Revisiting the Porn Debate

From AlterNet:

It is typical that liberal-minded people, when facing censorship, would rush to defend pornographers' right to produce whatever they want, even if the products objectify, humiliate and violate women. But shouldn't we ponder what we are defending and what kind of value system supports that defense?

One of the most popular booths at the expo was for the BangBus, which consistently drew large crowds of almost entirely male fans. What's the BangBus concept? One of the producers explained that the videos show men in a large van, picking up what appear to be women on the streets, talking them into having sex, and then degrading them in some way – dropping them off in desolate places, not giving them money promised, or throwing their belongings out the door.

BangBus was hardly the most shocking, cruel or brutal pornography being offered on the exhibition floor in Las Vegas. Much of it can't be described for a general audience. There are few boundaries that haven't been pushed, as pornographers race to the shocking, ridiculous and humiliating, connecting visceral reactions to sexual pleasure. As an Asian woman, I found the racist stereotypes used in certain genres of pornography particularly oppressive.

Pornography encourages people to disregard others' pain for one's own pleasure. Many people I interviewed acknowledged that, based on their own experience and knowledge of the human body, certain sex acts they've watched in films likely would have been painful for the female performers. However, they argued that since the performers were paid, it was not the viewers' concern, and they acknowledged that they get aroused watching it. That mentality helps create a world in which a producer can brag about having originated a popular video series that shows women gagging during forceful oral sex

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Okay, I love pornography and pretty much always have. However, some years after getting my RTF degree, it became clear to me that if I was going to rail away against the way that advertising promotes the morally bankrupt philosophy of consumerism, if I was going to trash the mindless violence, macho stereotypes, and blatant sexism of Hollywood movies, I also had to use the same sort of analysis on my beloved porn.

What I came up with was disturbing. Porn, as an industry, really does present a wildly distorted picture of sexuality and women. Because porn is business, big business in fact, it generally aims at the lowest common denominator, just as mainstream television and film do. Consequently, we see the basest portrayals of gender: men are almost always the agressors, always in charge; women are submissive and willing.

This would not be such a big deal if it were only a few isolated instances. However, these gender roles are evident in almost all consumer pornography, and, as I'm sure you realize, porn has become amazingly pervasive due to the internet. Couple that with the continual devolution of sex education in the public schools which makes porn a de facto form of education for millions of children and teens, and suddenly it becomes clear: porn isn't just about harmless fantasy; it is now a major cultural influence, for better or worse.

Personally, I envision a kind of pornography that is respectful to both men and women, but the business doesn't seem to be interested in that. Understand, my problem with porn is not with portraying sex and sexuality in images. Rather, porn, as an industry, is highly exploitative and influences our culture in negative ways, all so a bunch of sleazy capitalists can get all the more wealthy. Ultimately, I see no difference between capitalist pornographers and capitalist oil men. Both industries are trying to profit at the expense of everyone else, and they simply don't give a shit about it.

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