Legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon (left) has represented former pornography star Linda Boreman (right) for two decades.

Scholar decries abuse of women to create pornography

It has been almost 30 years since the pornographic film "Deep Throat" was released, yet it continues to be in demand on the Internet, where it can be purchased for $20. But for former pornography and "Deep Throat" star Linda Boreman -- once known as "Linda Lovelace" -- every time someone sees that film, they are watching her get raped, she said at a Calhoun College master's tea April 27. Boreman spoke briefly at the tea, which she attended with featured guest Catharine A. MacKinnon, a legal and feminist scholar who has represented the ex-porn star since 1980. MacKinnon has attempted, thus far unsuccessfully, to sue Boreman's ex-husband for allegedly abusing Boreman while forcing her to make porn films. Since the production of "Deep Throat," MacKinnon said, pornography has become increasingly pervasive, particularly now that it is available on the Internet. To make pornography readily available on film, video and on the Internet, greater numbers of women are being abused in order to supply it, said MacKinnon, who holds J.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale and now teaches at the University of Michigan. At the tea, which was well attended by students of both genders, MacKinnon described pornography as "the graphic, sexually explicit subordination of women," a definition she helped formulate in 1983 as part of an ordinance to make it possible for individuals "who have been hurt by the [pornography] industry to sue that industry," she explained. Boreman is one of thousands of women who have been coerced into taking part in the production of pornographic materials, which, in most cases, includes women being attacked, violated or harmed as part of the sexual act, according to MacKinnon. In fact, the most popular pornographic materials are those that most violate women, said MacKinnon, citing a Carnegie Mellon University study that also showed that 98% of those who use the material are men. "Consumer demand doubles [for material in which] women are being physically harmed," ranging from sexual acts involving a woman being choked to more severe abuses, MacKinnon stated. Advances in technology, particularly computers, have spawned a lucrative pornographic industry which has "penetrated more deeply into society," MacKinnon told her audience. While once only men with a lot of money had access to it, each technological advance -- from the still camera to video and most recently the computer -- has further "democratized" pornography by making it more accessible to everyone, she said. "Now, wherever there is a computer -- in workplaces or schools, for example -- there is pornography," MacKinnon noted. In spite of the fact that digital advances make it possible to simulate sexual scenes in which no real-life women take part, there is no market for such material, she claims. "I would have been happy if the digital revolution meant that no real women ever again had to be used and hurt," she said. "But what we are learning now is that people want what's real, so more women are being abused for mass use. What you see in pornographic material is real women who are really being hurt and harmed. And the bottom line is that there is more real abuse, not less, on the Internet." Furthermore, she added, Internet por-nography is "blurring even more than before the lines between prostitution and pornography." Some Internet material, she said, involves "real-time use of prostituted women online," mentioning as one example online peep shows which allow male viewers to make specific sexual requests of women in glass boxes. Online bride catalogs advertising women also contain pornographic content, MacKinnon said. In addition, hidden cameras are now being used to film unwitting women in public bathrooms and other locations, and this material is projected both live and afterwards on the Internet, MacKinnon told her audience. "Online pornography is trafficking women literally, immediately and physically," MacKinnon stated. The ease with which consumers can now purchase items online is, in fact, due mainly to pornographers, who were the first "to figure out how to pay for online services," MacKinnon said. Today, the Internet is still largely driven by pornographers, she commented. "They are the ones with the big websites, the big money and the big numbers in terms of hits," she explained. To those who believe pornographic material is mainly harmless fantasy, MacKinnon counters, "If this was just a fantasy, they would just have to think about it. They wouldn't have to be constantly using it to seek out the real people." Nevertheless, MacKinnon said it is her belief that pornography is driven by supply, rather than by demand. "I think that the job of pimps, of which pornographers are a subset, is to figure out how to push consumers on what they are selling. They're pushers. The next thing they push is always more violence, more access, more abuse, more harm. Consumers are becoming desensitized so that they always need more and more of that violence, abuse and harm." Following the tea, MacKinnon introduced Boreman to a large audience at the Law School before the former porn star's talk there, titled "A Survivor Speaks Out." Boreman described for her audience in Levinson Auditorium the abuse and exploitation she suffered at the hands of her ex-husband and her own efforts to heal since then from the physical and emotional wounds. "Deep Throat' made $800 million and I received physical pain and the brand of 'Linda Lovelace,'" Boreman told her audience. To get through her scenes in pornographic films, she fantasized about being "in a beautiful place," she said, "with people who loved me." -- By Susan González T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Conservationist's gift establishes environmental studies professorship More attention to the environment is needed, EPA administrator says Graduate students honor their mentors with a new award Twelve individuals honored for improving town-gown connections Mammograms lower rate of breast cancer recurrence, study finds Talk marks opening of center for children exposed to violence Scholar decries abuse of women to create pornography Baseball commissioner talks about players' responsibility Event examines life, work of controversial Yiddish writer Student drama centers on play once charged with being obscene Exhibit to explore how artists depicted Africa in 20th century Satellite images aid study of environmental threats in Africa Celebration of Russian literature on view at Beinecke Architecture project benefits 'fragile' city neighborhood Yale student groups honored for service to community Yale Physicians Building to be city's newest art exhibit space Graduate student scientists sharing their research at two-day symposium Agrarian Studies marks 10th year with conference In thanks,Yale physician receives Yankees baseball English Department alumni will consider 'Prospects for the New Century' Memorial service to celebrate life of John Blassingame Divinity School Search Committee Correction Campus Notes Yale Scoreboard In the News Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus| Calendar of Events|Bulletin Board Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page