Appendix - Numeracy Journal

DeNisco, Brooke. "Porn: Two Views." Willamette Week. 12 March 1997: 19-31.

This article was the transcript of a discussion between two women (Jill Portugal and Liv Osthus) concerning the merits of striptease. They debated whether striptease served only to objectify women or whether a woman could also present a strong artistic self.

Portugal expressed her discomfort in living in a city (Portland) where she felt she was being constantly assaulted with sexual imagery of women, making her feel that she was being perceived as an object as opposed to a human being. She cited strip clubs as a particularly bothersome institution that made her feel devalued.

In 1997, there were 42 strip clubs in the Portland area, up from 18 in 1989. The number of clubs peaked in 1993 with 50 clubs. The article does not elaborate on the socio-political events that led to such a rapid increase in the number of clubs. I assume there was a change in legislation, perhaps in the area of zoning, or alcohol restrictions.

It has never seemed to me that Portland is a city where I should feel unsafe as a woman. Upon reading the article, I did stop and think for a moment about the "Exotic Times" newspaper vending machine that was across from the K-12 school I went to. No one ever acted like it was a big deal, even though it stood right where we waited for the bus to come home. It never made me feel threatened as a woman, because I was confident that my male peers could separate the image of a fantasy woman from me, an actual fantasy woman.