Does Pornography Harm America?

Recommend (3) Comments (5)

The idea that the mere existence of porn is degrading to women both as individuals and as class is a red herring. “Degrading” is a subjective term, a statement of feeling about a thing, an opinion rather than a fact. Using this word exposes the person using it more than it reveals any truth about porn.  Any feelings, thoughts or fantasies, of which women and men are capable, are appropriate subjects for art. Something as important to our species as sex is a natural inspiration for creative expression of all types. How one views the underlying subject of a piece of art, whether it be popular or fine, reflects that person’s upbringing. Pornography, by its very definition, deals directly and unapologetically with the sexual realm in all its complexity and contradiction. When it comes to anything sexual, our cultural tensions are stretched between stubborn Puritanical prohibitions and robust individualistic hedonism.

When viewing depictions of the latter, the attitudes and judgments of the former can be triggered in those who still influenced by those views, knowingly or not.

Just saying something is “degrading” doesn’t make it so. This value-laden assertion is most often made regarding materials taken out of context, often by those who deliberately manipulate the content in the service of an existing prejudice. We live in an open, pluralistic society and aren’t going to like everything we see. That’s a small price to pay for enjoying the freedoms of constitutional government. If people find porn degrading, they shouldn’t look at it. As Oscar Wilde wisely said, “In matters of taste there can be no dispute.”