Robin Morgan, an American author, feminist, and child actor, made the following statement in her book, Theory and Practice: Pornography and Rape, in, The Word of a Woman, part 1, which which was written in 1974, but published 1992;
“The act of rape is merely the expression of the standard, ‘healthy’ even encouraged male fantasy in patriarchal culture, that of aggressive sex. And the articulation of that fantasy into a billion-dollar industry is pornography….Pornography is sexist propaganda-no more, no less. Pornography is the theory: rape is the practice” (pp. 137, 139).
Morgan, is stating that the consumption of porn by men increases their willingness to rape, and aggravates hostility. The statement is one that has spawned debate across multiple lines, for while many agree with Morgan, others find this a rash and blatantly misleading statement. One reason for such outcry against the statement by Morgan, is the obvious all encompassing nature of the word pornography. I for one feel that despite your views on pornography itself, one has to make the clear distinction between an issue of Playboy, child pornography of any king, rape films and hard core bondage.
Whilst one may read Playboy and develop nothing other than genuine sexual arousal and curiosity, an altogether different perspective and sense maybe developed from one who watches or looks at images which is viewed as “aggressive pornography”. There is no sense in arguing that one who watches rape videos may be likely to be enticed to rape as they find such images arousing. However to link the two into one all encompassing statement seems to be what draws the most discourse and thus splits the party down the middle, or into even more pieces.
While my personal views on pornography may not always appear apparent, regardless of my thoughts I do see that there is a line, though I am not always certain where it is always crossed. I am not an ultra conservative, nor a feminist, I have no classification for which I have yet found to place myself. Regardless I do find that the lines of sexualization, femininity and exploitation have often become intermingled and at times this unclear merging I find seems to be more unproductive.
Cast your ideals aside, you can stand on one side of the fence and I on the other, but is there not a middle ground where one can meet? Yes, there must be…child porn for one, lets be clear those who advocate for its acceptance are nothing more than pedophiles, and while they may claim not to be…trust me they do as I’ve received enough responses, hate mail and people looking for acceptance, in my time to know the only person they are trying to fool is themselves. So we agree? Great, lets move on to another area…rape films and images. Can one advocate that such types of porn are ever valid? The first e-mails out of the box will surely be from those who state, but they are only simulated images and of course there is nothing wrong with this fantasy play…but isn’t there? One how is the view to know when such images are real, or acting, and what type of person finds arousal and gratification from watching another violently abused? In my mind what first comes to head is of course a rapist, or potential rapist, thus these sexual images seem to have no validation, for I cannot imagine when a simulated unwillingness for sex is acceptable.
While child sexual exploitation and rape films of any nature obviously fall clearly on one side of the fence, and an issue of Playboy and Maxim on the other, we are still left with a large amount of the commercial sex industry that falls into grayer areas, so where do we place the line and how far will it shift?
As I sit her writing this I have seen a commercial for Playboy TV, Erotica TV Network and slew of call in singles “chat lines”, and it is clear as day that the nature of such adds and their frequency has dramatically increased over the years. So while our society is increasingly sexualized, including TV ads for birth control, erectile dysfunction and sexually transmitted disease, which play in the middle of the day and now require explanation to children…which is something no one should have to do. We also see a major shift in our language, as it shifts more and more into a sexual nature and what has become a glorification of a sexually explicit lifestyle including, pimping, which is in fact trafficking…just turn on your TV and count how many times you hear the work “pimp”, “ho” or “b***”, it will leave you baffled. Often this transition is unnoticed and completely misunderstood, just the other day a girlfriend made a comment about my shoes calling them “hooker shoes”, since when did high heals label one such a way? Or to click on to Facebook and see a friend label a childhood photo as “me pimping”, I know for a fact he never “pimped”, so why the label? The fact of the matter is that its become so normalized that its like they don’t even understand what it means, and both of these people are over the age of 40, well educated and know full well I work in anti-trafficking. The truth is one can go on and on, but the reality is that the nature of porn has increased in its violent nature, the age at which one is introduced to sex is lower and lower, as we have increasingly sexualized our society, and all of it has a heavy consequence for which our children continue to pay a higher and higher price.
No matter where you stand on the debate of the commercial sex industry and pornography, children are not willing participants to sex, or sexual advances, nor are children ever anything less than innocent victims. The images of child porn are never truly recovered, the are left to float in the virtual world and continue to victimize. The pain and scars of sexual abuse may fade in time, but they never go away, the trauma they leave behind often stays buried, but will always find its way to the surface in some form one day or another.
I came across this site, Quotes on Porn, which has some interesting and diverse views.
