Mar 102013
 

JT on FEM PORN
Justin Timberlake returned for his fifth hosting gig on Saturday Night Live this past weekend and he ended the evening with a historic pop culture reference. In the “Moet & Chandon” skit, Timberlake played porn star Ricky V.I.Penis in an infomercial for Moet & Chandon champagne hosted by two former porn stars. He said, “I do feminist porn because I know how to treat a lady right.” The writers of Saturday Night Live routinely incorporate current news, events, and trends into their skits, and the show itself takes the pulse of popular culture. Not only is this the first ever reference to feminist porn on Saturday Night Live, it’s the first time the term has been said on a non-news program on network television. And it happened just three weeks after the release of The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure, which was published last month by The Feminist Press. Coincidence? I think not. Finally, the door is open to accomplish what my co-editors and I hope this book can do: bring awareness about feminist porn to a mass audience.

Listen, I realize the skit is very problematic. Its portrayal of porn stars as drunk, illiterate bimbos is typical, callous, offensive and anti-sex worker. Plus it’s not that funny. But it was thrilling nonetheless to hear the words ‘feminist porn’ come out of Justin Timberlake’s mouth. When SNL makes fun of you, you know you’ve arrived. I don’t know if the writers have seen The Feminist Porn Book or followed the media coverage surrounding it, but getting on their radar is a huge honor. Want to read what all the fuss is about? Check out The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure.