Polly Barton's 'Porn: An Oral History' Examines Taboo Desires in Censorious Culture

Polly Barton's book 'Porn: An Oral History' compiles nineteen anonymous interviews exploring the tension between private sexual desires and public progressive politics. The writer, describing herself as a progressive, sex-positive feminist, found conversations about pornography conspicuously absent from her life. According to Pornhub's 2022 statistics, women are nearly thirty percent more likely than men to search for 'gangbang' videos. As of March 2023, Pornhub ranked as the twelfth most visited website globally, surpassing Amazon, TikTok, and Netflix in traffic. Barton's work reveals how pornography transforms cultural obsessions with representation into fantasies of objectification. Interviewees describe conflicts between feminist principles and attractions to dominant masculinity or specific body types. The concept of 'ethical porn' proves unappealing to many, with transgressive content providing escape from cultural pressure for righteousness. Philosopher Amia Srinivasan's writing on sexual desire shaped by oppression informs the discussion. Barton originally planned an essay collection but shifted to oral history due to interview strength and her own uncertainty about taking a definitive position. The book demonstrates how contemporary morality stifles honest discourse about desires while repression fuels the very content society condemns.