In the latest issue of Good Magazine there’s an article about Christie Hefner, chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises and daughter of Hugh. The piece is interesting for a variety of reasons, primarily because it explores Playboy’s lesser known activist side, revealing some surprising details: Playboy runs something called the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards, whose winners have included filmmaker Michael Moore, comedian Bill Maher and a high school student who successfully defended her right to form a gay/straight alliance at her Texas school. Other little known facts about the corporation that are revealed incude them filing an amicus brief in Roe v. Wade, and coming out strongly in favor of gay marriage. All very suprising, considering when we think Playboy (or porn in general,) we seem to generally jump right to “sexist,” or “exploitive.”
The “can porn be feminist?” question is not a new one, but the reason I bring up this article and Christie Hefner (who adamantly refers to herself as both a feminist and an activist) is because of a single (very controversial) quote in the article that rattled me more than a little bit, and that is relevent considering our recent discussion on what it means to call yourself a feminist:
“To say you’re not a feminist is virtually the same thing as saying you’re a racist.”
Woah. Really? Thoughts?
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nine comments
I can see where Christie Hefner is coming from...
Feminism is the belief that women should be treated equally.
Racist means that you don't think that people of a certain race deserve equal rights to people of another race.
Both deal with equality.
So basically, what i think she is trying to get at is that if you say that you are not a feminist, you are saying that you don't support equality for all human beings.
People will happily tell you that they are 'not a feminist' but no one will ever say, 'i am a racist.'
I think that Christie Hefner's point of view is a refreshing one.
Posted by Taylor
August 28, 2007, 12:51 PM
I'm glad that Christie Hefner makes a connection between two different kinds of oppression - too often it's easy to forget that environmentalists, feminists, anti-racists, queer activists, anti-poverty activists, disability activists...are all working towards the same thing. Often, that's forgotten even within those movements which I think seriously hampers us.
I might not say "Saying you're not a feminist is the same as saying you're a racist" (just because people have very complex reasons for not identifying with feminism - just as there are complex reasons for behaving in racist ways...) but I definitely think being, for e.g., pro-gender equality but not being concerned with anti-racism, is shooting yourself in the foot.
Playboy seems like a totally complex organisation with intensely conflicting values. I think it was in Female Chauvinist Pigs that it's talked about how Hugh Hefner once described himself as one of the world's first feminists (or something like that...)
Posted by Thea
August 28, 2007, 3:58 PM
Btw Stacey May, why do you think the quote is strange?
Posted by Thea
August 28, 2007, 4:31 PM
I personally think it's a weird quote too, because in the main:
racism is not socially acceptable, sexism is
racism is not funny, sexism is
making jokes about beating up people from different ethnicities isn't funny or socially acceptable, making jokes about rape and violence towards women is.
I am off course not trying to say that a fight has been won against racism that feminists are still facing against sexism, i'm not saying that at all - but how can a Playboy executive say that they are both feminist and anti-racism when the very industry they are in is both sexist and extremely racist? It is an industry that has been largely overlooked in terms of racial equality, and where pornography has embraced an ethnically diverse group it has portrayed its Black models and actors as inherently 'wild'.
Also, I think being against sexism and being feminist aren't exactly the same thing - most people are against sexism and racism (i'd like to think) but few of those call themselves feminists.
Posted by Grace
August 30, 2007, 3:42 PM
...that may be...but i don't think people know what it really means. When i thought of feminism (before this site cleared things up for me) as suffragettes and braw-less angry women. I certainly didn't think of myself as a feminist. Maybe Christie is trying to de-bunk some feminist myths.
Posted by Taylor
August 30, 2007, 9:28 PM
I find that lately, a lot of really good ideologies have become "bad words" (feminism, political correctness). I'd say feminism is in no way about discrimintaion- in fact, quite the opposite- but sadly, many people seem to have a very distorted view of what feminism is and hopes to achieve.
Posted by Ioana
August 30, 2007, 9:44 PM
Good point Taylor - I used to have a distorted view of feminism myself until I started listening to Ani Difranco and then by a happy accident over 3 years later I googled the 'this is what a feminist looks like' tshirt and came upon The F-Word and realised I wasn't a freak, I was a feminist (although some people I know seem to refuse to believe that the two are different!).
I'm just not sure how someone who advocates the ethos of Playboy and Hefner will all his bunnies can say they're feminist. It's a bit like watering down feminism to make it appealing to the masses. Granted it's credible that they engage in activism, but that doesn't stop people hating McDonalds or Starbucks (believe me as an ex-barista i've tried!). That's just my opinion anyway, pro-porn doesn't sit well with me. But I should certainly know that there is more than one kind of feminist out there!
Posted by Grace
August 31, 2007, 3 AM
a few months ago a female cowerker of mine decided to take a cigaretter break at a very bad time without telling anyone, which caused a lot of stress to all of us. a male cowerker of mine was disgruntled by her behaviour, and said "this is why i don't like working with girls"
to me that was exactly the same as if i had said "this is why i don't like working with black people". it's just not OK.
so i can definitely understand where she's coming from with that statement
Posted by Zohar
September 3, 2007, 12:41 PM
It's all very complex. Who knows what she really thinks. Playboy has always justified it's wholesome image and place in society by supporting sexual freedom. A positive comment is a positive comment. She's asking people to face the implications of what they say and her wording is very effective. Our society needs to have more discussion about which kinds of sexual expression are hurting our freedoms. Here we see the consequences of keeping that most of that discussion in the fringe media. Ultimately though, good words stand very well for themselves in this case, regardless of who speak them.
Posted by Myra
December 14, 2007, 12:52 PM
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