Carol Queen Speaks of Positive Porn

If done correctly, porn need not be degrading to women but can be an educational experience that allows individuals to interact with their sexuality in a productive way, sexologist Carol Queen said yesterday.

Queen—the owner of Boston sex shop, Good Vibrations—hosted a discussion yesterday at the Law School on the issue of creating positive porn and respecting LGBTQ and women’s rights in the porn industry.

Queen defined positive porn as “giving people an alternative way to think about eroticism”—that is, showing realistic people having realistic sex as opposed to the stylized people and scenarios characteristic of mainstream porn. The inclusion of a diversity of body types; realistic, educational sex scenes; and the respect for the rights of the actors are all crucial aspects of positive porn, Queen said.

By contrast, the typical lead in the porn industry, Queen suggested, is the blonde, skinny actress with large breasts, which gives the impression that these are the only people worthy of sexual encounters.

“If everyone had the opportunity to see themselves as erotic, then that would be a very amazing thing,” Queen said.

She also noted the role porn has played in informing the public on sexual scenarios they cannot always act out.

“Yours is not the first generation to have turned to porn to get their questions answered,” Queen stated. If done correctly, to include facts and informational perspectives, as opposed to just entertainment and arousal, the porn industry can begin answering these questions, Queen said. Most porn films, Queen complained, are “not enhancing to anyone—the viewer, the people in it—and degrade their notion of sexuality”

“Porn is a very contested issue in feminism and law,” said Law School student and Harvard Law Students for Reproductive Justice (HLSRJ) member Evelyn M. Atkinson. “One major critique is that much of mainstream porn shows violence against or subordination of women. So our idea was to ask, is all porn oppressive this way?”

Queen, who hosted the popular female orgasm seminar last Friday, was brought to Harvard by HLSRJ and Lambda, Harvard Law School’s LGBTQ group. The event was part of HLSRJ’s Sex Week, which seeks to provide the campus with a week of open dialogue on fun and healthy sex.

“I think the event was unique and productive,” said first year Law School student and fellow HLSRJ member Kandis B. Wood. “I’m looking forward to continuing the discussion about positive porn and its correlated issues next year.”