Money Shot: A Journey into Porn and Censorship (Jeff Sparrow, Scribe)

In his investigation into the state of censorship in Australia, author and Overland editor Jeff Sparrow discusses anti-porn activists Gail Dines and Melinda Tankard-Reist, porn star Lexie Bell, Sexpo and the Australian Classification Board. Sparrow’s travels across the country—from adult shops in Sydney to Sexpo in Brisbane to intervention-affected Northern Territory towns, not to mention a porn-drenched internet—are documented in a conversational style that manages to in no way detract from the rigour of his research. He examines the problematic pornography industry—and the equally problematic objective of imposing various forms of censorship on it—in a highly readable feat of narrative journalism. Sparrow meets with the outraged founder of Kids Free 2 Be Kids, the Australian Sex Party’s Fiona Patten, and a host of others associated with the porn industry, be it through participation or criticism. Sparrow’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in how the idea of choice, the free market economy and the internet are shaping censorship and pornography. While some readers might wish that Sparrow had concluded with ideas for how to move through these issues, that is neither easy, nor his objective. Nonetheless, this excellently researched and nuanced book should generate further debate around the issues of porn and censorship.

Portia Lindsay is a former bookseller who now works at the NSW Writers’ Centre

Tags: nonfictionscribe

Category: Reviews