and guess what? They came and went but Post 6 is still the same. Don’t like it, don’t look at it. It’s pretty easy. But your essays won’t change anything cause nobody cares. Or did you really think there are weekly conferences with editors and photographers in which they discuss the readers’ opinions and adjust the way they work and publish accordingly? I’m sorry to burst your bubble, nobody cares.

I have been reading your comments with both interest and also slight amusement. Especially the ones concerning the RP sims. OMG, women actually RP rape and humiliation… Guess what? A lot of these women are men in real life, so let them play. And those who are actually women in real life, too, well… generations of feminists have fought for their right for sexual self-determination. If that means that women have rape fantasies (and actually there’s a very high percentage of those who do) and live them out in a safe environment of a virtual world, why would that bother you? It’s their right to do so and it’s their damn right to do so without being judged by people like you who obviously want to save them from male evil and domination. And if women apply to become a Post 6, they know what it is about. Again, if they want to be objectified – voluntarily, without any financial incentive or a gun being held to their heads – who are you to tell them they are doing wrong.

You have chosen a certain lifestyle and ideology. It works for you and doesn’t harm anyone else. Perfect! Why those endless and pointless rants when people have chosen a different lifestyle? Ever heard of tolerance?

And one last thing before I go back to my very comfy observer position: your porn comment made me laugh. Yes, I am an SL Pornographer and I am proud of it. I like porn and producing the pixel version of it in a very stylish and aesthetic way is hard work. It takes a lot of time, money and skills to produce it. I don’t produce it with a special audience in mind but looking at my flickr favs and comments I see as many men as women. It ranges from soft erotic girl/girl scenes to hardcore rape porn or hentai. Again: as many men as women fav and comment it, there are as many female porn producers as male ones in SL. So who the hell are you to tell these women their taste/perception/likes/preferences are wrong? Are you actually trying to catapult us back into the sexual dark ages when women were refused to have an orgasm or a sexual identity? When they were forbidden to feel lust and pleasure? This has nothing to do with feminism, this is hypocrisy at its best!

I’ve never met anyone who was a feminist who was against nudity or nakedness as such, especially in art. Actually, where I live, a women’s rights activist a number of years ago fought for, and won, the right for women to go topless in public — using the analogy that it was legal for men to do so.

And of course, there are all sorts of different kinds of “feminism.” Since the advent of “Third Wave” feminism in the 80s and 90s, there are even so-called “pro-sex” feminists, who are also, often, “porn positive,” so to speak.

I’m not against erotica at all myself: the problem with “porn,” and most available erotica for that matter, isn’t the nudity, it’s how that nudity is presented, and what its supposed audience and function is supposed to be.

Take Mayya’s third picture, for instance. Technically, it’s a “nice” shot, but I am not very happy with it myself, not because of the nudity, but because of the composition of the picture. Notice that Mayya is pictured looking away from the camera: she’s impassive and uninvolved in what is happening here, an “object” to be enjoyed, rather than a “person” with whom one is sharing a moment. The angle of the shot is from the perspective of a male (or, yes, in theory also possibly a lesbian lover) who is about to mount her, implying that the viewer IS that male: she becomes sexually available for anyone looking at the picture. And she is almost, but not quite, fully exposed and open: what makes this “erotica” rather than porn is the promise, rather than the fact, that her legs will be opened for her anonymous viewer/lover.

It would be pretty easy, employing no less, or maybe even more explicit nudity, to have done this picture in a way that DIDN’T turn Mayya into a mere object of desire. Even the positioning of her gaze would have made a difference in the sense that she was an equal participant, rather than a mere sexual object. And there can be at least as much nudity in a Titian, or a Manet, without it necessarily becoming a work of erotica or porn per se.

But THAT is the problem with erotica and porn, at least traditionally: it is nearly ALWAYS produced with a male audience in mind, and nearly always objectifies the female subject. It needn’t do so, but it does. (In RL, there are other aspects of the porn industry that are objectionable as well, relating to safety and working conditions, for instance, of the models, but presumably they don’t apply here.)

Wow I talk a lot xD.

I’m AWFULLY glad that you DIDN’T publicly say anything about being pleased to be “Scylla approved”: I think you already know that you don’t need affirmation from me or anyone else to justify the decisions that you make.

Skye:

I have nothing against shopping. I LOVE shopping. However, it plays into a stereotype about women and consumerism that goes back at least to the 1950s (think of Betty and Wilma yelling “CHARGE IT!” as they make off with their husbands’ credit cards).

And I get tired of the way that nearly EVERY female who appears in Post 6 seems to build at least part of her identity around her love of shopping. We are all complicated enough, surely, that we can find OTHER, more meaningful ways of describing who we are?

As for the shopping thing? What the heck is wrong with shopping? I’m happy to allot myself $5.00 a month in SL, and shop to my little heart’s content. Much cheaper than doing so in RL… SL Shopaholics unite! Hehe… ;o)

Thanks for the flattery y’all , I think my ego exploded all over the place. I’m also secretly pleased that I’m Scylla approved, though I’m not admitting it .