Club Jenna director DCypher defends gonzo porn

My friend DCypher defends porn in the letters section of the LA Weekly (via his MySpace blog, where he also posts something about female directors and their impact on the industry from XBiz Talking Heads but there's no link, alas)


Vice and Consent

I enjoyed your issue of the L.A. Weekly centered on interesting people [May 11–17] but found myself deeply shocked by the article on porn director Paul Thomas. Staff writer Steven Mikulan spins an interesting set of contrasts together to capture some of the eclectic genius of Porn Valley legend P.T. but uses reckless and dangerous language when he suggests that “the gonzo aesthetic . . . often show[s] women getting raped and tortured.” Having been involved in the adult entertainment industry for nearly a decade, in arguably every facet, including writing over 200 feature titles and directing over 30, I take umbrage at the suggestion that we subject women to such vile treatment. By definition, rape is typically associated with nonconsensual acts of penetration via threat of and/or use of force, while torture most commonly refers to grievous bodily harm as well as mental and/or physical anguish. Never in all the time that I have been involved in the adult-entertainment industry, despite working for nearly every noteworthy company, have I been witness to either of these circumstances. Neither have I heard of such instances occurring at other companies. This type of unsubstantiated and inflammatory rhetoric only further reinforces negative stereotypes regarding the actions of consenting adults engaged in prurient activities for fun and for profit, playing into the hands of those who would ultimately restrict our freedoms of expression.

DCypher
Club Jenna contract director

Steven Mikulan responds: To clarify, I was referring to a niche of a subgenre, and not to the mainstream adult film industry.