From pornography one learns that forcible violation of women is the essence of sex. Whatever is that and does that is sex. Everything else is secondary. –Catherine MacKinnon, Sexuality, Pornography and Method: “Pleasure under Patriarchy
Some statistics on internet porn (wonderfully ironic) from GOOD Magazine:
Some things to think about. A particularly difficult topic for me, as one with bits of both libertarian and feminist tenancies.
On this issue I side with both the religious right and feministis. I see pornography as a destructive and degrading force in society. At the same time, I still consider myself something of a conservative (in Oakeshottian terms) and a libertarian.
To explain, while I consider porn to be terribly violent, degrading, and disgusting, I worry that in banning it (as MacKinnon suggests) we would only be treating a symptom of the problem (that is, the pervasive degradation of women in our society), and what’s worse, perhaps unleashing greater inconceivable evil by driving pornography underground. The libertarian strains in me say that the government should not ban anything on moral grounds that does not hurt other individuals.
Given all of this, I think the “solution” to the problem of pornography is more people standing up objecting to it. The issue of the pornography provides an excellent opportunity for religious conservatives and (leftist) feminists to unite on a common issue–come to think of it (after I put it down in writing), the possibility of fundies and radical feminists coming together to create a public policy solution to a problem is quite terrifying (too much idealistic illusion). Perhaps I am a conservative afterall.
bonus points: Andrew Sullivan comments on Gaytanamo (warning: link is graphic), the “most controversial porn movie of 2007… [where a] German tourist is kidnapped off the street and accused of being a terrorist, then subjected to abuse and torture. The whole porn world is already talking about it!”
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