Abstract
The references to pornography in the novels De Buitenvrouw (Joost Zwagerman) and Alleen maar nette mensen (Robert Vuijsje) alert the feminist reader to the intersection of racism and misogyny in the narratives of the protagonists. Some scenes in both novels accord with Andrea Dworkin’s definition of pornography as the presentation of sexual abuse. Dworkin and MacKinnon’s theory of the effects of pornography is interrogated by Judith Butler who rejects the idea of pornography as an illocutionary speech act. Rosi Braidotti’s emphasis on the visual aspect of pornography is borne out by both protagonists who use pornography to watch themselves as objects. While Theo in De Buitenvrouw keeps his pornographic fantasies secret, David and Ryan in Alleen maar nette mensen use the camera as a weapon when they humiliate a woman in order to capture it on film. While some women (mostly white) have the power to resist becoming part of male pornographic narratives, other women (especially Isidra and Juchi in Alleen maar nette mensen) do not have the illocutionary power to say no and are therefore silenced. The white male protagonists project their negative sexual behaviour on black men who are associated with the worst kinds of violent sex.
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