ABSTRACT
Welsh’s novel of Scottish lowlife raises some important themes concerning the murkier
aspects of contemporary experience rarely addressed by sociologists. However, the char-
acterization of the female protagonist, Nikki, soon takes us far beyond what is likely in rea-
lity. She is more assertive, more in control and more ‘‘feminist’’ than it is possible for most
female performers to be in the porn industry. This is evident in that she refuses to do anal
sex, which is the very trademark of the do-it-yourself, Gonzo pornography being described,
and she even objects to a video edit that makes it appear as if she has. What arises here is not
simply a question about the meaning of anal sex in modern culture, of why a woman might
object to it, but also the issue of sexual truth, of personal identity and the role of sexuality
and of sexual representation in its formation and authentication. Sexuality and pornography
have become a means of existential assertion for modern-day men and women: ‘‘Look at me,
see my body, see me fucking, see what I am, who I am, that I am.’’
