Gay male pornography and sexual violence: a sex equality perspective on gay male rape and partner abuse.

AuthorKendall, Christopher N.
PositionCanada

The author critiques the uneven application of the sex equality test for pornographic harm advocated by many of the interveners in Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium. Contesting the interrelated claims that (1) homosexual pornography does not result in the perpetuation of the same kinds of harms documented in relation to heterosexual pornography; and (2) homosexual pornography is central to gay male identity and liberation, the author argues that the differential treatment of hetero- and homosexual pornography is not only legally untenable, but also dangerous given the high incidence of domestic violence and rape within the gay male community.

Arguing in support of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Little Sisters, the author contends that insufficient attention has been paid to the specific content of the gay male pornographic materials at issue in this litigation. In particular, he argues that both hetero- and homosexual pornography depend on similar sexist gender hierarchies, reify a conception of normalized sexuality valorizing violence, degradation, and non-mutuality, and, therefore, can be understood to encourage harmful sexual practices in those who consume these materials. In forwarding this argument, the author engages in an extensive description and critical analysis of the gay male pornographic exhibits at issue in the Little Sisters litigation and demonstrates that these materials operate according to a sexual logic comparable to that observed and denounced in respect of heterosexual pornography.

L'auteur critique ce qu'il considere etre une application inegale du test du dommage cause par la pornographie invoque par plusieurs des intervenants dans l'arret Linle Sisters Book and Art Emporium. L'auteur remet en question les affirmations inter-reliees selon lesquelles (1) la pornographie homosexuelle ne perpetue pas des torts semblables a ceux observes en relation avec la pornographie heterosexuelle; et (2) la pornographie homosexuelle se trouve au coeur de l'identite et de la liberation gaies masculines. L'auteur soutient que la difference de traitement entre les pornographies heterosexuelle et homosexuelle est non seulement juridiquement intenable, mais de surcroit dangereuse au vu de l'incidence importante de la violence domestique et du viol dans la communaute gaie masculine.

L'argument de l'auteur se veut en faveur de la decision de la Cour supreme du Canada dans Linle Sisters. Celui-ci soutient que trop peu d'attention a ete devolue au contenu specifique des elements de pornographie gaie masculine en l'espece. Il soutient en particulier que les pornographies heterosexuelle et homosexuelle reposent toutes deux sur une hierarchie des sexes discriminatoire et reifient une conception de la sexualite normalisee promouvant la violence, la degradation et l'absence de mutualite. Selon l'auteur, on peut donc en conclure que les deux types de pornographie encouragent chez ceux qui en consomment des pratiques sexuelles destructrices. Dans la presentation de son argument, l'auteur se consacre a une description extensive et a une analyse critique des elements de preuve presentes dans l'affaire Little Sisters et explique en quoi ces documents de pornographie gaie masculine fonctionnent selon une logique comparable a celle observee et denoncee en matiere de pornographie heterosexuelle.

Introduction I. Gay Male Pornography: Different Audience, Therefore Non-Harmful? II. Gay Male Pornography: What It Says, What It Does A. Why a Description Is Necessary B. Inequality and Violence Normalized Through Sex III. But Is It Harmful? A. Gay Male Rape B. Gay Male Domestic Violence Conclusion I was battered by my first lover, and the pornography each of us used condoned the violence. When I was younger, I was exposed to heterosexual pornography, including Playboy, Penthouse, Oui, and other magazines. It was one of the places that I learned about sex, and it showed me that sex was violence. What I saw there was a specific relationship between men and women. The woman was to be used, objectified, humiliated, and hurt. The man was in a superior position, a position to be violent. In pornography I learned that what it meant to be sexual with a man or to be loved by a man was to accept his violence. When my lover was violent, I was taught that the violence was normal. I accepted the violence, which I did not like, and it was some rime before I left the relationship. There is a lot of sexual violence in the gay community, and pornography condones it. I was with my ex-lover after he had been raped by a casual sex partner, and my ex said that rape was just a risk you had to take. I was with a friend after he had been violently raped by his boyfriend, and his boyfriend did not understand that violence and force was not supposed to be a part of sex. The objectification and the violent themes in pornography promote and increase these kinds of violence. Oral testimony of "Mr. C," testifying before Minneapolis Hearings to make pornography an actionable civil rights violation. (1) Introduction

