A feminist approach to the politics of sex.
Dates Read: 22/06/2022 to 17/07/2022
Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Word to describe: Genuine
Genre: Non-fiction
TW: Topic of sexual assault.
The Right To Sex by Amia Srinivasan breaks down feminism in terms of how politics have affected our view of sex. Discussing social issues such as pornography and prostitution to even the detrimental effects of a false rape accusation, The Right To Sex is a brilliant collection of essays aiming to re-evaluate the feminist perspective on intercourse. This book contains a lot of feminist history that I was unaware of and was entirely thought-provoking throughout.
The first essay hit hard with a discussion of rape. This chapter does not contain a trigger warning (which personally, I think it should). Going in deeper into the truth behind false rape accusations Amia Srinivasan delegates historical truths to modern-day social issues. Teamed with statistics The Right To Sex brings to light the reality of false rape accusations and how they mostly impact low-income people of colour. The reality is that rich white men are very rarely falsely accused of rape whereas the accusations are far more common for ethnic minorities. This also details how out of the rape accusations that are true men of colour are far more likely to be convicted of their crimes in comparison to their white counterparts. Think Brody Tanner and his pitiful sentencing due to his privileged upbringing. These statistics were harrowing but not entirely unexpected. Racism is deep-rooted in our society and it is not unknown that all aspects of the criminal justice system lean more towards the prosecution of people of colour over white folk.
The essay that discusses pornography and whether it should be banned was a true eye-opener to the dark past of porn. Now, I may be an advocate for sexual freedom but the line is drawn where violence and assault are turned into a form of sexual pleasure. In better words - pornography that strives on violence toward women whether this is physical or sexual has no place in modern society. This essay builds on this idea. It conveys the opposing sides of feminism and their approach to pornography. One side wants a total ban on pornography as it can not be determined whether true consent was made available for every action in the video. The opposing argument wants pornography to be available but highly monitored in order to remove any videos containing non-consensual actions, violence, children, incest, and many other derogatory acts. It was enlightening to learn about the opposing sides and understand their approach to pornography. Porn has always existed (knowledge I know have thanks to A Curious History of Sex) and it can never truly be controlled without infringing on the public's rights - but it can be limited. Access should be denied to children and the videos should start with a clear and visual consensual agreement between all parties.
Another essay that enjoyed reading was the topic of sex workers and their rights. It's certainly intriguing to see why so many people are against sex workers. In my opinion, no one chooses to go into sex work they are, in fact, victims of their circumstances and work with whatever opportunities they have. Most involve the sale of sex or sexually explicit images. Trying to ban sex work is just as tedious as trying to ban porn it may create a utopia where women are not seen as sexual objects but it will also impact millions of women that strive from the industry as their main form of income for both their family and themselves. As Amia Srinivasan brilliantly details in this essay the reasons for and against sex workers are endless and the people who are victimised the most from this work are women, but it is also women who will be impacted the most if sex work is outlawed. It is a difficult topic and one that, unfortunately, will not be going away for years to come.
The main theme I noted throughout these essays is the topic of race. This was sewn through each chapter and lightly touched upon where relevant. I found it unnerving that throughout the essays established in this book, the word poor was used synonymously with the words black, brown, and ethnic minority. Of course, there has to be an understanding that race plays a large role in the lifestyle most people will be subjected to. But to constantly refer to people of colour as poor or in other words, less-than and downtrodden seemed like a backwards approach to fighting against this reality. For the sake of better phrasing: continuous referral to people of colour as poor plays upon the stereotypes that these people belong to areas of extreme poverty when in fact they are victims of circumstance. Similarly, the essays also referred to white people as their rich and wealthy counterparts additionally supporting and perpetuating these stereotypes. Race minorities are victims of poverty and disproportionate access to better jobs, home security, welfare etc. But this does not mean that they are only labelled poor. They are so much more.
On that final note, I would like to say that I enjoyed this collection of essays for their face value but no more than that.
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