"One does not simply wank into Whoredor": Contesting and reconstructing gender and sexuality in SFF porn parodies (original) (raw)

Abstract

Triple X porn parodies have become increasingly common in recent years, with the release of (amongst others) The Sex Files: A XXX Parody; Tru: A XXX Parody; The Dark Knight Rises XXX; Man of Steel XXX: An Axel Braun Parody; and The Avengers XXX: A Porn Parody. Science fiction and fantasy has been prevalent in porn for much longer, however: 1961's Nude on the Moon showed humans having sex on the moon some eight years before we landed there, and 1968's Barbarella is perhaps one of the best known cult softcore films. Science fiction has long examined aspects of human existence, even while being derided as a poor cousin to its more literary genres and this fascination with sex - both within SFF itself and in SFF porn parodies - further speaks to the examination of human experience. In a similar way to which the rise of SFF resulted in literary criticism of the genre, the prevalence of porn parodies has seen a rise in mainstream critiques of porn. The release of the Fifty Shades trilogy in 2012 resulted in over 1000 articles in the UK press discussing erotic literature and female sexuality, and recent UK legislation such as the rape revenge bill and the porn filter implemented in 2013 have further cemented the idea that porn is dangerous, immoral and a corrupting force on the youth of today. Critical analysis of porn, however, has sought to examine the ways in which porn has ______. In this way, porn and science fiction mirror each other - providing lenses through which contemporary society can be critiqued and alternative methods of living can be examined. In this paper I examine three speculative fiction porn parodies: Lord of the G Strings: The Femaleship of The Ring, Twinklight and Tru: A XXX Parody. Each of these are interesting for different reasons: Lord of the G Strings replaces the almost exclusively male cast of The Lord of The Rings with an almost exclusively female cast; Twinklight depicts a healthy gay relationship between Edward and Bill instead of an abusive heterosexual relationship between Edward and Bella; and Tru was written and co-directed by female porn star Ashlynn Brooke. Each of these texts, then, undermines the arguments about porn as dangerous, abusive and corrupting, which are predominantly found in mainstream analysis. I examine the ways that each of these adapts and appropriates the source text, and the way in which gender and sexuality are articulated. I suggest that, far from porn being a heteronormative expression of sexuality, it can be - and when combined with speculative fiction is - a means through which heterosexual power relations are contested and reconstructed.

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