Poll: Can pornography exist in a sexism free society?

[Inglorious891]

With the discussion about sexism/objectification in society fair hot nowadays, there's a question I've been wondering about that I've never seen brought up before. Namely, is it possible for a form of media whose entire existence centers around sexual objectification properly exist in a society that is either free of sexim, or desires to be?

The way I see it, pornography centers around objectification. For the time you're viewing whatever form of pornography you're looking at, the person/people you're viewing exists soley for your sexual gratification. Sure, when you're done with your viewership that person/those people go back to being people first and sexual objects second, but for the time you spend enjoying that media those people are for sexual gratification first. Because of this, pornography lives and thrives over objectification, and if a society really wants to aim to eliminate most if not all forms of sexism present, then wouldn't pornography, logically, have to kick the bucket as well?

I know putting a ban on porn would go about as well as Prohibition in the 1930s, but think about this concept in a more ideal form versus an actual form.

Outright banning pornography might be extreme, I realize, but perhaps making more forms of it illegal and punishable much like child pornography would be the way to go? For example, porn that simulates a women being raped/sexually assaulted by a man would be illegal due to concerns that men who view it might think of women more as sexual objects versus people.

So my question is thus: do you think pornography is a form of objectification, and should it be either limited in what forms are allowed to be legally made/distrubuted, banned outright, or allowed to exist as it is now? And should pornography aimed at both men and women be effected equally, or just pornography aimed at men? Personally, I can see how someone could argue that pornography aimed at men should only be banned, while pornography aimed at women should still exist. I wouldn't agree with them, but I can see how they'd make that arguement.

Edit: Seems like I forgot a couple of things. First is a question: if you regularly view pornography, but also think that society has serious issues with sexism/objectification, how do you justify your viewership?

Spoiler: Second is my own opinion on the matter

Personally, I like to think I'm mentally stable enough to both be able to view porn and not have any addiction/mental issue form as a result. I do think porn objectifies people, as I made obvious above, but as long as it's done in a certian mindset different from my mindset when I'm dealing with women normally, I don't see any issues (that second mindset being that these are just people who are a different gender then me).

 

[Dizchu]

It really depends on the kind of porn. And whether or not it is objectification also depends.

When it comes to people starring in porn films or modelling for adult photoshoots, they're not quite there only to gratify the viewer. They're a part of the process, they're not doing it to please you more than they're doing it to make money or express themselves. They're performers and models. When one listens to a classical piece, are the musicians being objectified because ultimately all that matters to the listener is how it sounds?

Porn and erotic media are essential, I think. It's good to have a way of getting a sexual release without the necessitation of the direct input of another person (because let's face it, many of us don't get that luxury). Sexual repression is a dangerous thing, in my opinion. Though it is necessary when it comes to certain individuals (pedophiles and zoophiles for example).

Where it crosses the line is when the production of it is harmful to those involved or when those involved are legally prohibited from being involved in sex acts (those that are underage and I believe bestiality is also illegal in most places).

 

[Ronald Nand]

The way I see it there are only two ways we can overcome sexual objectification in society, we need to create one of the two situations:
-Eradicate all forms of sexual objectification and move towards puritanical views on sex.
-Allow all forms of sexual objectification and move towards sexual liberty views on sex.

Any view in between is sexist and unfair, like the situation we have today where women are heavily objectified yet men being objectified significantly less.

I would prefer sexual liberation, where we stop treating sex as taboo, so I favor the second situation. I think pornography does have a place in a sexism free society, the only thing we need is more pornography which objectifies men, if a significant amount of that exists we can have both the objectification of men and women that's the only way to have a fair society and have pornography exist simultaneously.

If sex stops being taboo and we are a sexually liberated society, sexual objectification will solve itself.

A ban on porn would be ridiculous, it would just create another black market for organised crime to thrive off. I find the presence of pornography depicting rape, violence and 'rough sex' to be very disturbing, so I definitely support banning or censorship of that, I think it should be treated the same way as child pornography, at least for pornography depicting rape, perhaps it would be over-censorship to ban other violent porn.

 

[Erttheking]

Uh...yes? Seriously, who argues against porn unless the people involved have been forced into it?

 

[gandhi the peacemake]

"Can pornography exist in a sexism-free society?" is very different from "Should porn be banned/limited?" is different from "Is porn a form of objectification?" The last of your questions, "Should porn aimed at men be banned whilst allowing porn aimed at women?", is really just a more specific way of asking "Should porn be banned/limited?".

So with that in mind:

1.) Can pornography exist in a sexism-free society?

Yes. A society free of sexism (ie the systemic favoritism of one sex over other(s)) can and/or should accommodate the existence of pornography.

2.) Is porn sexual objectification?

Not inherently, no.

3.) Should porn be banned/limited?

Depending on various factors, yes, no, and maybe. In your hypothetical sexism-free utopia, no. Even pedophilia and bestiality porn would be fair game, though there is the small logistical problem of getting informed consent out of a child and an animal, respectively. You know, considering neither a child nor an animal are capable of giving informed consent.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Uh...yes? Seriously, who argues against porn unless the people involved have been forced into it?

Pretty much. I think there are a lot bigger sexism issues to be addressing anyway then paid women being objectified.

 

[DANEgerous]

Of course it can. If you want to take a video of your sexual escapades people will likely like to see it, so what? There is porn of me on the web and I do not care. Consent is all that matters to me if the sex, filming, and posting all have consent make all the porn you want hoss.

Honestly A girl wanted to pay me to watch me bed my boyfriend, I did not let her. she was going to give me 50$ and I was like "no i feel guilty if I take this" we are acutely still friends I have slept with her and she has had many free shows. This is clearly porn, live porn in fact. Is it sexist? No.

