An Interview with The Thinking Person’s Proponent of Pornography.
Jerry Barnett is a man who is passionate about porn. In fact, Jerry is one of porn’s biggest intellectual speakers of today. What makes him stand out is his ability to synthesise anti-fascist politics with degradation porn. I’ve known Jerry for a while now. We met on social media and he interviewed me for his ongoing pro-pornography campaign. He was interested in what I had to say because I spent my late teens and early twenties in the adult industry before mentally breaking down and desperately needing to get out. He was intrigued by my negative opinion of the industry, of feeling used and abused by it. Jerry believes sexual predators are rife in the ‘real world’ far more than in porn, and that patriarchy is something we’ve imagined. Jerry says that porn frees women; that it sexually liberates them. When I recently witnessed him cosying up to porn stars on social media, I wanted the truth behind his long-term investment in this controversial debate.
Vikki: From reading your work, Jerry, I notice that you disregard morals, instead constructing reality through a nihilistic lens – where anything goes. This is a common trait among those who back the misogynistic porn of today. This enables free rein for abusers of women under the guise of porn. Do you implement morals in other areas of your life?
Jerry: I would say I’m a very moral person (though not in a religious sense). I tend to react strongly against bullying and inequality. I’ve been in and around the porn industry for two decades, and I don’t recognise the description you give. For sure, there have been producers who try to push boundaries. But bullies - sexual and otherwise - exist everywhere. In fact, I’ve often seen the industry act against dodgy producers, photographers, etc. But I’ve often been told by women in the industry that they’re much more likely to be sexually harassed in the “real world” than in the porn industry. And I’ve been told that they feel safer working in porn (where boundaries are generally respected) than as office secretaries, air stewardesses.
Vikki: The tendency of those in the porn industry is to attempt to shame radical feminism - painting us as anti-liberal. This is a convenient way of shutting down the supporters of women. Other than up-taking ‘anti-censorship’ concern, how logically can you argue for porn in its extreme state?
Jerry: I don’t believe in punishing or shaming anyone for personal beliefs or behaviour. If people have a distaste for porn, that’s fine, and I’ll defend their right to express it. But many people take their personal distaste and intellectualise it, restricting other people’s behaviour. That’s when the line is crossed.
Vikki: Any commercial enterprise that creates massive profit will always masquerade as something positive due to forces of power. Women's sexual liberation is merely a false slogan fomented by advanced capitalism. Sex industry women are pawns in big business agenda; agreed?
Jerry: No, I don’t agree. For one thing, the porn industry isn’t nearly as rich or powerful as anti-porn advocates try to make out. It was big a decade ago but has been democratised, and less profitable. I don’t have much interest in the “feminist analysis” that imagines an all-powerful patriarchy controlling everything. Patriarchy, just like God and Satan, can be moulded to be whatever you want it to be. Sex has always been a huge, immensely profitable, female-run industry. If we straight men could make a living selling sex, many of us would. But we don’t have that choice, sadly.
Vikki: As a self-proclaimed lefty Jerry, I would have thought that you disagree with hierarchy - but in truth, you want the type of equality that lambastes individualism. If big businesses were not drenching the internet with gonzo porn, individuals would be of greater centrality, but they are not, money is.
Jerry: I’m a big fan of individual freedom. The Internet has been a fantastic liberator of people. Once, porn was run by big businesses; now anybody with an internet connection can make their own porn. That’s liberty. The porn industry would love all this new technology to go away, so they could go back to making high-budget productions again. We can all claim our 15 minutes of fame if we want it. But that horse has bolted. As for hierarchies… those seem to be dissolving too. We’ve never witnessed a time in which elites are less trusted.
Vikki: Another questionable sign of your activism is your mocking of ‘family values’. Family at its best protects women and children from predators who want a growing army of women serving their sexual needs. Proponents of degradation porn chastise family because it protects people from predators. It is far easier to groom the vulnerable latch-key kid then the esteemed children of solid families.
Jerry: I’m a family man. The family is inherent to human happiness. Studies have found that closeness to family leads to greater well-being, happiness and health. However, “family values” tend to be a conservative construct, designed to promote a particular set of traditional values: monogamy, heterosexual family units, etc. Some of the worst abuses take place within the “traditional family”.
