LA CROSSE, Wis.—Remember this one?: A woman (who happens to be a trained nurse, sex educator ... and porn star) gets invited to a college campus in Wisconsin to talk sense about sex and porn to members of the student body, all of whom voluntarily attend (and who in fact had to seek her out since the event wasn't widely publicized). One problem: The university had a "Free Speech Week" in late October, but thanks to a prior commitment, Hartley couldn't make it then, so university Chancellor Joe Gow paid for her visit out of his office's discretionary funds, and Hartley spoke on the topic of "Fantasy vs. Reality: Viewing Adult Media With a Critical Eye"—but later, after the shit hit the fan with the university president, Gow wound up reimbursing his office the $5,000 the Hartley visit had cost out of his own pocket.
And so things stood in mid-November—but that was far from the end of the "controversy," and the final shoe dropped in early December after the university's Board of Regents denied Gow his $25,600 performance raise—a raise that was awarded to 10 other chancellors—all because, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, of Gow's "reprimand for inviting a porn star to speak to students during free speech week."
"Apart from my personal underlying moral concerns, I am deeply disappointed by your decision to actively recruit, advocate for, and pay for a porn star to come to the UW-La Crosse campus to lecture students about sex and the adult entertainment industry," wrote university system President Ray Cross in his letter of reprimand to Gow.
Gow responded in a La Crosse Tribune column, in which he stated that, "When I invited Ms. Hartley to speak at UW-La Crosse I was attempting to promote awareness of the University of Wisconsin System's Commitment to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression [which had been passed by the Board of Regents in the Fall of 2017]. I thought the policy would protect, and even encourage, her speech ... To other universities interested in promoting free speech and advancing knowledge about essential social issues, I would recommend Hartley without hesitation."
Among other things, according to the website InsideHigherEd.com, the Commitment assures that "all members of the university community the broadest possible latitude to explore ideas and to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn," and that it is "not the proper role of the university to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they, or others, find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive."
Although the university "greatly values civility," it continues, "concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as justification for closing off discussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable those ideas may be to some members within the university community."
But of course, as many adult industry members already know, such broad proclamations rarely apply where sexual speech is concerned.
And just what did Hartley say that was so "disappointing" to Cross? Fortunately, Hartley wrote an op-ed for the La Crosse Tribune, published on November 26, laying out some of her reasons for wanting to speak to the students.
"I am a registered nurse who happens to be a 'porn star'," she stated. "I am trained to effectively address human pain, both physical and psychic. I combine my vocation, the alleviation of suffering, with my activism, speaking for those who have no voice, and my avocation, being in the presence of consenting adults for the purposes of sexual exchange, be it of a commercial, educational or personal nature ... I have been in the trenches of the gender wars for 35 years now and have seen first-hand how our rigidity regarding sexual matters harms everyone.
"Sexual suffering, be it from trauma, shame, enforced ignorance or isolation, is real," she continued. "It is felt, expressed and healed through the care and tending of the physical body. Consensual pleasure is an effective antidote for suffering... Many of my co-workers and fans are victims of the sex-negative conditioning that passes for 'sex-ed' in this country. So-called 'traditional family values,' with an emphasis on 'don’t tell,' and 'what will the neighbors think?' often hide horrific and heart-breaking tales of abuse.
"I find it telling that my speaking the truth about my lived experience garners opprobrium from both the religious right and the so-called feminist left. They merely use different rhetoric to promote the same agenda: suppression of individual sexual expression and intellectual discourse, based on fear and bigotry. Totalitarians and authoritarians alike fear sexual freedom because desire is anarchic and chaotic."
The reaction to the news of Gow's invitation and Hartley's talk and op-ed was swift—and in many ways, just what one would expect from a state whose Republican legislature nearly destroyed the executive power of its just-elected Democratic governor by passing one of the biggest power grabs in the nation's history during its lame-duck legislative session.
"There are three levels to evaluate the university’s chancellor and his conduct, not importing any moral reservations we may have about the subject matter," claimed Lianna Schwalenberg, a fifth-year senior majoring in communication arts and philosophy on November 29. "Ultimately, we will see that Gow should not have, under the guise of free speech, invited a speaker who defends an addiction many students may be struggling to overcome ... The question to ask here is not what the necessary and sufficient conditions are of free speech, but what makes something a representation of an institution’s beliefs about free speech. The university can be committed to free speech without necessarily funding anything at all ... This is where the lecture becomes more than just a speech—it is a speech act. This speech act is problematic because it communicates, on behalf of the UW System and UW-La Crosse, that pornography is not necessarily a contributor to addictions or issues of sexuality."
Porn, of course, is not addictive, any more than are horror movies or romance novels. Every unbiased study of that subject has shown as much unequivocally. As this author noted in response to Schwalenberg's opinion piece, "True, people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may fixate on pornography as their obsession of 'choice,' but they could as easily fixate on hand-washing, counting sidewalk cracks or even praying."
But Hartley and Gow saw some support from Wisconsinites as well, as evidenced by a Letter to the Editor published on the Wisconsin State Journal's website.
"Hartley was not recruiting sex workers, nor was Chancellor Gow normalizing her profession by inviting her," wrote correspondent Tim Lopez. "Instead, the intent is consistent with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families’ new campaign, 'WI, we need to talk,' which promotes awareness of Wisconsin’s youth sex trafficking problem. Providing a platform for sex workers to speak about their experiences can help researchers and policymakers confront misgivings about legal sex work as we attempt to curb the horrific consequences of outlawed prostitution."
Would that the Wisconsin University Board of Regents understood such a simple truth!
UPDATE (1/10/19): According to an article posted on Madison.com, "Nearly three-fourths of the emails sent to the UW-La Crosse chancellor in the month after a porn star spoke to students as part of the university’s Free Speech week expressed support for the chancellor's speaker selection... Gow received emails related to Hartley from nearly 50 individuals, including students, staff, faculty, alumni, a former Regent, and an emeritus dean of UW-Madison’s College of Letters and Science in the month after the Nov. 1 speech. Of those, 33 messages expressed support for Gow’s invitation to Hartley and 13 came from disappointed or outraged individuals who used subject lines such as 'disappointed alumni' and self-descriptions such as 'irate taxpayer'."
