pornstorm

A 'pornstorm in a vintage china teacup' is what Simon and I are calling the storm that has been whipped up by the use of the words 'pornography', 'porn', pinny-porn' and 'domestic porn' in relation to me, my blog and my book. I've been asked in comments and emails whether I am shocked and upset, and whether I ever saw it coming in the first place, so I feel I should articulate my answer.

I really did not want to have to use these words here - I hate to disappoint visitors to the blog and I fully expect to have some irate comments asking where the real porn is. But the true reason is that I find the use of them utterly lazy, and a shorthand way of dismissing anyone who enjoys any aspect of the gentle arts and domesticity itself. So that's a lot of people with just one economical, pithy word or phrase. It doesn't take much effort or thought, and that's what does bother me.

I'd come across the term 'gastro-porn' a few years ago in the context of gorgeous cookery books and didn't mind that too much, even though there was a slight niggling worry that cookery books were being seen as matter for voyeurs rather than practising cooks. But when the word 'pornography' is applied to women and domesticity, this is another matter altogether. It smacks of exploitation and prostitution, and is demeaning and derogatory.

The difference between yesterday's radio discussion and the Telegraph article is that I was able to respond to the Kate's perceptions of my book there and then in person. It was the first time I'd ever heard of 'pinny-porn' and I did laugh at its outrageousness. But when it is then linked to such words as 'creepy' and 'insidious' I realise that this is not simply a clever soundbite, but also in fact a way of dismissing a huge number of domestic activities as worthless and useless.

The truth is that I had seen it coming. I knew from the very outset, as soon as I started writing the introduction to the book, that this might ruffle a few feathers. I just did not realise how many. I think that there is a difference in attitude towards to domesticity and female creativity on the two sides of the Atlantic, and I guessed my book was going to get a stormier reception in the media here and that I was going to have to defend it rather than explain it. But I have been buoyed up, again and again, by the discrepancy between what the media says and prints, and what blog and book readers have written here, in emails, and elsewhere on the internet.

It seems that these p-words are being used freely and carelessly in general in the media at the moment and I cannot ignore the fact that my book is an obvious target for such unthinking categorisation. So I either curl up into a ball and wait until it's all gone away (and it will eventually), or I do what I've always enjoyed doing, and answer back.

And maintain a sense of perspective, counter with 'pinny-pride', laugh, and go off to do more radio interviews today.

Comments

[eireann]

oh, keep that chin up, Jane!

you're sensible and intelligent..and you're right, too. the point is choice and flexibility and self-knowledge, which, more than ever, are available to women of all different walks of life.

beauty is always a good choice.

xoxo

[Claire]

Bravo! I will always wear my pinny with pride.

[M]

Well, I have just put in an order via Amazon for 3 copies of your book to be sent to Oz. One for me, and shhh one for each of my girlfriends who I know will appreciate them. I'll be waiting impatiently at my postbox until they arrive. And I'm not even "domesticated".

[Flossie]

I haven't commented here before and only found your blog a couple of months ago but I am so glad I did. I am a 26 year old architect, I don't have huge amounts of spare time, but what I do have I spend knitting and baking, and I am soon to start a sewing course. I do not hace mountains of cash, or time, but I know what my priorities are. I went into Architecture because I have always had a strong desire to be creative, but like so many jobs now, there is far more paperwork than creativity, and so I choose to fulfill my creative desires in my spare time. I do not drink or smoke, and spend less on a ball of yarn than I would a packet of cigarettes, less on a jumper than I would on a night out drinking in a bar in London. Thank you for being the voice for the thousends+ women like me who chose to be domestic artists, not because we have to, because we are enslaved, but because we have made a conscious decision to be productive, to create beautiful unique objects, and to value the work of our hands. Thank you.

[janet clare]

I do have to admit to laughing when I heard the 'p' phrase on Radio 4 yesterday.
Easy for me to say perhaps, as it is not directed at me, but that is truly all it is- a phrase.

It's link to cooking has done nothing to deter cooks (a mainly female audience again)and it will do nothing to deter us now. I suspect it all started with smug Nigella and her 'Domestic Goddess'book.

