i DONT like pornography.

for what its worth, these are simply some ideas i have about pornography - and what it could also stand for, because a lot of our lives and actions are lived out in symbols.

first, the most obvious aspect: all pornography is an insult to life.... sex is a celebration of life, of the creative force, of divinity. to reduce it to an experience where people are just about human, and indulging in decadent warped fantasies in undeniably an insult to life. its sort of saying "hey life look - im not big enough to spit on you directly (i cant even grasp in entirety what youre about) so im going to deface your symbol". its pathetic. theres this smallness, furtiveness ..... meanness associated with porn. its for people who are so small that they cannot celebrate LIFE. i cannot say it well, but i think thats one brilliant para in atlas shrugged..... it describes how two people have sex not as an act of celebration, but as something where they are mutually belittling themselves and each other...

second, if you look at statistics - more men see/read pornography than women. and of all the pornography ever made, some 90+ percent depicts women. lesbian or gay pornography is very marginal. so pornography is a thing driven by markets that are a). male, b). stereotypical . that means pornography is like the worst form of advertising - it shows what you fantasise about, and also influences what you will fantasise about. the people talked about or shown in porn are often selected for deviant characterestics... like an extra big penis/ bust or whatever. they are made into freaks and their dignity is stripped by making them sex objects. not only the person in the film, but also the audience is less "human" for watching it. pornography is like ditchwater - whether weve been in contact with it for a second or for a life time, we come out the dirtier for it. let me simply say, i dont think loving life is like wearing silk clothes - to be assumed for specific occasions. its a permanent fixture - your mental skin. you make it more difficult for yourself by dabbling in dirt.

pornography being the warped thing it is, by watching it, i think we reinforce the behaviour of people making the movies and trying to live out their perverted fantasies. the doer and the deed are not that distant - we become silent collaborators. we dont even have the dubious courage of that person who stood up and stripped before the camera. were trying to play dirty by second hand means so that we may have the "goods" without paying the price. as i see it, thats exploitation twice over on all scales : moral, economic, spiritual, mental, physical.....

look at the person in the movie. porn isnt about celebrating the body and the nude, its to make a mockery of the dignity that two have. the concept of the power and strength of the nude is way beyond the scope of porn. have you felt awed by david? by the greek and roman statues? have you felt the same reaction seeing porn?

you know, sex is so closely linked to SO many parts of our lives. see thats why the emphasis on sexual cleanliness for mental cleanliness. the link between sex and your mind - the politics of the mind are so strong... look at the most common political systems - capitalism and socialism. have you noticed sex is also defined in their principles? yeah - they tell you what you can own, what you can buy, whom you should vote for - and sleep with. read whats written between the lines: its very interesting!

theres this concept that im only hazily aware of..... something im yet to fully appreciate, but i think the outlines are very promising. let me try and put it into words: here goes.....

if you look at ancient peoples attitude towards sex - any cultures: greek, roman, indian, egyptian - the impulse and its associations were celebrated and honoured. the premium was on the thing of creation, re-experiencing god (which is why the so-called heathen religions worship sex - starting with our phallic shiva). it was a reminder of feeling love, responsibility and whole spectrum of things like that. but now if you look at it, the impulse is shamed - "sex is dirty" - and the object or outlet it paramount. as in whom are you f__ing - (thats the accepted rule :you have to screw if youre aroused) is it a man or a woman? if its a man, shit you’re gay! (who the hell said thats unnatural??) if its a woman, does she have the impossible physique you fantasised about? never mind if you cant remember the last 20 women you slept with, you SLEPT and thats primary...

can you see this around you ? its happening.... sometimes the media sound like theyre psyching you into some kinda sexual incontinence!! i think that term - sexual incontinence is actually biblical or something, but its perfect! i came across it in this lovely book, dante's "inferno".

the way they looked at sexual urges in those times was brilliant. it was so commonsensical and healthy... media conditioning runs deep.


that was the unemotional part. this is the emotional reasoning -

1. as a woman, i object STRONGLY. the woman youre seeing in that movie is someones mother, wife, sister, daughter - and shes my kin. she is already being exploited in so many ways, how dare we do this to her in this intensely basic parameter as well? social systems take a long time to change, yes, but pornography is such a simple thing to stop promoting. what gives you 2 minutes of cheap kicks is costing someone else their life. dont fool yourself. the price is nothing less. can you imagine that womans kid trying to make sense of the world saying, “yeah, my mom’s a porn actress”? children deserve better.

2.porn is tool of peer pressure. youre cool only if you "do" porn.... get real. i think peer pressure is a really dirty game: people who dont have the courage themselves feel so defensive that someone else does to refrain from doing something, that they resort to really dirty means. marketing to the rescue again : in reality im a smaller and dirtier person than you for doing something, but that makes me feel defensive and your integrity makes me insecure. so ill pretend that im actually doing something ultra cool, and that you are so "yknow, stuck up" that you wont join me - you dont belong. social ostracism and isolation are very real and powerful weapons that most of us cant handle. we’d sell their souls to "belong".

3. how a society treats women is a very simple indicator of how the society really is. basic anthropology. sexuality and sexual politics are like signals of a much bigger picture. what im seeing scares me. stop proliferating the symbols until they become problems themselves - it makes solving the other issues much more complex and difficult.

4. when people see porn and then talk of having meaningful relationships or celebrating life and all that.... it leaves me amazed. how do they smooth out that blatant dual standard?!! what, because its "down there" and not always visible it doesnt count? outof sight is out of mind? i really, honestly, dont get it.

this whole argument is the truth. i would say it every time and any time a discussion came up on porn. it could be my best friend or a stranger, but i will NOT keep quiet about porn if silence is agreement or consent. its beyond being personal - its partly about an ideal...

thats about the sum of what i think about porn. it feels instinctively a very, very bad thing.

feminist issues


sex pornography patriarchy feminism