We’ve noticed something really interesting here at the Cambridge Women’s Pornography Cooperative (CWPC). Like proud but nervous parents headed to a parent-teacher conference, we read our first book’s reviews on Amazon with bated breath. Hearing what people think of our work is more than mildly obsessive. But we just don’t know what to make of our baby’s grades: all A’s…and F’s?! Talk about extremes. In Amazon’s five-star rating system, Porn for Women has received zero lukewarm 3-star ratings, just resounding applause or jeering boo’s. Guess you either love it or you hate it.

So, our book gets some really negative reviews:

“In a world where real progressive women are out to demonstrate that their sex can have ambitions as grand and respectable as men, this book decides to step in and say ‘All women care about is housework *tee-hee!*’ One page features the model saying ‘Why don’t I buy a minivan so you can drive something fun?’ What’s the message here? That it’s better to be dependant on your partner’s income than to go out and earn a car by yourself?

Um, no. The message is, why should I drive the rumpus room on wheels? Let him drive it, and I’ll take the Audi TT convertible.

Is that sexist? Do I even care when the wind is blowing through my hair and my husband is kicking away empty juice boxes? The message is, let’s not assume Mommy is going to get the short end of the stick just because she’s Mommy. I think you’ve got it completely backwards. That review continues:

“No, I’m not going to buy a book of trite jokes that perpetuate gender stereotypes in order to deliver a passive-agressive [sic] point to you, honey.”

My! I think we could use a little porn for women in our lives, couldn’t we? This book may be exactly what you need. That, and a spell check. Fortunately, not everyone misunderstands this book. Here’s another review from a more clued-in reader:

“As an ardent First Amendment supporter and a feminist scholar who has done lots of research on sex work, porn, etc., I fully support women who enjoy ‘regular’ porn, or feminist porn that includes, well, sex, as this book does not. But to the reviewers who slammed this particular book for its ‘offensive’ assumption that women only find housework sexy, I think you’re missing the point. The book is not reifying…”

Oooh! “Reifying!” We like her!

“…the notion that women do not like sex. Nor are they claiming that ‘regular’ porn and this brand of ‘porn’ are mutually exclusive, or that women can’t appreciate both.”

Amen!

“They are merely expanding the concept of what’s considered sexy, what can be considered a turn-on, and what can be defined as sensual. Rather than narrowly define what is sexy as that which is explicitly sex-oriented (and such a narrow definition would be more offensive, I would think, than any photo in this book), this book evokes a spectrum, and encourages people to find the sensual in the everyday. And c’mon, anything that can make dull chores more exciting should be celebrated!”

Exactly. Isn’t having a partner who does the laundry, cooks dinner, changes the litter box, and generally shares in the household responsibilities a turn on? Damn right. If for no other reason than it lets me not worry about that stuff. And FREE TIME is sexy. Because when I’m not worrying about making dinner and cleaning up the house, my mind wanders to things that are much more fun…

—Betsy, Research Assistant, CWPC