Pornography, censorship, and public sex: exploring feminist and queer perspectives of (public) pornography through the case of Pornotopia

Abstract

This article examines feminist and queer perspectives on public pornography in the case of the censorship and subsequent cancellation of Pornotopia, a pornographic film festival held in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. News media coverage of the Pornotopia controversy is analyzed using moral conflict as a theoretical framework. Through this analysis, I seek to understand what went wrong in this debate rather than who is wrong. An exploration of the rhetorical strategies employed by both sides in the conflict reveals how moral orders that mimic feminist pro-pornography/anti-censorship perspectives and queer public sex perspectives are employed in incommensurate ways. I argue that the perception of irreconcilable differences in the Pornotopia debate stems from differences in moral assumptions about private versus public sex/pornography. It is not until these primary moral assumptions are addressed and discussed that this debate can be reconciled, thus allowing for possibilities of broader moral grammars related to sex-positivity and queer community outreach.