The topic of pornography is one that always seems to be shrouded in controversy and blasted with personal opinions. Many think it is “wrong” or “bad” simply because of religious beliefs or political affiliation. Others think that porn is “healthy” or simply a “free expression of sexuality”.
Quite honestly, the issue with pornography goes much deeper than personal opinion or belief. Just like anything else, when it comes to porn, only science and fact can overtake the heated personal opinions and varying social commentary. So what is science saying? It’s simple:
Porn is harmful and research is proving it.
Academic journals and empirical research seems to be coming out daily on the subject, showing that there is a clear difference between the brains of those who compulsively view pornography and those who don’t. It is also being proven that those who view pornography report a significant decrease in their satisfaction in their real life relationships and also report being more critical of their partner’s attractiveness and sexual behavior.
These are the cold hard facts about porn and ones that have been published and widely accepted in the scientific world. However, despite these proven facts, recently we have come across multiple articles that insist that there is an “ethical” way to view porn. For example, one recent article ironically titled, How to watch porn responsibly, according to porn stars, interviewed a self-described “feminist pornographer” who said:
“A big part of my mission is ethical production practices and fair labor practices. I identify as a feminist pornographer, and a big part of my mission is ethical production practices and fair labor practices.”
As nice as that may sound to the ears, one fact remains: it is harmful to the viewer and it is almost always harmful to the performer as well. Compare the porn producer’s claims of “accountability” and “performer’s rights” to the very dark accounts of porn performers who have actually lived the reality, like Vanessa Belmond. A former porn actress who now speaks out about the reality of the porn industry, Belmond recalled:
“Like most porn performers, I perpetuated this lie. One of my favorite things to say when asked if I liked doing a particular scene was, “I only do what I like! I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it!” (I would say this with a big fake smile and giggle.) What a total lie! I did what I had to do to get “work” in porn. I did what I knew would help me gain “fame” in the industry.”
That’s just one reality of the porn industry. What is another?
Money.
In the same article mentioned earlier, the producer (who is on payroll at a major porn production company) goes on to say that when porn studios have “ethical workplace regulations”, it is a step toward legitimacy, which affects whether banks and credit card companies will do business with them. The producer goes on to say, “There’s an entire generation of people—and I work with college-age people—that believe porn is free and has always been free. There needs to be a re-education that says, ‘If you want more porn, especially from people whose work you really like, you have to pay for it. Because if you don’t, then we can’t make more.'” The article then goes on to encourage paying for porn as a great way to support the labor that is part of making and consuming pornography. To end the article, the interviewer asked the producer what he recommends for “ethical” porn viewing. His response?
“Pay for your porn! When you pay for porn, you’ve got credit card processors looming over the shoulders of producers to ensure that porn is done legally and that all the paperwork and those checks and balances are in place.”
How comforting. Not.
This just shows yet another unveiling of the true side of the porn industry. Porn is a $97 billion industry, according to Kassia Wosick, assistant professor of sociology at New Mexico State University. With this amount of money being the case, the porn industry’s bottom line is much more important than any concern for the well-being of viewers or performers. Just take into account this quote from former porn actress Anita Cannibal:
“I have been a performer now for 14 years in the adult film industry in many countries, states . . . all over the place. I have worked for most of these companies, and I was around for the once-a-month HIV-positive outbreak in ’98. Yes, I was, and I got to see those performers that nobody knows about—that nobody claims that got HIV, that are not a part of the statistics—walk out the door as non-performers, not to be counted.”
“Yeah, there are a lot of cover-ups going on. There is a lot of tragedy. There are a lot of horrible things.”
Starting to get the picture? Not only does the porn industry damage the lives of those who produce it, but it is extremely harmful to those who view it as well. Porn is inseparably linked to sex trafficking and is even shown to be as addictive as hard drugs. So we think it goes without saying that the delusional ideal of “ethical porn” is simply a marketing tactic but a corrupt industry with one singular objective: making money.