Vikki: In today's climate, extreme porn and its pervasiveness put children at risk of confusion with sex. The young self-sexualize more than ever. This is evident in many teenage girl's Facebook feeds where 13-year olds are posting cleavage bearing shots to impress boys. Sexting can also wreck young people’s lives, some resulting in suicide. You have children, are you seriously saying that it hasn't heightened their vulnerability?
Jerry: We are sexual beings. Girls have been trying to impress boys, and boys trying to impress girls, since the dawn of time. I think it’s great that teens aren’t ashamed of their bodies. Of course, education is vital: it’s important that girls know that they have value beyond sexual value; and that both boys and girls learn the importance of consent. But no, I see nothing unhealthy in the fact that teens are fascinated with their bodies.
Vikki: You completely avoid the issue of women's rampant objectification, instead of aligning porn with women's sexual utopia. You mention establishments such as strip bars as places of empowerment and freedom. If porn and the sex industry was empowering to women, then why is it women serving the needs of strangers? Do you think that women like having sex with johns who have coerced them with cash?
Jerry: That’s a very subjective view. OK, sex workers “serve” the needs of strangers in exchange for money. But that’s not servitude. I’ve often heard sex workers express the opposite view: that they are exploiting the male sex drive for money. Some of the highest paid people I know are sex workers. Many are in the top 2-3% of earners.
Vikki: Do you agree that women get paid more because it’s their bodies that are subject to body-punishing acts?
Jerry: No, women get paid more because female sex is more valuable than male sex. Prostitution exists throughout the animal kingdom too. And from humans to chimps, and from penguins to insects, it is the female that sells sex, and the male that buys. We egotistical humans like to imagine we’re different from the other animals, but in most ways, we aren’t.
Vikki: Why do you describe fisting as a common sexual act and not as a convention of extreme porn?
Jerry: Because it’s an act enjoyed by many people I know. It is a common sexual activity. You may not enjoy it, but many women do (not to mention, many men).
Vikki: Where does heterosexual porn position men as the object?
Jerry: Men are often the object - more frequent, in fact. The camera focuses on the female face, her gasps, her reaction, far more than on the man. His feelings aren’t relevant - he’s a “stunt dick” (to use a porn industry term). The camera avoids his face, and largely excludes him from the picture. The female personality is far more important than the male - and women also get paid far more than men, thus.
Vikki: You say anti-porn feminists are anti-sex knowing that people will cultivate an impression of feminists as frigid. However, this is not true as real sex for women is far more rewarding than acting in a film or being paid by a punter. Why do paint porn as if women experience it the same as men?
Jerry: Sure, porn is often acting. Yes, most pornstars will have better sex in private than on camera. It’s a job, and it’s a performance. As for the “anti-sex” label: I’ve noticed repeatedly that this week’s anti-porn campaigners are next week’s anti-prostitution campaigner, and then moves on to campaigning against sexy music videos. The campaigners I’ve encountered appear to have a problem with all representations of sex, not just porn.
Vikki: Jerry cuts a decent case for the pro-porn lobby - in its current extreme state. However, as a woman who has been on the supply end of the sex industry, I feel he misses ground level understanding. Having had first-hand experience of my body used for money to survive one must discard feelings. Irreparable psychological damage manifests. I lost out on my ability to see men tender-heartedly. More importantly, I lost out on my ability to feel.
JJ: I think you'll agree after reading all of that, that there is certainly a platform for everyone to have an opinion. Vikki represents the women who have been hurt by the industry. Jerry represents the men who support extreme porn. There's a middle road to be had here that we can all meet at and re invisage this industry
It's important that we take time to listen to everyone's views and opinions, regardless of if we agree or not, because only if we do that can we find that middle ground and make the adult industry a system that works for all.
The adult industry is full of hard working, inspiring and gifted people. It's not perfect and not every person in the industry have all those qualities but by engaging with each other regardless of views can we come together to be a more United and safe industry to be a part of.
You can grab a copy of Jerry's book "Porn Panic!" At https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1785353748/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480003502&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=porn+panic&dpPl=1&dpID=51NLK99XeEL&ref=plSrch
You can buy books by Vikki at https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?k=vikki+dark
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