I also believe that women who patronise us homemakers and say all those nasty things are simply jealous.

You may have seen it but the Telegraph (UK) did an article over the weekend about the 'new Victorians' which was the same discussion but with a very positive slant.

I think you did brilliantly yesterday at getting your point across. Chin up and be proud.

[Gemma]

It's all too easy to reguritate a sound bite and jump on a band wagon these days without forming an actual opinion on the matter, without thinking about it for yourself.

In a way I'm grateful to them. It has made me think about how I truly feel about the issue and now I know firmly which "side" of the pinny I'm on.

(Is this the moment to admit I don't actually own one! Must remedy that!)

[Noelle]

You gave a jolly good account of yourself. Well done. Like you I love my domesticity, been the high flyer and have exhanged sharp suits for pinny...I celebrated by making flapjacks for the Knitting Group at Web of Wool in Leamington last night! Your photogrpahs and artistry are an inspiration.

[minxxy]

Don't let the b******'S grind you down. Your readers (and the new ones you will receive) wouldn't regularly come by this blog if they agreed with the comments made in the interview or article.
As a scooter riding, doc marten wearing professional (Early childhood educator) I too knit bake sew etc etc while working full time and with a hubby to be and 13 year old to live with. Why should we be put into boxes preconcieved by the ignorant?
We don't work and learn in compartments so why should we play in them?
I'd rather have a hand made item ANY DAY over the mass produced toot that fills our shops. I wonder if these people think about the children who may have been employed, on riduculous wages, to produce their designer or shop bought goods?

I am so annoyed about the small minded p*ss taking over crafting and our right to do so!

[Nadine in Paris]

Dear Jane, below is the comment I left on Woman's Hour messageboard yesterday. There is a bit about 'pinny-porn'. I agree with you on the laziness of journalistic language. But sometimes too much is too much. I don't agree with the 'gastro-porn' either. Women, in particular feminists, should be in a privileged position to know that drawing pornography and sex-related derogatory images into these matters has deep, serious connotations, it's not just a question of making innocent fun. Will there come a day when knitting scarves for children is considered as paedophile behaviour?

"40 years on, I'd like to put this question: What does it mean to be a feminist these days? Has a rather restrictive flavour of feminism become by any chance the only politically-correct way to be a woman? Should women cut both their hands in order to be accepted as authentic women?
The term 'pinny porn' painfully reminds me of the times when some liked to equate feminism and lesbianism, with a view to debasing both.

FYI: I'm a 53-yr-old mum, conference interpreter and translator. I have worked in international organisations and other meetings, translated millions of words in the course of my career, most in extremely technical fields, I am divorced (at my own initiative), and supporting myself. I never climbed the Himalayas, never was granted a Nobel Prize, but I LOVE to knit, sew, quilt, cross-stitch, cook and garden."

[suze]

What a stir! Thank goodness you are such an intelligent and eloquent woman. You were fantastic on the radio yesterday.

How mad that we live in a world where you have to defend your desire and love of making beautiful things, and how sad that some people can find anything negative in this. Very odd.

[Linda in Waterloo (CA)]

The last post could have been called, 'Pinnycle'. Within our shrinking world the media seem to enjoy using and discarding favourite words and phrases. 'Astonishing' is enjoying a high right now and thankfully 'bespoke' has been put to pasture. Have you read the Yarn Harlot's Oct. 2nd post about publishing a book?

[Jane]

I do wonder what the equivalent insult will be if men decide to come out and admit to practising their perceived traditional domestic roles. Shall we have creepy carpentry or insidious DIYers? And where would these views be aired without a Man's Hour? Yes, I know I'm being silly, but no one questions a man's right to be a high-flyer in the city then come home and go to the pub, a football match, or tinker with a sports car - or even whip up a three course meal.
Well done, Jane. Rise above such pettiness, the worlds a better place for some simple domesticity.

