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Men Against Pornography
By Leonardo Calcagno
Published September 2001

Men against pornography? That's something you don't hear every day. When I heard that there are men out there who have organized themselves to protest against The Sport Illustrated Swimsuit issue and Playboy, my first thought -- sadly -- was that they're gay. Sorry, but that was my honest first thought. Then I thought they might be some right-wing religious fundamentalists. It's hard to believe that some men will take on such a crusade. Personally I think it's a good and noble cause. But still: MEN against pornography? That's something I had to check it out. So I sent out a couple of e-mails and I got in contact with one member named Rob.

Leonardo: Who are you?

Rob: We are Men Against Pornography (MAP), an organization that believes that pornography is an ill and that it should be banned.

What do you think of pornography?

Personally, I think it's disgusting and degrading to men and women. It has no moral values, and people become perverted and sick.

Do you think that it has perverted our way of loving?

Of course! Pornographic videos, websites and magazines are giving love-making a bad name. They are telling people that it's O.K. to have graphic violent sex with many partners.

Are you against Erotica in art?

No. There is a difference between art and pornography. We are not a Christian fundamentalist movement, some of our members yes but not all of them.

Do you offer a service of counseling for guys that want to quit pornography?

Yes, we do give guidance and help them enroll in programs.

Are there a lot of porno addicts?

One is too many. The porno industry on the web is big, there's a lot of bizarre fantasy feeding themselves on the net. We estimate that there's a 70% addiction rate of pornography in America.

How do you feel about this great acceptance of pornography in the youth market?

It's very sad. Kids are getting a bad idea of sexual pleasure and love.

Why do you think that men need porn?

Men don't need porn. Porn is everywhere, so it's easy to have a porno addiction. When you start looking for porno, you can get hooked very easily. There is too much pornography for a person who thinks that it's normal.

And the Internet? Knowing that almost 75% of its content is porno!

Like I said before, it's very sad.

Can you give us examples of a very bad case of porno addiction?

I've met people with compulsive masturbation addiction. They had to masturbate every half-hour and they get to a point of bleeding. Some men have lost wives, kids and homes because they watched and bought porno all the time. Others have raped women or begin having sex with prostitutes to fulfill their fantasies.

Do you think that porno has some responsibility in rape cases?

When men can't fulfill their pornographic fantasies, they are filled with frustration. Some of them will use violence to fill such fantasies. There's a lot of cases in North America where men were inspired by porno to commit violent acts on women and children.

Can you tell me why you think Sports Illustrated disrespects women?

Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women through sex-discriminatory coverage of women's sports. (Fewer than 10 percent of Sports Illustrated pages are devoted to women's athletic achievements.)

Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women by displaying demeaning stereotypes of female sexuality. The swimsuit issue features women models posed not as athletes of strength, skill, and endurance but as playthings--in costumes no one could possibly swim in competitively.

The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue DISRESPECTS women by showing women's primary value to be their value as sex objects.

Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women by photographing their bodies as if they are merely body parts--breasts, buttocks, and crotches.

Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women by encouraging boys and young men to view women as sex toys and by turning voyeurism into a sport.

The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue DISRESPECTS women by imitating an idea of women that originates in pornography. Mimicking magazines like Playboy and Penthouse, Sports Illustrated spreads out women's bodies on the page for male "readers" to ogle at.

Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women by numbing men to women's humanity.

Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women by exhibiting women to men as the "other"--as if women were a different species from the "real" athletes who are men.

Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women by sending a message to girls and young women that no matter how much they excel in athletics, all that matters is how they look to men.

The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue DISRESPECTS women by directly contradicting Time-Warner's corporate hype, which claims the magazine stands for serious sports journalism and respects the ability and dignity of women and girls in athletics.

Thank you very much!

For More Info:

Men Against Pornography (MAP)
PO Box 150786 Brooklyn, NY
11215-0786 U.S.A.

Editor's note:
The views expressed by the interviewee above are not the views of the-vu. This publication regards the magazine named above to be totally harmless to anyone of any age who might see it. However all opinions are respected by this publication.
JtB.

Leonardo Calcagno, well know writer in Montreal Canada. He's been writing for local Canadian, Americano and European e-zines and zines in French, Spanish and English for almost 5 years. More known to get hate letters from right-wing housewives and to get into fights with promoters who don't let him interview bands! You will mostly see him eating tofu dogs and drinking Guinness with his laptop in Montreal writing another article about politics, music and sex. Graduated with a bachelor degree in International Politics with a minor on international law... his parents are still wondering why he took on a life of sex writer! Tattooed with Che, Husker Du and ARA! Played chino-Hispanic punk on Les Kalisses D'immigrant, Trash Blues on Les Tetes Reduites and now stoner rock on Your Sister ! He contributes on Freezerbox.com, Kerozen, Indymedia.org, Stooky.com, Eroticandy.com, Biotech Montreal Action, QuebecTel, Zona de Obra and other zines!

For more of Leonardo's work, please visit www.montrealnightguide.com and www.montrealconfidential.com

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