 

[DefunctTheory]

The problem is thus: the idea that pornography makes people objectify the opposite sex. And that idea is completely without merit. Here's two things that have happened in the last 100 years in the 1st World.

1. Pornography has steadily become more prevalent, more accessible, easier to consume, less 'taboo,' more varied, and people are consuming it in ever greater quantities
2. Women have obtained more personal rights, have obtained higher status in society, have become more independent, and are treated better and better by the opposite sex

Do you see the problem here? As pornography becomes more a part of our collective lives, women are treated better.

Does that mean pornography has had a positive effect on sex relations? No, of course not. But its a pretty strong indication that as a whole, the two are almost completely unrelated. But if you want to have a discussion of the banning of anything, you have to provide some sort of reasoning for it. Raw historical observance shows pornography is not harmful. Gimme some sort of study or argument to the contrary to mull over, and perhaps we can have a discussion.

As it is, the premise itself is completely unsupported. So no. All consensual porn is fine in my book (As in the actors in the porn are all participating consensually).

EDIT: Totally On Topic.

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

There are two primary outlooks on porn and what it means for women: it's bad for women because it is used primarily by men to gain sexual pleasure from, or it's good for women because the women who do it are choosing that for themselves and are using their sexuality however they damn well please.

I'm rather in the second camp. Is it used mostly by men for oogling? Yes. However, it would not have existed if a woman had not consented to have sex with someone, have it recorded, and have it sold explicitly for that purpose. And as AccursedTheory pointed out, as the porn industry has grown in western countries so have women's rights. Conversely, in India pornography is illegal, yet they have pretty rampant problems with rape and sexual harassment. I don't think the legality or use of porn has anything to do with street harassment or rape, or the general position of women in society.

I do, however, think both genders are empowered when sexuality isn't seen as a bad thing. The only way the existence or enjoyment of porn can hurt women is if society perceives female sexuality as an inherently bad thing. Yes there's a time and a place, and yes it should be consensual, but porn fulfills both of those requirements. Men shouldn't be made to feel ashamed of enjoying something made for titillation in a time and a place where being titillated is appropriate, and women shouldn't be made to feel ashamed of titillating someone when the time and place is appropriate.

Yes it is shameful for a man to randomly grope women or a woman to randomly expose herself to men, but neither of those behaviors are promoted in porn. With the exception of roleplaying, with porn everybody signed on for just that sort of thing. Saying porn somehow encourages people to objectify everyone and harass strangers is like saying boxing encourages people to punch strangers in the face.

 

[Vault101]

Not all porn is the same...and yes women do like their kicks as well, its just that mainstream porn is often not liked by people who aren't straight guys

I'm kind of split personally about what effects certain types of porn might have on people

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

If it's concensual, let it be. Everybody wins.

 

[Ikaruga33]

Is it really objectification?
Yes, the actors in pornography do exist to gratify the viewer sexually.
But in the same way, someone who works at McDonalds exists to gratify my hunger.
Is the viewer objectified by the company? Their only purpose is to provide the company with money.
I don't think that the term 'objectification' is valid here, otherwise all forms of employment could be called 'objectification'

 

[mecegirl]

In a society without sexism the mainstream porn industry would look a lot different, mainly in that it would be a lot more diverse.

For instance. It wouldn't be rare to find both girl on girl and actual lesbian porn. Or there would be both female and male masturbation videos in the "straight" sections of porn websites because the assumed audience wouldn't be a straight man, but rather all straight individuals. Likewise, there would be sections for both blonde women and blond men on straight websites. Female performers in straight porn might be more likely to have actual orgasms. Male performers might get actual screen time, instead of the camera mostly focusing on their genitals, which would raise the likelihood of them being conventionally attractive.

 

[Tanis]

As long as the people involved aren't forced, and aren't children/mentally impaired, I don't care.

 

[Johnny Impact]

There's a big difference between looking at pictures of naked chicks in your own home to help get yourself off when you feel the need, and treating real women with disrespect in the real world.

I'd love to have pleasant conversation, shared activities, mutual support, and other relationship stuff, up to and including pleasing a partner sexually instead of just myself. The reality is I am a fundamentally repulsive person and togetherness simply isn't feasible on any level. That leaves me encumbered by my own unsatisfied biological urges. Sometimes I just want the distraction of sexual desire to go away for a little while. This is most easily accomplished with the quick simplicity of a good jack off. A good jack off is more easily accomplished with visual aids. Using visual aids does not mean I hate women, or think of them as objects, any more than a woman masturbating to naked pics of some greased-up male bodybuilder hates or objectifies men.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Yes and no.

It could, but the industry, and how society views it (and to an extent the content) would be very different from the way it is now.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

The best porn Ive seen is where they is chemistry, where the actors seem genuinely attracted to each other, where they kiss and talk and smile and enjoy the experience and the camera doesnt matter. This sort of porn seems sadly rare, though it does seem to be getting more common with the rise of the amateur stuff. I think this sort of stuff would be more common in a sexism free society, because sexist free or not, we still have needs, equality isnt the opression of sex, I wish there were more sex positive feminists.

 

[Kajin]

If anything I'd think a society without sexism would have a higher incidence of porn aimed at women. Guy on Guy porn or various subsets of porn with different guys to fit a woman's different tastes. Unless everyone had their sex drive lobotomized out, people won't ever stop being horny and horny people are why porn exists in the first place.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

There is nothing wrong with pornography in and of itself, however, it would not exist as it currently does and would necessarily change just as the society changes. Sexist elements would be removed, and really you would not even need laws to accomplish that if you actually existed in a sexism free society, as people would change sexist elements on their own if it truly was a " sexism free society".