The Potential and Limitations of the “Resignification” of Pornography

Video Sites Editing Mainstream Adult Videos as Porn for Women and their Users

Abstract

This study empirically clarifies the potential and limitations of the “resignification” of pornography by asking, “Why is it（im）possible to remake adult videos （AVs, or pornographic films）targeting heterosexual men into porn for women by simply leaving out some parts?” One of the problems with anti-porn feminist theory is that if pornography inevitably leads to violence and exploitation of women by men, it will universalize the inequalities just as portrayed. Therefore, it is important to focus on the resignification of pornography to resist discrimination and oppression. However, it has also been pointed out that resignification may reinforce gender norms, rather than simply repeating them. Nevertheless, previous studies have overestimated resistive interpretation by individuals and have not sufficiently analyzed negotiated interpretations with the meaning induced on video sites that support viewing.

For the present analysis, we used data from interviews with the producer of “GIRL’S CH,” a Japanese adult video site for women, video reviews, and videos before and after editing. The editors and users of GIRL’S CH found alternative scenes that made them interpret AVs originally intended for men as intended for women. However, scenes that had been deemed oppressive toward women tended to be omitted without “resignifying” them as “for women.” Thus, this paper empirically reveals not only the validity of J. Butler’s anti-pornography critique but also its limitations by focusing on the media characteristics of AVs, which allow viewers to watch only some scenes of the work.