women having a wonderful time looking at men's bodies‘.
While l-br Women abides by- the news trade rule of ‘no erections‘. taking other risks has paid off. Photos of Right Said Fred’s Richard liairbrass. taken when he was a student and sent to the magazine. were published without prior consent. As Keir recounts. the bald one had only one complaint: ’Il‘l ever do that again it‘s going to he in a warmer room‘.
Although the market for such material has yet to llottt‘is‘h like its male—targeted equivalent. its effect is felt in other ways. argues Keir. 'All the other mainstream women's magazines have since rattnched up and (mum did a centrel'old once. btit the chap had his hand over it so you couldn‘t actually see anything. We provide the naked man. the real meat.’
'I‘eething problems aside. another revolution is underway. set to rival and possibly surpass the arrival of men unzipped on the newsagent‘s shell- on the Internet. where ‘sex' is the tnost selected search word.
()nline porn is a fundamentally dil‘l’erent phenomenon from the top shell variety. Anyone with an interest in sex and technology can get in on the act: producing their own Web sites. joining newsgroup discussions and getting tip to all sorts of
'fiosmo (Id a centrel‘old once, but" the ehap had his hand over it: so you eouldn't actually see anything]. We provide the halted man.
the real meat.’ Zak Keir, editor of For Women
cybersex in private chatrooms. 'I‘here’s plenty l‘or women l'rom l’luygir/‘s glossy site (playgirlmag.com) to the specialist attractions ol’ penis.com and gossip update .\'udes In The News (www.geocities.com/\\'est IIollywood/b—lSR/l. plus endless Brad Pitt sites.
Laurence ()"l‘oole. author of the l'orthcoming book /’()rnll('()/)iu.' Porn. Sex. 'let'liiiolouv Ami Desire. believes that Internet access. while still more common among men. is starting to reflect wider shills in power and sexuality through its l)lY Web sites. Ile cites the ‘homecam' phenomenon. started by an economics student on an American campus. as a prime example.
‘She rigged up a camera attached to her computer that continuously lilms her dormitory room.~ ()"l‘oole explains. 'It records an image every three minutes which is immediately relayed to her home page — .Ienni(‘am -- and obviously includes her being naked from time to time. She became a kind of cult Internet porn star. and now that's a paying site.‘
Inside a year. l5() such Web sites have sprung up. many l'eaturing tnen. Those not online who fancy it can try a l’urtive strip in one of the Internet cal'es with a camera that does the same trick.
While optimistic about new trends in porn for women and men. especially with the arrival ol‘ digital and Web TV. ()"l‘oole predicts big battles against censorship ahead. Ile believes a sexist double standard operates in [K magazines »- genitals can‘t be shown in a state ol‘excitement but most pictures of women are pretty gynaecological.
‘It‘s only 25 or 30 years since porn started to really feature as a form ol~ entertainment] he says. ‘so although we live in an accelerated culture. it‘s going to take quite a while for attitudes to change.‘
For Women is published monthly at £2.95. Pornucopia by Laurence O'Toole is published by Serpent's Tail at £12.99 in May.
the iutuie oi scottis I set! .jittie
IS loo tng up
We've bent over backwards to bring you work from the most exciting contemporary artists. One example is Kerry Stewart's THIS GIRt BENDS, 1996. Compare Stewart's work with any sculptor's and you'll see it stands up brilliantly. See it at the Scotland / Berlin exhibition,
CORRE SPONDENCt-‘S 29 November '97 — 1 February ’98. Admisaon free.
BMW Financial Services Group
GALLERY OF MODERN ART, EDINBURGH
9 2/ Jar. 1998 THE “ST 15