Isn't morality subjective? So, it doesn't matter if one person or group believes something to be immoral.
Irrelevant premise, but I'm not going to start on subjective morality. Rather, I'mma be on topic.
But first let me engage in a bit of narcissism: It is a shame I haven't been active here. I could tell you all I am insanely liberal, but without knowing me, it is difficult to appreciate the weight of the following:
Porn is bad. Yes, pornography, the favorite target of anti-moral-crusade moral crusaders. Commonly cited as a victimless crime, pro-pornographic sentiment is all but unavoidable in the 21st century.
Despite its philosophical importance, I'll spare you all the discussion about how history works and why becoming less conservative about something isn't automatically a good thing and get to qualifying my statement.
First, porn is not per se bad or morally wrong. Rather, the porn industry is, for lack of a more dramatic word, a blight upon society. The actual concept of taking videos of people having sex and displaying them to the public is not wrong, just the way in which it is implemented in our world s distasteful.
The porn industry in the United States increasingly utilizes the degradation and abuse of women as its primary asset for revenues. Porn has, and increasingly depicts women in painful or humiliating situations, or generally dominated by men and robbed of all voice and personality save a phony desire to bring carnal pleasure to their abusers.
Which is pretty bad,because, hey, people being treated horribly on a daily basis in order to fuel a multibillion dollar industry, or worse, people's sexual pleasure. That's some Bladerunner stuff if you read into the tone of the setting. But we aren't done:
The careful reader will note that I have chosen to focus on the abuse of women in the porn industry. This is not because men involved don't suffer, far from it, but rather because it is the
norm for females to suffer. The gendering of the violence and cruelty in the porn industry is far more offensive than an equal exploitation system. The edge of sex-based discrimination offers porn its insidious edge, transforming it from mere cruelty for profit to institutionalized evil.
Now, you might say "But Xzeno, it's just porn. It's not like real people are being degraded or treated that way! This one stu-" but that's the thing, fun to read but poorly argued hypothetical, they are. While porn my hide its injustice behind the rhetoric of fantasy, it is reality for thousands of men and women. Every day, thousands of women are exposed to the degradation and abuse of the industry. And, in the world of pornography, they aren't abused for rough luck or their sins, they're abused
for being women. And this abuse is glorified and sexualized. Made to be an object of lust, not indignation.
And many porn actors and actresses enter the porn industry, not because of a life-long desire to desensitize their countrymen to the evils of sexual abuse, but because they lack options. They need money to survive, and enter an industry designed to keep them trapped there, their suffering sold to millions.
"But hey, it's hard to blame the porn industry: they're just making money, right?" Yep. That's the tragedy of it all. It's not some evil plot by the porn industry, it's a reaction to the market. The market they helped create and continue to control, but a market all the same. The people committing these atrocities didn't make the world like this,
we did. We purchased their videos, we viewed their websites, we put our money into their pockets so they could continue the trend towards the abuse and degradation of women. We created an atmosphere ready to embrace this kind of porn, we funded it, we said it was okay, and you know what? We can change it.
If no one supports this type of pornography, it won't continue to exist. Viewing it on a website for free is supporting it. Renting it on netflix is supporting it. Even viewing pornography you see as relatively abuse-free on websites that feature or facilitate abusive, degrading porn is a mode of monetary support.
The way I see it, there are four ways you can go with this:
You can ignore the evils of the porn industry, say they aren't real, cherry pick all your statistics, cook up whatever nirvana fallacy about one person not making a difference you want so you can not change what you do and live a guilt-free existence. This isn't very hard, and is a very common way people cope with truths they don't like. It's human nature.
Or you can be like Oreo and just not care. Acknowledge that you are directly contributing to the suffering of thousands of women whose only crime was being women, and say screw it, I do what I want. More brave than the first one, but I'd question your ethical code.
Or you can be like me and boycott the porn industry. Sure, it's hard to make a difference by yourself, but together, we really can create a world where pornography is ethical and equal. And even if we fail, you gain peace of mind: you can look back on it all, how we embraced this shameful excuse for entertainment and say "No, not me. I said no. I said I wouldn't support this, and I did my best. It wasn't much, but it was all I could do." Obviously this is the choice I am pushing for.
Option 4 is the one most of you think you're picking. Option 4 is that you're right and I'm wrong. Tough thing is, it'll be really tricky to tell if you're picking option 4 or option 1. I think it's 1 of course, because I think I'm right, but for the sake of completion, I've included option 4. Just please, don't try to take it. For your own sake. For the sake of porn. For the sake of all of us.
