Forum discusses censorship

By Emma Webb

ADELAIDE -- Almost 100 people attended a Democratic Socialist Party forum on censorship and pornography on November 4. Speakers were Melanie Sjoberg of the DSP and Helen Vicqua, the secretary of the Prostitutes Association of South Australia. Both speakers rejected censorship as a tactic for fighting violence against women and sexism in society.

Sjoberg stated that pornography wasn't the cause of women's oppression, but rather a reflection of sexism and of the commodification of sexuality. She pointed out that there are other images of women that also perpetuate sexist stereotypes and forms of violence against women, citing examples from Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth.

Vicqua spoke of the need for women to forge alliances with those actually working in the pornography and prostitution industries. She also warned against the women's movement aligning itself with right wing conservatives and mentioned examples of where censorship legislation had been used against women.

Discussion brought up many issues, including the role of Madonna, the need for women to organise and the sexual revolution in the '60s and '70s. There was general agreement that campaigning for censorship would be a backward step for the women's movement.

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