CAMBRIDGE, MA — The 200 Harvard Law School students that recently crowded into the college’s Ames Courtroom may well have supported Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt’s views on free speech and the First Amendment – at least in theory — but many of them left the room feeling completely hustled by the infamous pornographer.The litigious collective heard Flynt justify what he claimed was a need to “push the envelope” of the First Amendment via means including an assortment of potentially offensive cartoons that he had published while simultaneously referring to women as “sex objects” and using a derogatory racial term.
Although the man who challenged the Supreme Court pointed out that he “had taken a bullet for free speech” and spends his life fighting “in the trenches,” his less than politic words sometimes drew hisses from the crowd.
Along with being unimpressed by his word choices in regards to minorities and women, the crowd was unconvinced by his explanation about why he was making his presentation solo instead of as part of a debate format.
Flynt insisted that he had not refused to “share the spotlight with his critics,” as the first person involved in the post-speech Q&A session contended. Instead, the published assured the crowd that, if invited, he would “come back for a panel” discussion. As Flynt explained it, the reason he was speaking alone was due to concerns that a debate format would be inappropriate for the documentary he is currently involved with.
Unfortunately for the controversial porn industry figure, documents obtained by the college press reveal that Flynt’s agent, Kim Dower, has insisted that the American Constitution Society go forward with the solo format for the event, insisting that a panel debate format would be unworkable as it is “difficult for Mr. Flynt to work the debate/panel arrangement as his voice is weaker.”
Ultimately, the ACS board voted not to invite Flynt and, instead, referred him to the Law School’s American Civil Liberties chapter, which agreed to host the solo forum.
Whether or not Flynt’s and/or Dower’s story is correct, a number of his detractors took the opportunity to express their distaste for the man and his life’s work, including Kevin M. LoVecchio, an ACS member, who contended that the visit was merely a way for the pornographer to go about “exploiting the Harvard Law School name.” Dower’s observation that Harvard had been selected in order to “provide the filmmaker with a wonderful university to film at” only fueled such accusations.
LoVecchio and Mary Anne A. Franks, both unhappy with the college’s decision to allow Flynt on campus to speak without debating Franks, created and circulated a pamphlet containing some of the Hustlercartoons which they felt were more offensive. These included a one-shot panel showing a bare genitaled man dangling a piece of meat in front of a seeing-eye dog in order to lure it and its female owner into the bushes and another which depicted a Nazi enticing a presumably Jewish woman around a corner by pulling on a dollar bill attached to a string. The infamous meat grinder cover appears to have been included in the pamphlet, as well.
When confronted by the cartoons, Flynt opined that he could not remember having published them, which drew shouts of “liar!” from the audience. Harvard’s The Crimson confirmed that the images were, in fact, taken from the pages of Hustler.
Although he was not able to remember images from his own publication, Flynt did reply to questions concerning the controversy regarding Danish cartoons lampooning Islamic prophet Mohammed. According to Flynt, every newspaper in the United States should “publish the cartoons tomorrow” and expressed frustration that “a group of towel heads” had been able to intimidate the world’s leaders and citizens. His comment inspired audience hisses, as did his claim that women “are the sex objects and they’re (the Christian Right) not going to be able to change that.”
Sociology professor Gail Dines of Wheelock College spoke out against pornography prior to Flynt’s presentation, describing the man as “first and foremost a Capitalist” and describing his staff as “intensely reactionary and intensely right wing,” before insisting that pornography harmfully distorts women’s sexuality and makes them sex objects.
Sandra E. Pullman, the Harvard ACLU president and a former arts editor for the school paper defended the organization’s decision to invite Flynt to Harvard, explaining that the documentary he is involved in was “composed by an outside film company” and insisting that he was making no money from its creation. In her opinion, the irreverent speaker had “expanded the reach of free speech” protections by legally defeating Jerry Falwell.
