Walking on the Wild Side: Shemale Internet Pornography

Abstract

Numerous studies have been published to date, many by gay and feminist scholars, on the nature and effects of pornographic representations. Very little attention, however, has been focused by scholars on the Internet, perhaps because it is still a relatively new medium, but above all, I think, because the Internet remains an unordered and chaotic space, Internet material defying definition, challenging conventional categories of authorship, genre and form. Such a space can appear daunting, its contents lacking the specificity required for critical investigation. It is understandable, then, that many in the academic community would seek to avoid any contact with the Internet, even as an object of study in itself. The view is often heard expressed — and in many respects it is a legitimate one — that Internet material is unoriginal and unexciting in both form and content, and so unworthy of critical interest. What little attention has been devoted to Internet pornography concentrates on images of men and/or women who can broadly speaking be described as straight or gay, engaged in activities associated with these binary sexual identities. Those few who have turned their critical gaze to Internet porn have shown little if any interest in Internet sites representing transsexuals.¹