DISCLAIMER: This post is rooted in a feminist/pro-feminist analysis, and as a result, it may lead readers to assume certain things about me politically and personally (e.g. that I am living, have lived, and will continue to live a responsible, pro-feminist lifestyle). The fact is, I committed a crime in January 2007, sexually violating a woman who was under my care as a resident advisor in college. I ask that you keep this information in mind when evaluating my comments in this post, as well as if you engage me in dialogue. Please read this post (listed as “Because you deserve to know” on the “ARCHIVES” page) for more information.
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My hometown newspaper, the Ida County Courier, recently published an article on my trip to the Stop Porn Culture Training in Austin. You can read the full article below. I share it with you not as some sort of attempt at self-promotion, but with the joy that feminist anti-pornography work (or any critical view of the sexual exploitation industries) is actually getting some press in my hometown.
This article carries some special meaning as well because news of my feminist anti-pornography work had been censored by the Ida County Courier in the past simply because printing such a story would inevitably lead to the word “pornography” appearing in print. Scandalous! It’s all around us and is deeply embedded in our (patriarchal, dehumanizing, and frankly, really boring) sexual imaginations – God forbid we would mention it in a newspaper, especially framing it within a critical lens…
This is a far cry from strong public consciousness and any kind of local movement, but being fascinated by the way mass media shapes our cultural imaginations, it seems promising that (at the very least) readers of the Ida County Courier are being introduced to the concept of a feminist critique of pornography. I hope to give these folks much more to read about in the future.
Payne attends activist training
Ida County Courier
Published January 30, 2008
Kyle Payne of Ida Grove attended a training for feminist anti-pornography activists on Jan. 25-27 at the University of Texas in Austin.
The training, hosted by the anti-pornography organization Stop Porn Culture, provided activists with the experience, knowledge, and confidence to talk publicly against pornography in their communities. Stop Porn Culture was founded at a conference in Boston last March, which Payne attended.
Payne is a 2007 graduate of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake and a 2003 graduate of Battle Creek – Ida Grove High School. He is currently earning his master’s degree in education through Capella University in Minneapolis, Minn. Payne has written papers and given several public presentations on feminist critiques of pornography, prostitution, and the “rape culture,” in addition to serving as an advocate for survivors of sexual violence.
