That pornography has got nothing to do with love or sex should be clear from the word’s linguistic roots. Pornography stems for the Greek words porne ‘prostitute’ + graphein ‘write’ and literally means ‘writing about prostitutes’. Thus pornography has, since its origin been linked to the commercial sexual exploitation of the most vulnerable women and children who have to sell their bodies as utilities for men to achieve orgasms.
The link between prostitution and pornography is particularly relevant to current mainstream pornographic films, which are nothing more than the stylized, recorded prostitution of women in which men can do to women whatever they want. To put it in the words of someone I know and words I have come to agree with – “the only difference between a viewer of pornography and a punter in a brothel is that the man masturbating behind the screen is not directly abusing a woman in order to reach his orgasm”.
Even though viewers of pornography are not directly abusing, hurting or demeaning women does not equate that they are free of responsibility for the abuse. The viewer of pornography is literally and figuratively a behind-the-screen abuser – and logically as guilty of the crime as a person ordering an assassination is of the murder itself. This complicity might feel less clear cut with pornography to some, but it is not. The men who create the demand for pornography, those who order the films and images in which women are insulted, spat at and “fucked hard” directly ask for this abuse to take place.
Many men who view pornography may aspire to be more like men in pornography in some ways – e.g. in terms of the power and stamina - but I think few would want to engage with another being, let alone someone they love and hold dear. The sex that is portrayed mainstream pornography these days is removed, rough and relentless. It is sex in which men prove their masculinity by making a woman choke on their penis. Films in which the man’s sexual partner for the day looks in pain whilst she is ordered by him to continue saying that she “loves it” – really? Sex in which a man humiliates a woman by ordering her to squeal like pig whilst she is performing oral sex on one of his friends – the men laughing disdainfully and exchanging high-fives if the woman complies or scathing her with verbal abuse until she gives in if she doesn’t.
It is clear that this is not about erotica or appreciating women’s bodies. If men were to truly appreciate women’s bodies, they would stop treating them with the disdain they are subjected to in pornographic films. If us men would really appreciate women’s bodies we would not revel in the abuse of them and the women we love. If we would really appreciate, love, respect and empathize with women we would not risk damaging them physically and psychologically only to provide ourselves with visual sexual stimuli whilst masturbating. We would not look at demeaning pornographic images in groups of men and revel in and laugh at the abuse we see. We would put an end to it.
No related posts.
What is pornography? Man, you should read this > http://bit.ly/bCAy9v #violation #porn #sex #BLOGitse Stop violence against women!
Spectacular post. It’s so true. So few men admit that in watching this kind of hate propaganda, they are directly fueling its creation. I’ve heard time and time again, I don’t watch THAT kind of porn, I just appreciate women’s bodies. The porn they refer to, always, without fail, shows brutal anal sex, a money shot on her face, and horrible name calling.
It’s all ‘THAT’ kind of porn. Porn is porn, and if you consume it, you’re a john, just as sure as if you’d paid for a prostitute or a lap dance in a club. Free internet porn creates a demand for more abused women the likes of which have never been seen before. So many men, who never want the same victim twice create more and more demand, which leads to more and more women vanishing off the streets, plucked from their lives and families, trafficked to the clubs and brothels and studios. The world is getting worse for women. If you want to be part of the solution, help stop the demand for pornography, not just your own usage if you do, but talk to other people. Try to get them to see the reality behind the fantasy. It’s a difficult thing to talk to other men about, but it needs to be addressed.
“Porne” is in fact an ancient Greek word for a sexual slave (literally bought for such purposes), and graphein is similarly Greek.
you are right about the language – my mistake and thanks for pointing this out! it is hereby corrected
Both classical and modern ballet have a strong element of high-brow softcore porn, as I was surprised to find out after watching it for the first times. You easily understand why it was the preferred art form of cultured, but lecherous aristocrats, because the unashamed spectacle of supple, fit, fleet, young bodies in tight-fitting, fetishistically cute costumes in various stages of acrobatic, frolicking foreplay can only be called romantic softcore porn. It’s just like a peep show, just much classier, romantic and natural.
With all the strange fetishes out there, I am surprised that the “ballet fetish” seems yet to be undiagnosticized. I suppose it is a rather wholesome fetish, but the whole fairytale, prince/princess, traditional gender roles of pursuer vs. pursued, cute folkloric costumes, clean-shaven cute innocent look and courtship/foreplay frolicking thing is as escapist as any fetish!
I’ve just realized why I equate ballet with porn. My first exposure to porn was probably as a 10-year old, when my parents took me to a Christmas pantomine-ballet thing acted and danced by child actors. I remember being totally shocked by the physicality of the whole thing.
It is food for thought that the most initimate and private human act, where nuances mean more than anywhere else, is not depicted by trained dramatic actors, but by rather random people selected for their large body parts and driven by poverty and desperation. No wonder most porn is so bad!
Shropshire Lad’s contribution raises interesting questions about the definition of porn; I know instinctively that to equate ballet with porn is ridiculous but I have to think quite hard about justifying that. And it is an important debate because, if we make the definition of porn to all-inclusive, we risk losing impact in our oppostion to ‘real’ porn.
I’d agree with SL that there is, occasionally, bodily abuse involved in the ballet business, but that doesn’t make it porn – the same is true of sport and fashion. Furthermore, women (and men) train hard over many years to realise their freely chosen ambition to dance and they simply aren’t paid enough to make it sensible to do this just for the money to satisfy another’s lusts!
I wouldn’t disagree either with the fetishistic aspect of ballet performance, and I’d readily admit that its erotic and romantic charge is something that makes it appeal to me. But not all fetishes equate to porn either, Shropshire Lad; many (maybe most?) fetishes are are entirely harmless and non-abusive.
So, a very interesting contribution that pushes us to think harder about our understanding of what is porn, but, if we start to wrap up such beautiful and life-enhancing art as ballet (at its best) as porn, we will truly deserve the epithet of ‘Kill-Joys’!
Thank you for an interesting reply to my provokative posts. I think the key to differentiating between ballet and porn is that porn is explicit, the explicit portrayal of sex. Ballet can be erotic, but never pornographic, unless the dancers would actually perform sexual acts.
This post explains nothing:
What exactly IS Pornography in Your view, and what is erotica?
Where is the borderline between them?
Is every “fucking scene” Pornography?
Sascha from Germany