Tags: prostitution | sex | Singapore

Gerrie Lim hits us with another great book... The title may seem to be the start of a really awful marriage vow, and probably is. But Gerrie Lim's semi-autobiography and expose is about something rather on the far end of the marriage boat.

Some might consider it the ultimate cause of a breakup, while others might think of it as the mainstay of a relationship. "One man's meat (so ironically appropriate in this case) is another man's poison." I'm referring to Gerrie Lim, the writer of Adult Video News' publication, one of just two Singaporeans, he proclaims with much enthusiasm, to be working in the pornography industry. Otherwise known as the big no no in media publishing, right next to politics and cigarettes (which, ironically, is probably paying for my education).

My position is not pro-porn or anti-porn. Watching videos of people performing various acts of lust is not really my thing. While voyeurism is really what the porn industry is giving to the rest of the world, the stereotyping of women is something it generates in the eyes of most people, and thus lacks the voice of feminism it might otherwise present to the world.

(Although, I do have to point out that Salman Rushdie, the great writer, also wrote a famous essay praising pornography, and how any society, if it wants to be seen as free, should be accepting of this art form.)

Gerrie attempts to make an argument of it, in his book. He points out, and is rather correct in doing so, that traditionally, women have always been the sufferers of sexual repression, and this is not just in an Asian country.

Many women, he tells us, from the famous Jenna Jameson to Asia Carrera, have worked in the industry in order to show the world their freedom to express what is a natural instinct. He goes on to talk about how these women are now successes that have gone beyond their original name - they are businesswomen in their own rights, multi-millionaires that have become celebrities, not just on The Star, but even in Wall Street.

He also tells us about Grace Quek, otherwise known as Annabelle Chong, the lady of Singapore known for being the first woman to set the record for having the most number of men at one go. While many people may feel this is rather degrading to her, to be known as such, it can be argued that it is a feminist statement, because she is taking control of the performance. However, this wave of feminism has long passed us more than a decade ago.

Today, feminism is about redefining sexuality and gender, as Jardine and Lacan terms it, into the concept of jouissance, the giving and receiving of bliss, and about reducing the level of difference between equality of the genders, which is about as successful in most countries as trying to reduce the income gap between the rich and the poor in China.

Gerrie notes that the women who have become successful in this industry, have left the performing part of the industry to become the "behind the scenes" person. Grace Quek has announced, on her site, that "Annabel is dead", and this is rather interesting to note, in light of feminist emphasis.

While the book is not derogatory to women, at least not intentionally, it also highlights the plight of many who enter the industry, and their difficulty in having a life outside of it. This seemingly vicious circle drives the porn industry fervently. However, in trying to make the feminist statement too loudly, Gerrie ignores the other half of the industry, the males who perform, many of which, interestingly, also perform in the homosexual porn industry. In comparing the two genders, he might have made a more powerful point.

Gerrie also forgets to take note of the origin of pornography, and how the earlier films of this side industry were done by obscure directors with a non-mainstream direction of films, who had no other films to make except the porn industry. He does, however, take note of the quality of film-making in several films, and tells the reader how the film has an artistic direction, and how many films about and of the industry have been hailed by critics and even shown in film festivals such as Cannes.

This is an interesting book, and worth a quick look, although you may not buy into it completely, and this skepticism is excellent to view this book from. What it does call for, and at an excellent time, is the opening of mindsets and looking at the pornography industry from another angle, perspective-wise.