ABSTRACT

It might be thought to be self-evident that, if we want to understand pornography consumption, we should include the perspectives of the people who actually consume pornography. However, in a 2011 book chapter, the Australian academic Helen Pringle argues strongly that we should not: ‘after all, we do not consult racists in formulating laws against hate speech on the basis that they are involved in and know a lot about racism’ (Pringle, 2011: 127). Pringle’s position is merely the radical expression of what is a curious characteristic of research into pornography: that in trying to understand pornography, the people who consume it are consistently silenced – or, to put it another way (as I explain below), ‘Othered’.