Description
Book SynopsisWhat does it mean to re-conceptualize pornography as a material practice rather than as speech? Sidestepping the legal debates over their civil ordinance, and drawing on phenomenology of the lived body, Mason-Grant returns to the innovative core of the Dworkin- MacKinnon critique of mainstream pornography.
Trade ReviewIn direct and conceptually vivid prose, Mason-Grant extradites the core of the Dworkin/McKinnon analysis of pornography from its distorting entanglement with legal issues of freedom of speech. In restoring the 'practice paradigm' Mason-Grant elaborates a compelling and disturbing phenomenological account of pornography as a lived corporeal practice of sexual know-how. For the many of us who have misconceived Dworkin and McKinnon's work, this intelligent book is a welcome and vital corrective. -- Sue Campbell, Dalhousie University
This work is a valuable contribution to political theory, because it provides not only a systematic overview and critical evaluation of the literature on identity, but also an original theorization. * Political Studies Review *
A carefully researched, elegantly written analysis of pornography as an irreducibly embodied, systemic material practice of subordination. Mason-Grant exposes the constitutive effects of sedimented mind/body, reason/emotion, and male/female dichotomies in shaping the everyday sexual politics and practices of western societies. Thoughtfully conceived and argued, innovative and resourceful in showing how pornography is no mere speech act—though it is that too—this book points toward ways of repairing a rift between practice and theory by recentering pornography debates around issues of knowledge, of (often tacit) know-how. -- Lorraine Code, York University, Toronto
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Pornography as a Systemic Practice of Subordination Chapter 3 Equality, Speech and Pornography Chapter 4 The Subordination of Pornography as Illocutionary Force Chapter 5 Bodily Practices and the Production of Tacit Know-how Chapter 6 The Use of Pornography as a Subordinating Practice Chapter 7 Conclusion: Revolutionizing Practice Chapter 8 Appendix Chapter 9 Bibliography
