Garner, Maria and Vera-Gray, Fiona (2023) Just a fantasy: how the discourse of fantasy attempts to resolve the conflicts of porn consumption. In: The Routledge Companion to Gender, Media and Violence. Routledge Companions to Gender . Routledge, London, pp. 1-10. ISBN 9781003200871
Discussion of the status of pornography as a form of media which blurs the boundary between fiction and reality is common in the academic debates on porn. Arguments are made from all sides which complicate the idea that pornography is simply a form of fiction or representation, from critical interpretations which focus on the production of porn to more celebratory understandings which explore how pornography consumers use porn in ways that expand their “real-world” sexual experiences. Despite this, the idea of an unambiguous boundary between reality and fantasy structures much of the public story of porn. This chapter explores why that is, drawing on the narratives of pornography consumers to explore how the distinction functions to resolve a sense of conflict between their use of pornography and their knowledge of how it is implicated in violence against women and girls.
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