First, one thing I did like about this third required article, "A Feminist Defense of Pornography" article, is that the author actually came to her conclusion after "interviewing hundreds of sex workers." Note the phrase 'sex workers' as opposed to prostitutes: does she mean that the people she interviewed were working for sex against their will? Or did they choose that lifestyle? Conversely, did they choose that lifestyle because there was no other choice? (Just a few musings I had after reading the first paragraph).
The entire section entitled "Anti-porn feminism" had me both shaking my head in disbelief and wanting to talk back to the computer. I have a hard time believing a statement that is not backed up with evidence, so for this Susan Brownmiller to say "From prehistoric times to the present, I believe, rape has played a critical function. It is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear," I would EXPECT to see some kind of evidence, because otherwise it's just bullcrap. I am aware that the prehistoric people kept evidence of everything via cave drawings, but if there are sexual depictions on the walls, who are we to call it rape? Maybe they were trying to record how much pleasure they felt? Would the males back then have wanted or known what rape was? Did they have the time for that? I'll let these digressions fade into the wind, to be revived perhaps in the comments section.
By the end of the article, I was disappointed that the author mentioned that she talked to "the women depicted in pornographic materials"...also known as porn stars or actresses. Still, this may be a minor issue, but to say the word "sex worker," I picture a woman working in the sex industry against her will--a sex slave. I also think it would have been a more interesting article if she managed to interview the sex slaves to get their take on this issue.
So what is my ultimate view after reading these three articles? At this point in time I subscribe to the "porn is healthy" viewpoint. Although I don't know how an insane person would see porn and not want to try it out on the general public, if it does prevent some people from committing rape, then that is fine by me. I concur with the author's statement that there is a lot of Japanese anime porn, because there really truly is. It's everywhere. So if Japan's rape statistics are lower than the U.S., that's not a whole reason to support porn, but one interesting correlation to note.
Very interesting comment on the authors labeling choice of "sex workers". I frequently use that word because to my understanding it is a more politically correct way to describe someone who is a prostitute or in the pornography business. Generally used to describe people who are willfully using their body as a profession and to make a living.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do think its important to make the distinction between people who make the choice to be in the sex industry and those that don't (human trafficking for example). That is something worth researching and I will keep my eye out to see if there is appropriate language to use for both situations.
Good point.
I agree with Grace re: "sex workers", I believe it is meant to be a fairly neutral description. It's interesting to see it can easily have both positive and negative connotations. Also true, making a distinction between willing and coerced sex workers is important.
ReplyDeleteGood point re: the generalizations about "prehistoric sex." I recently saw an article about this topic, in the NY Times I think; I will try to find it and link it on the blog.