Bronstein is associate professor of Media Studies in the College of Communication at DePaul University. When I was in college, from 1980-1984 at Drake University, the nationwide pornography wars were in full swing. As a journalism student, I faced a dilemma: the objectification of women through student-sponsored hard-core porn fests ( Deep Throat was showing on campus ) vs. my support of free speech. So, I created an alternative festival that showed softer and diverse gay, lesbian and inter-racial erotic films. Since the hard-core fest always sold out, we had a lot of overflow into our screenings, which were accompanied by lectures from well-known anti-censorship feminist leaders.
The aim was education by way of erotica. Well, Bronstein takes a detailed look at the anti-porn movement in this well-researched new book. Anyone who lived through those days, or who is curious how the right-wing got into "bed" with feminists for a brief unfulfilling fling, should definitely read this book. Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin were the two most well-known women fighting what they saw as the link between pornography and violence against women, but Bronstein goes back before these high-profile battles, and traces the history of key anti-pornography organizations: Women Against Violence Against Women ( WAVAW ) in Los Angeles; Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media ( WAVPM ) in San Francisco; and Women Against Pornography ( WAP ) in New York. "In reality, anti-pornography was a complex and multifaceted movement made up of diverse and overlapping feminist groups who articulated their own sets of ideas and goals," said Bronstein. "These groups never reached consensus on the best way to fight sexualized media violence and they did not simply fall in line behind MacKinnon and Dworkin." This is a highly recommended look at our recent feminist history.