This post is taken front he website, Fightthenewdrug.org. For more information, go to: http://fightthenewdrug.org/is-there-such-a-thing-as-ethical-porn/#sthash.V84uyoX1.OdxpaXis.dpbs
Quite honestly, the issue with pornography goes much deeper than personal opinion or belief. Just like anything else, when it comes to porn, only science and fact can overtake the heated personal opinions and varying social commentary. So what is science saying? It’s simple:
Porn is harmful and research is proving it.
Academic journals and empirical research seems to be coming out daily on the subject, showing that there is a clear difference between the brains of those who compulsively view pornography and those who don’t. It is also being proven that those who view pornography report a significant decrease in their satisfaction in their real life relationships and also report being more critical of their partner’s attractiveness and sexual behavior.
These are the cold hard facts about porn and ones that have been published and widely accepted in the scientific world. However, despite these proven facts, recently we have come across multiple articles that insist that there is an “ethical” way to view porn. For example, one recent article ironically titled, How to watch porn responsibly, according to porn stars, interviewed a self-described “feminist pornographer” who said:
“A big part of my mission is ethical production practices and fair labor practices. I identify as a feminist pornographer, and a big part of my mission is ethical production practices and fair labor practices.”
As nice as that may sound to the ears, one fact remains: it is harmful to the viewer and it is almost always harmful to the performer as well. Compare the porn producer’s claims of “accountability” and “performer’s rights” to the very dark accounts of porn performers who have actually lived the reality, like Vanessa Belmond. A former porn actress who now speaks out about the reality of the porn industry, Belmond recalled:
“Like most porn performers, I perpetuated this lie. One of my favorite things to say when asked if I liked doing a particular scene was, “I only do what I like! I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it!” (I would say this with a big fake smile and giggle.) What a total lie! I did what I had to do to get “work” in porn. I did what I knew would help me gain “fame” in the industry.”
That’s just one reality of the porn industry. What is another?
Money.
In the same article mentioned earlier, the producer (who is on payroll at a major porn production company) goes on to say that when porn studios have “ethical workplace regulations”, it is a step toward legitimacy, which affects whether banks and credit card companies will do business with them. The producer goes on to say, “There’s an entire generation of people—and I work with college-age people—that believe porn is free and has always been free. There needs to be a re-education that says, ‘If you want more porn, especially from people whose work you really like, you have to pay for it. Because if you don’t, then we can’t make more.'” The article then goes on to encourage paying for porn as a great way to support the labor that is part of making and consuming pornography. To end the article, the interviewer asked the producer what he recommends for “ethical” porn viewing. His response?
“Pay for your porn! When you pay for porn, you’ve got credit card processors looming over the shoulders of producers to ensure that porn is done legally and that all the paperwork and those checks and balances are in place.”
How comforting. Not.
This just shows yet another unveiling of the true side of the porn industry. Porn is a $97 billion industry, according to Kassia Wosick, assistant professor of sociology at New Mexico State University. With this amount of money being the case, the porn industry’s bottom line is much more important than any concern for the well-being of viewers or performers. Just take into account this quote from former porn actress Anita Cannibal:
“I have been a performer now for 14 years in the adult film industry in many countries, states . . . all over the place. I have worked for most of these companies, and I was around for the once-a-month HIV-positive outbreak in ’98. Yes, I was, and I got to see those performers that nobody knows about—that nobody claims that got HIV, that are not a part of the statistics—walk out the door as non-performers, not to be counted.”
“Yeah, there are a lot of cover-ups going on. There is a lot of tragedy. There are a lot of horrible things.”
Starting to get the picture? Not only does the porn industry damage the lives of those who produce it, but it is extremely harmful to those who view it as well. Porn is inseparably linked to sex trafficking and is even shown to be as addictive as hard drugs. So we think it goes without saying that the delusional ideal of “ethical porn” is simply a marketing tactic but a corrupt industry with one singular objective: making money.
This post is taken front he website, Fightthenewdrug.org. For more information, go to: http://fightthenewdrug.org/is-there-such-a-thing-as-ethical-porn/#sthash.V84uyoX1.OdxpaXis.dpbs
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