Porn is one of the many issues that feminist tend to have heavy debates over. There are certain facts I agree with the anti-porn feminists about- 1. porn is tough work and 2. people are exploited when they do it. Most anti-porn feminists want porn banned. I definitely do not agree that society would be better if porn were banned.
One of my main concerns is that if porn gets banned, where does the censorship stop? Many people know the saying that they can't put into words what porn exactly is and how it becomes obscene or offensive but they know it when they see it. My imagination goes to the extreme-- when would a picture or painting of a naked body be allowed? I worry that people would become very sensitive to any nudity, whether or not it was art or porn or artistic porn, and that there would be no naked pictures. Two areas that I'm concerned about is where would people find informative pictures about their bodies and would videos about techniques or "how to spice up your sex life" type movies be allowed? I also wonder about romance novels and erotica literature. Do they get banned too? I don't have the answer for those questions. In the past, when porn has been banned from being mailed, great works (such as Playboy and Lady Chatterly's Lover) as well as information about women's bodies and birth control were constricted. I am very concerned about this happening again if porn were banned.
If there were no naked pictures, there would be some consequences to this. One, people would not be informed about their own body. There are some medical artists who would be able to do justice to an informative representation of a penis, vagina, or breast. It would not have the same effect as seeing real pictures of the body. While the medical pictures can be descriptive of what is average, it cannot entirely describe the variety of vaginas and penises that are out there. Two, there are people out there who aren't great at socializing. It may be because they are mentally or physically handicapped or just socially awkward. You may or may not know someone like this. Without porn and without nude photos, these people would be at a disadvantage. Just like everyone else, they have the right to happiness and for some, that can be masturbation in leui of a relationship with another person. Most of the time these articles written by anti-porn feminist are focused on the perceived inner workings of violent men. They make claims that men watch porn, begin treating women like objects, and raping and murdering them. And there are a few people out there like that. Those people also watch TV and drink water (yes, that was a flippant statement, made in jest). Those aren't the people I'm talking about. I'm talking about the sweet people. The ones who yearn for relationships. The ones who go into their fantasy world of having wife or husband or lover, someone who takes care of them, someone who they would love and adore. They're the ones who want sex and to make love. Yet, they don't. They don't have that and that goal may or may not ever be achieved in their lives. They have the right to view porn, if they choose. I dare say, it can even be healthy.
The other main concern is that if porn continues, there needs to be strict standards. Companies should be boycotted if they allow actors and actresses to wear out their bodies i.e. work for hours, doing multiple penetration, etc, to not wear protection, and not get independent health check ups on a regular, 3 months at least; 6 months at most, basis. There are some porn companies who already have these type of standards. What I would really like to see is people going into Russia to change their porn industry. I understand this is a big thing. I have found Russian porn is the most offensive. They really do make you believe that they are raping and murdering women. If it's not the real thing, it sure looks like it.
An important factor that I consider if how much more women are paid compared to men in the porn industry. Most research focuses on men watching porn and women as the actresses in porn. I tend to focus on the opposite-- women who watch porn and men as the actors in porn. In all the research and opinion articles, women who watch porn are ignored. There is little said about the men in porn movies. It seems that others dismiss them. By ignore them, it could be possible that these writers are objectifying them or minimizing their role. I imgine that the reason is "Oh, they're just a penis" or "They enjoy having sex with women anyway."
All-in-all, it's best to consider the other ways that porn impacts society. Allowing porn to continue opens up the pathways to have easy access information about the human body. Porn also benefits those who are socially inept. Still, there needs to be better standards of care for all actors and actresses who choose to work in this industry.
