Does Pornography Exploit or Liberate Women? Essay

Professor’s Comment: This powerful essay contrasts the views of two feminist, Catherine MacKinnon and Sallie Tisdale, each of which perceives pornography in widely divergent ways. While MacKinnon's 'Not A Moral Issue' explains the adverse impacts of pornography to women and society as a whole, Tisdale's 'Talk Dirty to Me: An Intimate Philosophy of Sex' is receptive to pornography despite these adverse impacts, suggesting in fact that the solution to the problems associated with pornography is a greater role of women in production of that pornography.

"I don't believe in rape. No means no. Wait, if no meant no, all men would die a virgin. No means work on the neck, the nipples and come back in five minutes. I'm not saying a father should give this version of the birds and bees to his son. Listen she's gonna block your hands four or five times at least. I didn't raise you to be a quitter out there now did I. She wouldn't dress like that if she didn't want to get fingered." Comedian, Daniel Tosh expressed this quote meaning for it to be harmful. But, is it really harmful? Is this what society really thinks? Are women supposed to be easy? Do men need to take control and get what they want? A simple joke can be seen as what our society really

Good sex is considered to be legal and healthy, whereas bad sex is criminalized and dangerous. In contrast to MacKinnon’s view on pornography, Rubin argues that pornography is a means of sexual exploration and can be liberating. Sexual activities are a means through which sexuality can be explored. Rubin argues that anti-pornography movements exaggerate the dangers of pornography as destructive and negative. Anti-pornography movements depict pornography as harmful and degrading to women, but this in itself is harmful for it does not account for consensual and desired sexual activities. Through classifying sexual activities, such as BDSM and sex work, as good and bad, the state effectively limits sexual exploration to certain acceptable societal norms. This is further illustrated through R v. Price, in which the judge ruled that there was no evidence that BDSM videos cause harm (Lecture Slides: February 9). Conforming to cultural norms subsequently ensures that the patriarchal system of sexual value, in which MacKinnon argued is male dominated, is adhered to. Even though pornography can perpetuate sexual objectification, the oppression of sexual desire by the state limits any form of positive sexual exploration. The state and law should not penalize possibilities for positive sexual experiences because of social stigmas. The disapproval of society and the state of particular sexual

Pornography is a controversial subject all around the world. Part of its appeal is its taboo nature. It has been argued that pornography is harmful. Porn is an underground market that is more or less legal but is it harmful? An article written by Diana E.H. Russell in “Dangerous Relationships: Pornography, Misogyny, and Rape” argues that it is. Diana E.H. Russell is a sociology professor. She has researched the issue and argues that pornography is profoundly harmful. Professor Russell believes that it inclines men to want to rape women and that it encourages them to act out rape fantasies. However, Michael C. Seto disputes Professor Russell's theory that pornography is harmful. Michael Seto's article, written with

There have been many speculations about porn and its significance. Many would argue there is no sole purpose for it other then opening up doors for people to fantasize about things that generally do not happen in a normal sexual encounter. However, that is quite the contrary research has shown over the past decade that porn isn't entirely 100% bad. Although, there are negative connotations associated with porn especially for a female, researchers are finding that more

In this essay I will discuss how pornography harms women in reference to A. W. Eatons paper, A Sensible Antiporn Feminism.  Eaton explains that pornography harms women by impairing their ability to pursue their interests. She does this by outlining the Harm Hypothesis, addressing and resolving issues commonly raised by critics of antiporn feminism, and then discussing the harms that are caused. I will then consider an objection raised by Cooke, and how it is unsuccessful.

The biggest example of media oversexualization in today’s media is pornography (Greenfield,742). The Internet, which was created less than 30 years ago, is one of the largest sources of pornography. Although the Internet is useful and can be used for positive purposes, Greenfield states that “"Many

Pornography has been a controversial topic throughout history. With the advent of the V.C.R. Pornographic film industry blew up in the 1980's then again with the Internet in the late 1990's. With the knowledge that wealth could be attained by anybody beautiful enough and willing to have sex on camera, the industry exploded with tons of new talent. Unfortunately, there are severe risks involved in the pornographic film industry: STD'S, mental health disorders, drug addiction, and other harmful affects that should have potential performers thinking twice.

To address the question, it has been already stated that selling sexual services is morally permissible. The distribution of porn has been at the center of controversies in regards to its moral permissibility. This service involves the use of possibly nude actors performing some form of sex in a video, which is typically distributed to viewers in a wide range of geographical locations. The forms of sex can range from masturbation to penetrative sex to BDSM. Porn is used to help sexually excite viewers watching the video. With this, some people have felt that the distribution of porn could potentially corrupt the younger generations. Under the rights-based moral theory, the distribution and sale of this product is morally permissible under certain circumstances. The individuals involved in the video have consented to being recorded and having sex. The individuals involved in the video have consented to having their video distributed as a commodity. If these two conditions are met, then under the rights-based moral theory, the distribution and sale of porn would be morally permissible since the individuals in the video have a right to their own autonomy. Because of this,

The seemingly main reason there is such a growth in pornography is because almost everyone and everything in the world reacts and relates to sex. People are captivated with sex and are excited to see something new or something they have not seen before. People are always looking for a version of sex that is new or more different than the norm. This is soaring the pornography industry to grow one step further in order to keep up with the demand.

The idea that pornography gives feminists of differing opinions this middle ground that they can meet on and see how to articulate the different desires of feminism and what they want to turn it into is one of the main reasons Catherine Lumby argues that feminists need pornography (par 60). As Lumby writes in “Why Feminists Need Porn,” chapter five of her book Bad Girls, “the notion that you can draw a cause and effect line between fantasy and social practice is disturbing and distasteful to some feminists,” (par 60).

According to MacKinnon, the largest tie between trafficking and pornography is that fact that pornographic films fall on both the supply and demand side of the socioeconomic loop. She argues that without the supply of pornography, there would by little to no demand. From then it acts as a positive feedback loop – and increase in supply leads to an increase in demand. This is tied to trafficking as, both traffickers as well as pornography producers exploit vulnerable women, children, and sometimes men for a personal economic gain. Generally speaking, women and children are trafficked for the purpose of creating pornographic films – something that MacKinnon considers a type of prostitution. She argues that “the image of the person is still that

In recent years, the term pornography has been primarily associated with that which is accessed and streamed over the internet, rather than the literal definition of, “obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, especially those having little or not artistic merit.” This form of visual pornography is a popular and successful business as it is viewed for fulfilling pent up sexual desires, however it promotes the act of having multiple sex partners without the need of any commitment. Although it is for this reason that this business is permitted, there are many overlooked, long – term affects that have become topics of controversy. Not only does pornography affect those who indulge in it, but it can influence those who divulge

Pornography for years have been an easy access for pretty much people of all ages to watch freely on the internet (Phillips, 2014). So

In recent years, pornography has established itself as perhaps the most controversial topic arising out of the use of the Internet. The easy availability of this type of sexually explicit material has caused a panic among government officials, family groups, religious groups and law enforcement bodies and this panic has been perpetuated in the media.