The
mainstream porn industry relies on a rigid set of constraints. In “Calling the Shots”
Tristan Taormino identifies these as “men and women as one-dimensional
objects—where men are sexual robots and women are vehicles for their pleasure”
(261). The arrangement takes advantage of presupposed social constructions such
as: men are dominant and women are submissive; men receive the gratification
while women give it; and finally—men have a penis
and women have a vagina. This can
be referred to as the dyadic imaginary of genitalia. In the “Dyadic Imaginary”
by Danielle Hidalgo et al, the dyadic imaginary is “an ideology or hegemonic
concept that renders non-dyadic intimate and sexual relationship forms
invisible and unnatural” (173). In the same way “non-dyadic” sexual
relationships are considered “unnatural” so too are non-dyadic genitalia in that the dyadic imaginary
of genitalia renders the possibility of a man having a vagina or a women having
a penis invisible. Therefore, when society views both men and women clothed,
they are projected with dyadic genitalia regardless of his or her true
genitalia.
If
a person with non-dyadic genitalia is viewed in the nude, the individual is
labeled as “unnatural.” In Sherilyn Connelly’s piece “The Big Reveal” Connelly
details a scene from a 1984 “straight” porn entitled L’Amour in which two straight males (Harry and Jaime) are engaging
in the mainstream porn template by receiving sexual gratification from two
women—Ivory and Racheal. As the scene unfolds, “Jaime and Racheal fuck as Ivory
continues to blow Harry… [then] Ivory stands in front of Harry, lifts her skirt
to reveal a Dirk Diggler-esque penis” (76). Up until the actual reveal of
Ivory’s genitalia, the viewer of the porno as well as the male actors attach a vagina to Ivory. Even through the
textual representation of the pornography, Ivory’s genitalia is projected as
dyadic because she is referred to as a “she”; thus, the reader automatically
applies the dyad to her genitalia establishing her non-dyadic genitalia as
invisible. However, as stated above, once the non-dyadic genitalia is actually
exposed, the individual is met with revulsion and treated as unnatural.
Connelly reveals this reaction after Ivory shows her penis to Harry when “He
and Jaime then rush out of the room, their pants literally around their ankles
but their heteromasculinity intact” (76). The two men’s reaction occurs when
the dyadic imaginary of genitalia is suddenly reversed. Surprisingly, as
Connelly points out, Harry’s heteromasculinity stays “intact.” But how can this
be true?
Upon
identifying Ivory’s true genitalia, the dyadic imaginary of genitalia applies
the male identity to Ivory to keep the dyad itself intact; therefore, Ivory is
no longer a woman but a man because his genitalia
says so. However, at the time of Harry’s oral sex with Ivory, the dyad had
clearly identified Ivory as having a vagina, and thus, Harry’s
heteromasculinity is safe because his sex act functioned with a woman and her
dyadic imaginary of genitals. Conversely, if Harry engages in sex acts with
Ivory once the dyad has assigned her with the male gender, Harry’s heterosexuality
would then become homosexuality.
Pornography
that operates outside of the mainstream constraints can become an effective
tool for deconstructing the dyadic imaginary of genitalia; however, to
accomplish this task, individuals with non-dyadic genitalia would have to
display their genitalia from the very first scene. At the same time, the
individual must maintain a strong genderqueer image. For example, if a
women—who has a penis—displays her non-dyadic genitalia, but still advertises male physical features, the dyad will
attach a male gender to the woman. However, a man who has a vagina and displays
a strong representation of the male gender, while exposing his non-dyadic
genitalia from the very beginning, will shatter the dyad through queered
gender and queered genitalia. The
combined queered image leaves no room for the dyadic imaginary of genitalia to
operate within; thus, the dyad is deconstructed.
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