If you make it about half way through this issue you’ll find Heath’s 1,000 or so enraged words about Gail Dines. It’s a point of view that’s sure to upset a few people, but I published it anyway, because I think the rage is completely justified.

Gail Dines has been in Australia for the last few weeks, talking about the pornification of our culture and issuing dark warnings about what this is doing to our menfolk (by the way did you know she’s written a book about it, it’s available in All Good Bookstores).

I’ve heard her speak a few times now, but it’s impossible to listen rationally to the irrational rantings of a hate-filled evangelist, who angrily dismisses any man who disagrees with her as a sex crazed misogynist and any woman who does so as a weak and ignorant fool.

Which is sad, because some of what she has to say is entirely valid. I’ve read her book, the pornography she describes is sickening, it’s violent, vicious, vilifying depictions of sex, and of men as well as women. If this kind of porn is as freely available as she claims (no, I’m not going to look for it, not even in the name of research) then the effect it could have on vulnerable people is something to be concerned about. We should know that it exists and be talking to our children about it. We should be concerned about the safety of young men and women in the porn industry. We should be talking to our husbands, boyfriends, daughters and sisters about what they watch and how it makes them feel. We should be asking them if they meet people who expect them to behave like porn stars and ensuring they are confident in their ability to say no to anything they don’t like. Dragging porn out of the shameful dark rooms and into the public debate is a good thing, so thanks, at least for that much, Gail, but for your demonization of men and your assumption that women are weak and stupid, no, you can fuck off.

In many ways she reminds me of Richard Dawkins, she’s become a victim of the very thing she’s fighting against, the passion became obsession and years of fighting against the worst end of the spectrum has convinced both of them that the worst of it is all there really is. Which, of course, is utter bullshit. No doubt it exists, but it’s not typical.

There are many good, loving, sexually confident men and women who watch porn. There are also many good, loving, sexually confident men and women who do not watch porn. It’s not a requirement, or a proof of potency. Nor is it an automatic death knell for your ability to have intimate relations with another human ever again.

Pornography, like sexuality, is complex, means different things to different people at different times and under varying circumstances. No-one can distil it all down to one simple thing and condemn all of it on the basis of a single, ill-judged preconception.

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And now, a careful segue, from pornography to the Slutwalk.

I’ve been asked some interesting questions about Slutwalk over the last few weeks:

“What’s it actually for? The messages coming out from the organisers seems to be a little confused”

Yes, they are. Slutwalk means slightly different things to different people, which is great. Feminism is at its best when it is not marching in lockstep, but rather, says to women we are not here to tell you what to choose, but to tell you to choose for yourself what you wear, where you go and how you think.

“But, in certain circumstances, it is dangerous for women to portray themselves as sexually available. How is Slutwalk going to change that?”

Sadly, the woman who said this is right. Some men are sexually dangerous to vulnerable women and just saying that the world shouldn’t be that way doesn’t change it. But the underlying assumption behind the question is that some men are just carnal beasts, slaves to their insatiable lusts and we cannot expect them to be anything else, we can only try to protect ourselves against them.

The follow on assumption is that women who do not act to protect themselves have thus contributed to their downfall. So men who rape cannot help themselves and women who are raped didn’t try hard enough not to be.

Dragging that assumption out into daylight, seeing it for the idiocy that it is and making that part of the public debate is the only sure way I know of to change those preconceptions. And I want to live in a world where they don’t exist, at least not as much as they do now.

“What are you going to wear, your back is still borked and it’s freezing, how are you going to walk around in killer heels and a g-string?”

I wore jeans and hiking boots. I didn’t go to the Slutwalk to support being half naked in public (although I have no problem with people who do want to), I went to support the public debate about women’s rights to express their sexuality in whatever way they choose, without being shamed or denigrated for it. And because rape is a tragic, abhorrent, indefensible thing and I want to be a part of any collective voice that says so.

And finally, after the Slutwalk was over, I was asked what it was like.

Mostly, it was unexpected. I had thought the crowd would be smaller, angrier, mostly female and strident. It was none of those things.

The speeches at the beginning were firm, clear about their rejection of victim blaming, but utterly lacking in hatred. Some of the speakers were moving, Cody Smith’s courage bought many of the crowd to tears, but the mood was warm and supportive. There were almost as many men there as women and everyone was quite relaxed. The walk was more of a stroll and the crowd was chatty rather than shouty. To quote one of the more adorable participants “we all had a lovely time”.

And now the public debate about sexuality, sexual assault, sexual availability and what constitutes consent goes up several notches. Well done to all concerned. (photos here)

Enjoy the rest of the Tribune folks, love to all who love us and a week in front of a looped Gail Dines rant to those who don’t.

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