What porn teaches us about lesbians

Earlier this week I told you about how porn was teaching Africans to rape. Today we bust common stereotypes about lesbians by seeing how they are empowered by pornography.

Jo is a frustrated erotic novelist in Viv Thomas’ “Portrait of a Lesbian.”

Already we have dispensed with the picture most people have about lesbians, that they are Ice Road Trucker-looking, Disability-getting (or National Park Service or Post Office-working), sexless-relationship-having, Saratoga Springs-circling, softball-playing killjoys.

Jo even shares a trait with porn stars Janine Lindemulder and Meggan Mallone: she has to clamp a hand to her head to keep all the raw sexuality in.

You see, the provocative content of her debut novel, “A Carnal Mind,” had subverted her sexuality, Jo tells us. This is a far cry from having an alcoholic dad and an interest in museum studies. So Jo begins to explore her darkest desires and – strangely enough – they lead her labiaward.

In her voyage of self-discovery, Jo meets other lesbians. Instead of reading angry poetry and congregating in gloomy bars the way the mainstream media would have us think, these lesbians frolic in pools.

Some even masturbate in front of computers – just like straight people like you.

As you can see, there’s nary a leg brace or Ani DiFranco album to be seen in this movie; a stern indictment of the disinformation campaign carried out against lesbians by popular culture.

When you get right down to it, the only real difference between lesbians and everyone else is that lesbians don’t stand there and jiggle their own breasts. I’ve done the research and I can’t find a single instance of this behavior, not even in the writings of Gertrude Stein.

• Buy “Portrait of A Lesbian” here

Previously on Porn Valley Observed: Viv Thomas is neither about the screaming and bellowing and swearing, nor the hairy bobbing man-arse; Jagermeister in porn; Cousin Stevie in a class by himself
See also: Viv Thomas