[judy]

I was amazed at the hostility displayed in the interview. I do think that all of this diminishing of "women's work" is the direct opposite of what the feminist movement was originally about- giving women a choice. So why is the only good choice those that contain traditionally male jobs or those that contain a paycheck? People pay a lot of money for nannies, housekeepers and ready prepared food, so obviously they are putting a value on it. Why is that value diminished when one performs those roles on their own? I wonder if the negativity would be there if you had written a book on carpentry or plumbing or fixing a car or something else mechanical. I think not. Good luck with the rest of the interviews!

[littlejennywren]

Don't the media just love a catch phrase.You are right is is laziness but I am also deeply offended by women who may not be interested in the gentle arts feeling they have a right to be so dismissive of those who do and infer that we are somehow letting the sisterhood down.
There used to be a television ad here with two children looking into their lunchboxes, one had a homemade treat, the other had whatever processed treat was being advertised. The child with the processed treat said something like "my mum's got a life" as a put down to the homemade treat child.This is the same thing.

We are should be embracing difference,there are so many things to be interested in and learn from, just because it is something our grannies enjoyed doesn't mean the homecrafts are not worthy of our attention.

All my life I have enjoyed needlecrafts of all kinds , I am a well educated woman in her late forties and this is something I have chosen not forced upon me.

I think it is wonderful that images of everyday things in people's homes arouse strong feelings in people but pornography, I don't think so.

[Lesley]

The other way of looking at it is that radio programme makers and newsprint reviewers would have no interest in a first book about home-making, however good it was, if there were no controversy to be whipped up around it. You are getting an enviable amount of publicity, which will bring your book to the attention of lots of potential buyers, just because of what you're calling journalistic laziness. Of course 'pinny porn' is a lazy catch phrase, like 'the new black' and 'chick lit', but don't knock it, it's doing great work for you.

[Lesley]

I couldn't agree with you more. I truly feel that this need for folk (often other women) to belittle and criticise others' love of 'domestic' arts is more telling of their own sense of achievement and self-worth than it is of ours.
I would never dream of telling someone they should not go to the gym, read gossip mags, disinfect the house or shop to fill their leisure time. I know it's not for me but if it makes them happy, great.
I'd better stop - I could go on and on for hours!
Still loving the flapjacks and about to start my first ripple crochet thanks to your inspiration xxx

[Jessica]

I love your blog and your new book looks to be beautiful (I have it on order, and I just can't wait to receive it). I'm so shocked to find that your work could be the cause for such a petty and nasty little article. After reading through some of the comments (and there are so many lovely ones - too many to read them all) you can see the real support that you have from the online community.

I would love to be able to spend my time crafting and when I start my family I fully intend to do as much as possible to inspire a loving happy home with what ever craft activities I can!

Take care and be sure to ignore any snideness from foolish journalists... you are happy with your life and they are simply jealous.

[ruby]

I find the response you have had from the media bizarre but as usual, if they don't understand something they attack it. I have enjoyed the domestic arts all my life but equally have found I have always had to defend my love of them.

We all have to speak out loud about the things we love and not be told by the media what we should think,(that way leads a very slippery slope) and celebrate who we are.

On a positive note I run an increasingly popular Teens Love Craft night for my daughter and her friends. They are all extremely intelligent, articulate, pretty, career minded and love to knit, sew and cook.

Ruby

[Francesca (stuntmother)]

Long time lurker here delurking. I listened to the interview yesterday (and I love Woman's Hour and when I lived in England would listen whenever I could). I thought that you bore up remarkably well under what was, for all intents and purposes, a cheap shot. As you said, as soon as you use the term "porn" in relation to women, it smacks of subjugation, the male gaze, patriarchal objectification and a whole lot of other not-fun stuff.

That traditional women's arts should be seen as submissive is frankly another triumph for the patriarchy. The only reason these arts are perceived as less-than, or fiddly, or obscure or worthless is that traditional feminism (worthily and thankfully) took women out of their world and into the male world, where we still have to fight. The next step, however, which has not yet been achieved, is to make our space equally worthy to the male space we now ALSO inhabit.

This is not to say that work or sports or whatever ought to be the domain of men -- it ought not -- but rather, why should we have had to leave pieces of our crafts, lives and selves behind to fit in there? Why is staying home to care for children less important than going out to work? Why is knowing how to make flapjack less important than knowing how to fix a bicycle?

