AU Scholar in Residence Kate Frank has an insider’s perspective on the strip club industry.
She went “undercover” — working in five clubs in an undisclosed city for six years — as part of her anthropological research.
Frank said that as a cultural anthropologist, her first-person experience provided her with an understanding of the industry that she could not have gotten from the outside.
“My experience was privileged, but my research has made me realize how stratified the porn industry actually is,” Frank said.
Frank spoke to more than 80 students in “Porn 101” on Tuesday, presenting the “ins and outs” of the porn industry in an event co-sponsored by Women’s Initiative and Queers and Allies.
Frank works in the Department of Sociology researching a variety of topics related to pornography, relationships and feminism. She does not teach any classes.
“Kate’s work as a cultural anthropologist captured so many different lenses of the subject, which really allowed her to connect with all the students in the audience and their different interests,” said Mollie Garber, the director of the Sex Education Department of Women’s Initiative.
Frank’s presentation emphasized that people’s definition of obscenity often vary.
“Who is deciding if the porn industry has the same value as art?” she said.
In the U.S., the limits of what is sexually obscene are unclear, according to Frank, who focused on the role First Amendment free speech issues play in pornography.
“Whenever something is brought up as obscene, we need to ask why and where the line ends,” Frank said. “Often, it begins with looking at inequalities and fear.”
She said this fear is not always justified, and that many negative aspects of pornography stem from other sources as well.
“People are always asking if porn is a positive or negative thing, but I’m not sure that’s the right question to ask,” Frank said. “Instead, maybe we should be asking why people are so afraid of it, and what exactly it’s doing for people.”
Porn can be misogynistic, she said, but misogyny is unlikely to disappear even if the porn industry does not exist.
“I want to know what myths and stereotypes exist in the porn industry,” Waterman said.
Frank has worked on several books based on her research and experience in the field, including “G-Strings and Sympathy: Strip Club Regulars and Male Desire” and “Flesh For Fantasy: Producing and Consuming Exotic Dance.”
nlavin@theeagleonline.com
