Does Pornography Harm America?

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Ms. Hartley argues that pornography does not degrade women. Her discussions of “creative expression” and “constitutional government” are irrelevant; while they might be set forth as justifications for the existence of pornography, they do not speak to whether or not women are degraded by pornography. Those aside, Ms. Hartley appears to argue that women are not degraded because: 1) degradation is subjective, and therefore only those who adhere to “stubborn puritanical prohibitions” will view pornography as degrading; 2) pornography addresses all of the complexities and contradictions of human sexuality; and 3) simply labeling pornography as “degrading” does not make it so.

With respect to her first point, Ms. Hartley ignores the objective reality that many women—women who have been involved in the pornography industry as well as those who have not—have communicated how pornography has robbed them of their dignity and left them devalued in their own eyes and the eyes of others, usually due to their treatment by individuals involved in pornography production or consumption (see "Testimonies" links). And for an extreme example of how pornography has the power to degrade and objectify women, listen to serial killer Ted Bundy’s thoughts on the matter the night before his execution (see "Ted Bundy Interview" link).

Ms. Hartley offers no evidence for her statement that pornography “deals directly and unapologetically with the sexual realm in all its complexity and contradiction.” She points to no pornographic material that supports this contention, and it is extremely doubtful that anyone could do so. If it is indeed true that pornography deals with all of the complexities of human sexuality, then there must be examples of pornographic films/magazines/websites that highlight the negative consequences—such as disease, unplanned pregnancies, heartache, and depression—that can result from certain types of sexual behavior, as well as the positive consequences—e.g., trust, commitment, love, security—that many experience by choosing to be sexually active only in the context of a monogamous marital relationship. Because such pornographic material apparently does not exist, it is untrue that pornography deals with all of the “complexity and contradiction” of human sexuality. Indeed, the definition of “pornography” demonstrates that the subject is quite narrow; the Greek “pornographos” means “writing about prostitutes,” and "to cause sexual excitement" is pornography's raison d’être (see "Definition of Pornography" link).

Finally, Ms. Hartley is correct that “just saying something is ‘degrading’ doesn’t make it so.” But the testimonies of women who have been degraded by pornography—and those of men who say that pornography has negatively affected their esteem of and relationships with women—provide evidence of pornography’s degrading effect. To be fair, Ms. Hartley apparently does not feel degraded by her participation in the porn industry. But regardless of her individual experience, the many lives that have been harmed by pornography demonstrate its power to degrade and, in some cases, destroy.