One of the major things that we always hear when criticizing pornography is that it's abusive and exploits women, turns them into sex objects, increases sex abuse and violence towards women by making it seem the norm and everyone's doing it, perpetuates the patriarchal myth that men are dominate, etc etc. There's actually so many issues mixed in here that I want to take it apart piece by piece and examine it individually.
It is a horrible thing when human beings, not just women, are forced into pornography and prostitution against their will. It is horrible, and no amount of justification will likely change that. However, the general blanket statement that it exploits women ignores the fact that there are people who are proud to be in pornography. Nina Hartley wrote a lengthy article (one of many) in defense of pornography from a feminist perspective. These sort of blanket statements ignores the opinions of the performers as well as the audience who enjoys them. Some feminists argue that the rise of pornography in modern society does a good thing by a) showing the unequal balance of power in a patriarchal society in public view, but also, b) showing the world what goes on in the bedroom. The second point, which might seem kinda par for the course now, was almost inconceivable in an age before mass media. Now, the internet has become a source of information. Women are in a position, more than any other time in history, to understand how to pleasure themselves and others, and having this information leads to better and a more fulfilling sex life.
How about empowerment? Here's a simple example: Naked News filming a topless newscaster on an university campus. People say that it's degrading because it turns the newscaster into sex objects, they're only doing it as a dirty trick for publicity, and attracting negative (or positive? depends which way you look at it) male attention. Is it really empowering? I think it really depends on the woman in question and how she feels. The difference is really slight, but it's there: it's only now, moreso than any other time in history, where women are not legally penalized for choosing to portray herself as a sexual being. It may be that for some members of her audience, she's degrading herself, but it's also a fact that it's only now that she has that choice, and also the power to make that choice.
As for whether pornography increase violence towards women ... I'd like to use a story to illustrate the point. Slutwalk was an against a representative of the Toronto Police, who "gave shocking insight into the Force’s view of sexual assault by stating: “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”". While there were discussions on the other side as to the interpretation of the comment, such as, it's probably not wise to walk in troubled neighbourhoods wearing fancy jewellery and fur mink coats, as in, you shouldn't draw attention to yourself, but really, it's not about sex, or dress. It's about ethics. If we're really concerned that pornography would influence more people to commit sex crimes, shouldn't we also be concerned that violent movies would incite more people to go on killing rampages?
this topic will probably need another completely new rant.
In the end, what's even more important than "whose fault it is" is personal responsibility. People need to understand that they have to take responsibility for their actions, and not live in a world of "i'll do it if i can get away with it, and if i get caught, i'll blame it on xxx and yyy." The choices you make comes with responsibility, and the responsibility comes consequences.
Of course, there's the other side of the coin. We have a previous generation that grew up with the idea of sex, where erotica and pornography enhances it, and we have a new generation being fed images by the internet. Would these new men and women feel that they would have to replicate what they see in pornography because they believe it is the norm?
In the end, I don't really know how I feel about this. I feel that it's better to have porn in the mainstream where everyone can see and critique rather than hidden where more sinister things can happen. In a way, I feel about it the same way I feel about legalizing prostitution: if we can come to the conclusion that it's not going to go away, then it would be better that we make it so that everyone is safe and protected.
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