How many of you are moral people?
You go about your day believing you wouldn't do someone injustice. You wouldn't murder someone, you wouldn't steal, you wouldn't cheat (well maybe some of you-but besides the point). We all, as a society, agree that these things are typically seen as immoral.
So, how many of you have viewed porn? Be honest with yourselves (accidental viewing counts!!).
Are you committing an act of immorality?
My answer: YES. You filthy animals! And here's why...
- objectification
-encourages extra-marital sex (pre-marital/adultery)
- exploits women
-preys on fundamental impulses
- sexualizes inequalities
- silences women
- encourages masturbation
Now, half of you are probably agreeing with some of my points, and further questioning details...
For the other half, you're probably thinking how idiotic I sound, claiming that all of these points are bad and immoral. You're probably so caught up in the system that you have no idea how much you've fallen into this seemingly normal thing.
But, you're not alone. Out of a 40 person poll on my campus, not a single person said they had NOT seen porn. It's EVERYWHERE, and increasingly accessible with new technological advances. So, don't think down on yourself for indulging, but be aware about how much you're stigmatizing women and adding to the inequality between a man and a woman.
Are you really a feminist if you believe porn is alright? I think not.
(Before I begin, I'd like to contribute most, if not all, of these ideas to Mackinnon, who I am studying in my ethics class -->http://www.spectacle.org/1195/mack.html)
There are three major points feminists bring up about pornography:
1. It's an example of and perpetuates patriatchal dominance of women.
2. Porn is an expression, and women have the rights to their bodies and freedom of speech.
3. Pron is beneficial to women
However, Mackinnon brings up the idea of this SHADOW WORLD.
It's the idea that women are living in a paradoxical world, and the fact that only men, mainly white, live in the real world. Women live in this paradoxical, shadow world, where they aren't heard, are raped, treated unequal, are harassed, and abused. (You might be thinking this is absurd, but don't turn a blind eye to what is actually going on in the world)
Generally, women don't report cases of abuse because no one will listen to them. They've come to think that it's normal and accepted. We don't get the correct information about women's lives, because women lack power in all aspects. Think about the recent Bill Crosby case and how many women didn't step forward. Not because they didn't want to, but because they lack power and have been trained by society not to.
Some may ask the obvious question, "what about men being raped." Sure, that happens, and it's important too, but it's also important to note that in most cases men are abused in jail or as children, when they LACK POWER the most. Whereas, women are abused ALL THE TIME. It's as if society sees women as powerless or children.
Some people may wonder why we would all continue this if it were true.
In Mackinnons eyes, we continue it because we've all been trained that this is what equality is.
Just some fun (not so fun) facts for you:
Women killed by their husbands/lovers:
U.S- 3 women a day = 1095 per year
European Union- 7 a day = 2555 per year
Mexico- 5 a day = 1825 per year
So, how is any of this related to porn?!
Every single type of abuse found in PORN is every single type of abuse women encounter in the shadow world.
Porn...
Sexualizes rape, battery, sexual harassment, prostitution, and child abuse. It celebrates, promotes, authorizes, and legitimizes them. It constructs what a woman is in terms of its view of what men want sexually (rape, harassment, prostitution, child abuse, etc.) and then those become acts of sexual equality.
You may be thinking that not all porn is about male dominance, however, this again, isn't the issue. It's that IN GENERAL porn is about over-powering the woman to where she commits certain acts upon the man to please, or she is forced to take acts back.
Porn stars may be consenting to be in a porn video, but is she really consenting to being raped in the video? Does it actually make her feel empowered to think she's expressing her sexuality, when really she's just contributing to training women to think they must please a man?
Women are judged by looks and sexuality. It makes young people feel like this is what they have to look like and do to be pleasing to a man.
It also gives men a false impression that every women should be able and willing to commit those acts. It makes them view women as objects and overpower them even more so.
Likewise, your own sexuality is being shaped by porn (YES, YOURS!!).
Take 50 Shades of Grey for instance: we accept it, as women, because we believe we have to. Many women thought it was a sign for feminism, however it was completely the opposite. Women thought they had to be excited about the idea of porn for women, whereas the books/movie just degraded women further.
Anyway, just wanted to get some frustrations out about degrading women and its relationship to porn.
(Disclaimer: these ideas are a combination of my ethics class, professor, and Mackinnon)
I'd love for any and all of you to look further into the topic and try and come up with a rebuttal to my argument. Leave comments, opinions, facts, questions, anything!
Once again, thanks for reading (sorry if I ruined your day). Love you all!
