"Can pornography exist in a sexism free society?" - short answer, yes, but not in the form we know it.
Longer answer ( in parts).
SO firstly Lets think about the actors, Sure if they are doing it in full awareness of what they are doing and why they are doing it, and they have no issues and are happy with that career, then who could have issues with that, they are actors, performers playing a role. That being said I know, and have known, many people who have been strippers, prostitutes, burlesque performers and drag queens who have stated that the have no issues with what they do, but generally that not really the case, these sorts of career choices often have deep and long lasting implications on a persons attitude towards life and other people ( especially those of the gender paying to 'enjoy' their performance ). The sad fact is that ( yes anecdotally ) in my experience most people who take part in these sorts of roles are subverting themselves in somewhat, which is often damaging.
Yes this is a state that can be avoided in large parts, but the cause here is important, the effect on peoples psyche when they are objectified on a regular basis, the effect comes (in part at least) from being objectified by your audience.
Now for the porn itself: sadly it is the case that in most porn women are objectified, objects of lust and desire, breasts & thighs ( and other parts) there for your viewing pleasure. that is the definition of objectification. This isn't the case for all porn, but it is the case for the majority of porn, and, I suspect it's the nature of the beast.
As has been pointed out, sexualising does not always = objectification, but that is an effect that happens all too often. it is entirely possible to be an incredible object of lust and desire while being 'who' you are ( or who you want to be ) being sexual is not being objectified.
Now for laziness: Yup laziness. this applies to games as it does to porn. There is a market that will pay for something, this something has issues, but is profitable. you can make a little more effort, perhaps spend a little more money and create something that does not have (so many) issues. Part of the problem is that these media are already profitable, and partly because men dominate the workplaces ( yes in porn, women are unlikely to be anything other than actresses ), with no challenges to the status quo in the creation process, the the product being profitable, why would this change? - Not that I agree with this ethically, but it's the state of the world.
slacker2 said:
If you're hot and I don't know anything else about you, then all I know about you is that you're hot.
You always know more, there is always context. A woman in a porn film has a lot of context, and most of that context is "all i exist for is your sexual fulfilment" I'd class that as objectification. I don't disagree with most of your post in concept, but concept and reality are not the same.
Being interested only on an aspect of somebody at a given time doesn't mean that you equate that person only with that thing.
I disagree, again in context, do you ever think about anything other than a woman's sexual aspect in porn? I doubt you worry about whether she's paying her rent. Sure, if that applied to someone walking down the street ( see context again) I'd be worried if you were thinking of her in exactly the same way.
It's probably unlikely that porn will ever not be sexist, but it's a nice goal. But I doubt whether the majority of men buying porn care whether it's sexist, and thats where the profit is.
_/¯. Being interested only on an aspect of somebody at a given time doesn't mean that you equate that person only with that thing. If you're hot and I don't know anything else about you, then all I know about you is that you're hot. What exactly is controversial about that?
