“On Thursday, January 21st, we disrupted the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada by setting off a series of 140 db alarms on the show floor. The ear-splitting noise caused a large disturbance, costing the Adult Video Network lost sales and, more importantly, sending a message to the men in attendance: Women do not exist for your pleasure.
The Adult Entertainment Expo exists at the intersection of patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism. Men come from all over the country to the AEE, excited to have their every misogynistic urge catered to by a multi-billion dollar industry built on sexualized cruelty and women’s objectification.

The AEE ends with an awards show honoring titles such as Up My Asian Ass 2, Too Big for Teens, Pretty Little Playthings, How I Became a Sexual Slave, and Black Ass Anal Drilling 4. In attendance will be a large number of violent, abusive men – including the rapist James Deen, who has been “honored” with multiple nominations despite his violence against women in the industry.

Liberals, progressives, leftists, and radicals would never accept this level of proud misogyny, sexualized racism, and fetishized capitalism if it appeared in any other form. But because this violent celebration of privilege and power revolves around sex – or, more accurately, what abusive men socialized into woman-hating call sex – our activist brothers and sisters have been silent.

Many on the left believe pornography is edgy, transgressive, or liberating. But there is nothing new in the practice of degrading women for male pleasure. The pornography industry is no more progressive than the Christian church, marriage, or any other patriarchal institution. Every single one is based on the idea that women are property men have the right to use at will.

We disrupted the Adult Entertainment Expo to send the message that an erection does not excuse white supremacy, that an orgasm does not excuse misogyny, and that capitalism does not become suddenly empowering when the product being sold is a woman’s body. There can be no liberation for women – especially poor women and women of color – so long as they are seen by men as objects to be masturbated to and then thrown away.

We call on all activists – whether feminist, anti-racist, communist, or otherwise – to follow our action with more strikes against the pornography industry. Its infrastructure is weak, with multiple vulnerable points easily open to strategic action. We especially call on men to reject pornography’s domination sexuality and align themselves with radical women in the fight against male supremacy.

Women’s torture is not men’s entertainment.

Violence and cruelty are not sex.

Female bodies are not for sale.”