Defending P0RN
Let's start by sweeping away any doubt about where I stand on pornography: I like porno. I've watched porno, and I continue to watch porno. I'm not yet on a first name basis with the guys down at the local adult video store, but I'm getting there. Moreover, Rebecca and I are one of those couples that will watch porno together (until we start getting excited enough to make some pornographic moves of our own).
Now, it's not easy in this society to stand up in public and proudly state that one is a consumer of pornography. Some will smirk and assume that I'm a loser because they associate pornography with lonely middle-aged men for whom the porno is their entertainment while they spank the monkey in solitude. Others will become uncomfortable and refuse to either agree with me or condemn me (which means that they watch it too, but they don't want anyone to know). Still others (mostly the religious folks) will unleash a sermon about the evils of pornography, generalizing about the entire genre based on its worst elements, quoting the Bible, and warning of Hellfire and brimstone.
I would therefore like to submit, for your viewing, a list of common arguments in favour of banning pornography and/or shunning those who watch it, as well as my remarks on the irrationality of those arguments. Note that in virtually every argument, one can fashion an effective rebuttal by simply applying the same "logic" to mainstream television and movies:
"Pornography exploits children". Obviously, this assumes that all porno is child porno, which is a totally unreasonable generalization. I've seen a lot of porno, but I've never seen child porno. Snuff films exploit death; does this somehow mean that we should ban action movies?
Now, it's not easy in this society to stand up in public and proudly state that one is a consumer of pornography. Some will smirk and assume that I'm a loser because they associate pornography with lonely middle-aged men for whom the porno is their entertainment while they spank the monkey in solitude. Others will become uncomfortable and refuse to either agree with me or condemn me (which means that they watch it too, but they don't want anyone to know). Still others (mostly the religious folks) will unleash a sermon about the evils of pornography, generalizing about the entire genre based on its worst elements, quoting the Bible, and warning of Hellfire and brimstone.
I would therefore like to submit, for your viewing, a list of common arguments in favour of banning pornography and/or shunning those who watch it, as well as my remarks on the irrationality of those arguments. Note that in virtually every argument, one can fashion an effective rebuttal by simply applying the same "logic" to mainstream television and movies:
"Pornography exploits children". Obviously, this assumes that all porno is child porno, which is a totally unreasonable generalization. I've seen a lot of porno, but I've never seen child porno. Snuff films exploit death; does this somehow mean that we should ban action movies?
posted by Dirty Dan at 9:08 PM
3 Comments:
Comparing porn to bad mainstream cinema or TV does not actually make it (porn) okay. It’s like saying smoking may kill you but so can crossing the road - slightly juvenile logic, isn't it (have to admit that I’ve used such arguments to defend my smoking!)?
and in a utopian society, women would not be forced into the porn industry, men would understand that its all fantasy or a product of someone's imagination and not something that can be carried on in real life, obsessing over it would have as harmless an affect as obsessing over football and everything would be just lovely.
however, we know that that’s not the case. unfortunately, many men DO think that women love to be slapped around and called 'bitch, ho' etc and many marriages ARE ruined thanks to the fact that the guy can no longer get aroused by his wife's imperfect arse and prefers the photoshopped rears of porn stars.
On a personal note (based on my firsthand experience with this), i get extremely annoyed when men expect women to swallow with a big smile followed by licking of the lips as if we just had ice cream, or scream like they're being fucked by a 15 incher (when its actually not even half of that), or jump up and down with excitement over the idea of being taken by the arse or doggy style or spanked.
ALL of these ideas have been embedded in their minds because these regular guys grew up on a healthy dosage of porn.
i am not saying that we should do away with the industry and shut it down or ban it. and i agree with you, tasteful porn IS good entertainment / escapism for men, women and couples. but i disagree with most of your arguments in the post. i think we should recognize that porn DOES have harmful affects, and that it perhaps SHOULD be monitored (especially to ensure that women and children are not forced into taking part), and definitely legalize it everywhere so that the 'actors' have more rights to avail legal assistance, when required. and we definitely need sex education, especially one which drives home the point that just as bruce willis jumping off a 10 story building and landing on his feet without so much as wincing is not a possible scenario in real life, nor is a woman smiling and moaning with pleasure halfway during a gang rape, as she is being penetrated in each orifice while being spanked and called derogatory names.
the whole issue should be brought out in the open - i think that the more we continue to treat it as a secret dirty habit indulged in by perverts, the worse would its affects be.
(and that brings you to the end of my fucking essay!! sorry about going on and on and onnnnn).
"however, we know that that’s not the case."
We do? How do we know that?
We know that some men who are violent or exploitive are also porn consumers.
We also know a lot aren't.
Has anyone quantified this, or found any evidence of causality? Not that I'm aware of. There are anecdotes, which are a bad basis for an argument, because you can find anecdotes to prove anything.
actually, there are quite a few researchers who have studied this to find a correlation / evidence. my argument is based on a couple of stories of friends who went through divorces due to the fact that their husbands became obsessed with porn and on a book called 'the fantasies of feminity' which manages to remain quite neutral towards porn (in spite of its name) and cites studies and court cases which support both sides (anti and pro porn).
also, the author of the blog post has not cited any 'evidence' of the lack of harmful affects of porn so i don't see why the onus should rest on the ones who oppose it to come up with evidence or qualify their own opinion with anything other than anecdotes?
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