On 20 December 2000, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v. Canada (Minister of Justice), (2) a case concerning the right of Canada Customs to detain lesbian and gay male pornography, that lesbian and gay male pornography violates the sex equality test for pornographic harm first set down by the Court in its 1992 decision in R. v. Butler. (3) In Butler, the Court ruled that legal efforts aimed at prohibiting the distribution of pornography were constitutionally sound because pornography undermined the rights of all Canadians to be treated equally on the basis of sex. Specifically, the Court ruled that

[t]he effect of [pornographic] material is to reinforce male-female stereotypes to the detriment of both sexes. It attempts to make degradation, humiliation, victimization, and violence in human relationships appear normal and acceptable. A society which holds that egalitarianism [and] non-violence ... are basic to any human interaction ... is clearly justified in controlling ... any medium ... which violates these principles. (4) In Little Sisters, Little Sisters Bookstore (and many of the interveners that supported it) rejected the claim that same-sex pornography could result in the types of harms that result from the distribution of heterosexual pornography. (5) This paper examines this claim and does so specifically within the context of gay male rape and domestic violence--issues that have received little analysis by gay male writers, either before or after Little Sisters. (6)

My comments will be directed specifically at gay men and their defence of gay male pornography for a number of reasons. To begin with, I am one and have a vested interest in the outcome of those litigation and social reform strategies allegedly undertaken on my behalf. In addition, despite claims that the feminist movement has abandoned its fight against pornography, much has been written in recent years, by lesbian feminists in particular, outlining in considerable detail the harms that result from the production and distribution of lesbian pornography. (7) Much of their analysis is helpful to the arguments I make with respect to gay male pornography, although it does not often address it squarely. I will focus on the central argument posed by gay activists and their supporters post-Butler and throughout Little Sisters: that gay male pornography is central to all that is gay male identity; that it can liberate us from the oppressions we face; and that any attempt to regulate it is both homophobic and discriminatory on the basis of sexuality. Siding with the Supreme Court of Canada and those who have long argued that all pornography is an issue of sex discrimination, I will reject these assertions, arguing instead that gay male pornography will only achieve that which the homophobe has strived to do all along: silence gay men by encouraging masculine mimicry and the public expression of the antithesis of equality. The net effect of gay male pornography, particularly given the high incidence of gay male domestic violence and gay male rape within the gay male community, thus merits more critical inquiry.

  1. Gay Male Pornography: Different Audience, Therefore Non-Harmful?

    In 1996, the British Columbia Supreme Court was asked by Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium, a Vancouver-based bookstore specializing in the sale of lesbian and gay books, magazines, and videos, to determine the constitutional validity of the legislative scheme that allows Canada Customs to restrict the importation of pornography into Canada. (8) The law governing the importation of goods into Canada is found in the Canada Customs Act, (9) and the Customs Tariff. (10) Section 114 of the Customs Tariff prohibits the importation of "any goods enumerated or referred to in Schedule VII" of that statute. Schedule VII lists classes of prohibited goods and assigns each class a code number. Code 9956(a) deals with "obscene material" and prohibits the importation of those goods which can be described as:

    Books, printed-paper, drawings, paintings, prints, photographs or representations of any kind that: (a) are deemed to be obscene under subsection 163(8) of the Criminal Code. Subsection 163(8) of the Criminal Code was judicially interpreted and defined by the Canadian Supreme Court in R. v. Butler. (11) Essentially, Code 9956(a) forbids the importation of materials caught by the Butler sex equality analysis for pornographic harm. Customs officials responsible for determining the legality of imported goods are expected to find guidance in Customs Memorandum D9-1-1, entitled "Interpretive Policy and Procedures for the Administration of Tariff Code 9956". This memorandum incorporates a generally accurate summary of the present state of the law relating to obscenity, particularly in light of Butler, and is aimed at ensuring that customs officials apply the...

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