I appreciate that you -- and other beautiful crafters I adore -- are holding fast to a world of slow beauty, careful creation and reinvented tradition.

[The List Writer]

I enjoyed listening to the discussion on Woman's Hour and I am enjoying reading the book very much. I think it is very easy for commentators to dismiss the point of the book as instruction rather than celebration.

[Lucy Locket-Pocket]

Hi Jane - I bought your book last week partly because of the awful telegraph review! It so totally dismissed the way of life that I, and lots of my friends love, and many other people admire that I thought the book must be very good indeed!

I'm like you in the sense that as an "academic" child I did not get the opportunities at school to do the creative/artistic things. I went on to study for a PhD in Roman politics but like you found that such high levels of research leave no room for real life and interests. The necessities of money, family and health lead to me abandon my PhD nearly 3/4 of the way through - which I still regret. But my real sense of achievement comes from the things I create with my hands and imagination. Studying intensely for 8+ hours a day 6 days a week with nothing tangible to show for it at the end was soul-destroying. whereas it is so satisfying to be able to create beautiful things each day.

So I say, congratulations to you - keep up the fight - more power to your pinny!

But I'm really disappointed because I wanted to be the one to crack the "Pinnycle" joke but I see Linda beat me to it!!

[barbara]

i can't stand the p-word being used at all, let alone in this context - there are certain words that have crept into the language and are used all too freely, being offensive even though the intended suggestion may be different. one of those words which have found their way into the english (and i would say mainly UK english)language is the use of the word "nazi", people almost pride themselves on being "food nazis" or "music nazis", as though there was anything positive /admirable about it. the idea behnd this kind of journalism is "the more outrageous the better/more interesting" when the endresult is downright disgusting. i'm sorry this has hit you out of all people, but i'm sure you come out the winner in the end! x

[Linda]

Surely one of the goals of feminism was/should be(?) that women are able to make choices. Whether they choose to pursue a career, have children, not have children, stay at home with or without children, or any combination of the above, they should be supported, not judged. And if they happen to enjoy "traditional" female pursuits, such as baking, knitting, sewing or anything domestic, then so what? We should be celebrating the fact that women can now choose to do and enjoy these things, just as we celebrate the fact that women can pursue a career like any man.

I, too, look forward to reading your book, Jane. Keep the "pinny-porn" coming! :)

[Ana Ramos]

Hi Jane, I was wondering if you seen it coming and now you came and talk about that. I live in Portugal and I'm a beat chocked about this response to your book... I don't have my copy yet but I've been reading your blog a long time now and I didn't see it coming...how came some women are so afraid of baking and knitting...No one is forcing them to do it, it's a question of pleasure, I believe...

[teresa c.]

I’ve just listened to the podcast (pity it was such a short one, I believe that hard to discuss the matter utterly) and it made me think about a couple of things:
- I really don’t think “women” are compelled to knit or bake or sew or whatever. The general idea is more on the “be perfect and buy if you can’t” than the “be perfect and create if you can’t”. To craft (to do anything with your own hands) is empowerment and not slavery, and if anyone thinks that one who does it
- I haven’t read your book yet (why does it take so long to get to Portugal?) but I take from your blog that the idea of enjoyment is the base of your speech. (Not long ago I’ve read “How to be free”, after you mentioned on the blog, and I got the very same idea from that book.) So if one’s taste is for knitting, let’s go and do it!
- Isn’t domesticity so much more than baking? I believe that reading, watching a film, having a tea is part of that too.
- I wasn’t going to mention anything about that idea that “you impose impossible standards and you’re life isn’t really like that”. But I can’t. I think that you have the right to share what you want with the blog readers. Maybe you have bad days. Maybe some of your cakes don’t look as good as the others. There may be crisis, more or less serious. Or there may be none. No one has to tell everything about one’s life. Editing is part of a narrative and if anyone should know that is a journalist. By saying that you should do it (in order to “lower the standards”) what is being said is that your readers don’t have the sense (and sensibility) to discern and to know where they may be inspired or let in the fantasy realm. And I, for one, don’t appreciate being called brainless.