Best-Of Advice

On porn

Why do I have a problem with porn? I didn’t used to think about it but the more I read about it the more I feel uncomfortable with it, like men are getting off over women being degraded and it makes me feel sick. But then I think maybe I’m just being a bad feminist? It’s confusing :/

 
Porn isn’t inherently degrading to women any more than sex is inherently degrading to women. What makes things degrading is patriarchal and misogynistic power dynamics.

Some porn is obviously very degrading to women, but there’s also quite a bit of porn these days that is empowering to women. What gets tricky is that some porn is both, depending on where you’re standing. You have to pay attention to the power dynamics at play, not just on-screen, but within the larger context of how and by whom that porn is consumed.

As with any aspect of the sex industry (or any industry, for that matter) if there’s a situation where you need to do a feminist gut check, just ask yourself, who is profiting? Who is in control? Who has the power? If the answer is men at the expense of women, then you have every reason to react negatively.

Whatever problem it is you have with porn, recognize that it’s actually about those misogynistic power dynamics, and adjust your opinions accordingly.

Standard

7 thoughts on “On porn

  1. Google Cardboard Virtual reality porn is an adventure any
    porn lover must try. Anytime men download Virtual reality porn they frequently want to check out College Days, the porno models
    are so incredibly beautiful I go literally insane.

  2. Kylie says:

    What’s wrong with porn in my opinion, is the distortion and vilification of sex. Sex for pleasure is a worshiping of that which we find beautiful. And beauty, in its true form, is that which is good. Our animal desire for sex makes us crave it, and so we associate our desires with beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is false in my opinion. Desire is in the eye of the beholder, and is mistaken for beauty – real beauty is absolute.

    Sometimes our desires are mean and ugly, even the best of us. We think “oh I wish that person would die, I really want some cake, I just want to fuck”. When aman’s sexual desires can be easily objectified and satisfied by watching a woman getting fucked by a man, a group of men, a horse, and he derives pleasure from the experience, he has redefined his ideal of beauty, due to the association of sexual pleasure with beauty. He now thinks that a dirty whore is beautiful, that beastiality is beaitful, that twisted shit-fetish porn is beautiful.

    Porn, through it’s ease of objectifying our desires, twists us into perverts, suddenly craving absurd and bizarre things that we would otherwise find offensive. And when we hold those desires as beautiful, but we know otherwise that they are wrong, we start to feel conflicted and ashamed.

  3. JB says:

    I don’t think you’re feminist or so… it’s just about…how to say it… about two people. it’s necessary to know eachother and than judge… mans are watching porn and they will watch porn for sure. So i think solution for your problem is gooing straight and don’t care about it…

  4. NihilisticSunflower says:

    As a feminist who consumes a lot of porn I can sympathize with your struggle. Some porn is very degrading to women and sex workers are often not treated with respect (which is true on and off camera). However, some porn is made by women and has a different tone to it. The chickflixxx subreddit is particularly good at finding some gentler porn if that’s your jam. Lots of cunnilingus and camera angles that celebrate both bodies.

    Also, if you’re asking yourself the questions that Coke suggested and you still have a problem with the porn in question then I have to ask why you’re upset. Is it because you’re not respecting the sex workers’ decisions? Is it because you have always had a problem with porn and you’re using this literature that you’re reading to confirm your bias? Examine your motives.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *