This is a comment I place on two opinion pieces of the ABC Religion and Ethics site. One is “Reasons to be weary of anti-porn zealots” by Jennifer Wilson. The other is Gail Dines’ “Exposing the myth of free porn”. I think I was too personal in my comments but I stand by the points made. I once agreed with Gail Dines but now I cannot!
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From the condemnation of Tamar (Genesis 38) to the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53 - :11) puritanical thought has appeared to be proper but really was totally oppressive.
Most pornography is the objectification of a person, mainly women. They become objects of lust, not human beings. Yes, I must confess that I have used porn and have objectified women. It is this objectification of another that is the problem – not the graphic sex acting in a pornographic film. We might not like it, but pornography is just an art form that titillates.
Gail Dines seems to miss this point. She confuses the art with the sin. I have not used porn and objectified women also – however I have never been able to wolf whistle. I have also watched a ‘naughty’ film with my then girlfriend and had a very memorable night. Further, that film genre that was mentioned in the article. We loved playing it out but would be horrified if anyone did it for real! I would not say we were engaged in objectification but mutual exploration of the darker side of our humanity is a safe and trusted environment.
Trying to play the socialist moral card by pointing to the increasing porn industry corporatization simply does not work either. So how is the porn industry different from any other industry in the Western capitalist world? Our economies are now characterised by big corporate oligarchies with small players struggling for air.
The porn industry has engaged in a marketing strategy that has been forced on them. Can you imagine the music or film industry creating free film and music sites? No, both industries have fought what they have labelled piracy. Both industries have lobbied governments to make internet service providers responsible for what their customers download. Why? Because their products are freely available in shops and cinemas. The same is not true of the porn art form. To get around excessive censorship, ‘free’ porn sites have been created so that customers can sample the material for sale. In the past, we have prevented people from going to the cinema or buying a video (in its various historical forms). We have restricted the genres so that we could protect our children. Now, our children just need to fire up a computer.
Yes, pornography harms both men and women. We see it as naughty. So does driving cars or eating fast food which we don’t see as naughty. We need to stop being so puritanical about it. We need to stop threatening Tamar and the woman could in adultery with stoning.
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