paper on pornography

"Open minded" and "close minded" are really useless phrases, and I really have a hard time why people think that they're making legitimate assertions when they use them. People who hold fringe or unconventional beliefs really like to throw these terms around when people disagree with them, don't they? They hide behind them because usually they can't justify their beliefs or lifestyle, because it's often something that they embarked upon on a fancy or because of peer influence, and has no cultural significance. People who accuse others of being "close minded" are fearful of questioning the legitimacy of their own beliefs, because they know deep down what the truth is, and can't face it. Whatever spin you want to put on it, there is something inherently wrong with pornography; criticism of it prevaisiveness, and the rational that people use to justify their involvement in it, is not being "close minded" or "totalitarian"--criticism of something that is inherently negative can never be anything but positive and beneficial.

 

"Suicidegirls? The title of this is telling us about what we need to know about the mind set of these sad womyn who get into porn.

You don't really beleive that, do you? Glamorous? As for "being in control" I can't think of anything that is more "out" of control. When you pose for porn, you have NO control over WHO looks at you, What they do while looking at you, and HOW they treat others, and what they expect as "normal" female behavior while still effected by the image. Not in control, not by a long shot.

There are better ways of being in control of your sexuality than getting into porn modeling. A LOT better ways.

Please, a good therapist would be preferable to continuing to keep youself a victim to the abuse you once suffered. Think about the other womyn who may be abused while someone is using the images you helped to create. NOT in control, sweetie, far from it.

 

No artist (especially those that workin visual or recorded mediums) has any control over what people think or do when they come into contact with that art. Befopre photography and film, there was still porn. There were certainly female nudes and models who posed for them - were they degrading themselves as well? An artist (or model, for that matter) should only concern themselves with what they are trying to communicate with what they do, not what others are going to read into it.

The human body is beautiful. It is also erotic. Should one outweigh the other? Why should anyone be ashamed of their bodies or with using them in any manner they wish (i.e. sex). None of this would be an issue if we were all nudists, would it?

 

Don't forget to also put in some quotes from women who went into the adult industry by CHOICE and not because they were abused or forced. The most famous porn star I can think of off the top of my head who went into it by choice was Jena Jameson. Also, my cousin Valerie works as a stripper. I'm sure she'd be willing to email you. If you PM me I'll give you her email addy.

 

Porn isn't art, and art isn't porn. A artistic picture of a naked womyn has no more pornography in it than a picture of a bowl of fruit. There are artistic nudes, and there is porn. TWO totally different things.

 

It is all subjective to the viewer what is art. I am an artist though and from my point of view porn isn't "art" but is probably mistaken for art because we are so desensitized by nudity all around us. Maybe it's art to some poeple...maybe some film makers can appriciate the way something is shot or lighting etc....but for the most part it's not going to be used for anything artistic. Mostly just to get people off. I know this isn't a debate about porn. It sure has turned into one kinda. I personally would not be in the porn industry. I think it's overrated.

 

Perhaps you'd like to define the difference between porn and art. Go ahead, but realize that there will be people (many of them womyn) who disagree with you. And I'm fairly certain that the majority of people who have spent time seriously studying art would disagree with you. Annie Sprinkle considers her work to be performance art, but others consider it porn. It's a matter of opinion. Where you draw the line is not necessarily the same place that others draw the line.

There are, for instance, exotic dancers who are artists and then there are exotic dancers who simply walk around naked on heels that are way to high to dance in and show their crotch to anyone who gives them a dollar. I may not like the work of the latter (and I don't) but I'm not going to tell them that they aren't artists. The greatest aesthetic philosophers of our era would tell you that everything is art and everyone is an artist. I agree with that, but I often wish some people would take more pride in their work, and strive to transcend the ordinary in what they do (this is especially true of those working in the sex industry).

Unilaterally declaring all pornography harmful and an offence to all womyn is doing your sisters a great disfavor. Allow them the right to their own opinions on the subject. They are going to have them whether you want them to or not despite your protestations. You would do much more good if you supported all womyn in what they chose to do and worked to help them be proud of their choices instead of denigrating your sisters in the sex industry, which will only hurt their esteem even more, make them more defensive and drive a wedge between yourself (and your goals) and them, making it impossible for you to accomplish the task of strengthening their positions as enlightened, self-actualizing human beings in this world.

 

I saw an E! Entertainment channel show about her, talking about her reasons for getting into the business & her success, how she handles marriage, etc. She never said anything about having been abused, but some of the stuff she talked about seemed a bit off to me... Like her brother taking her to a party, then suggesting she get on stage in a wet t-shirt contest when she was like 16... Nothing was said, but some of the subtext of things that she talked about with her brother just gave me the impression that there was more to the story than what she was willing to tell... But, then, who knows, maybe I'm reading more into it than is really there, due to my general prejudice that most women who get into porn have been abused in some manner...

 

May I highly recommend the book "XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography" by Wendy McElroy. It sheds light on women who work in the porn industry.

The entire text is available at:http://zetetics.com/xxx/index.html

Good luck!

 

wow, after the first couple days after posting this, i didn't think it would go anywhere at all, but it seems it has... thanks for your posts everybody... Fleassy, I especially appreciated yours, since you expressed some reasons for considering going into the business yourself. Debate is Good! I love it.. everybody's opinions, even if not entirely on topic are really helpful to me, and in my research. I'll be reading through that book recommended by thespeez as well.


Thanks again,

Elyse

 

Good luck on your paper. I hope you are able to get information from a wide variety of sources and see the issue from many angles.

I am not going to go into an entire volume about porn vs art. I don't favor "banning" free expression (with the exception of child pornography and snuff porn) (far from Ashcroft, thank you very much) but I think womyn can find better ways to "empower" themselves than to make themselves a meaninless object for the twisted desires of a small segment of the population who care nothing about them as human beings.

 

I think you might be reading into it in the wrong way. She talks in the begining about how she has always been a sexual person and likes to show off her body. She says no one forced her...and her family is really supportive of her...

 

Hey good luck with your project i hope it goes really well for you.
Another element of pornography is the animated side. In Japan nude photographs were illeagle fora very long time, this is where the "manga" genre came from. Origionally they were a series of pornographic comics or images to fill the gap in the market where real photogrpahs could not be used.
If you notice withJapanese Animation a lot of the femal figures have a very western(caucasian) look about them even in the faces and skin colours, maybe this says something about what they deemed attractive. Once pornographic images were alowed in japan the manga ones didnt stop, far from it infact the industrygrew to become an all round animation company. there is still the pornographic element which runs strong throughout most of the comis/films aimed at an older audience but you get a lot of younger based comices and cartoons and images these days too.

Also is Elyse your real name? if so thats really cool because my real names Elise

 

thanks for everybody's encouragment!

why yes it is that's awesome, you do'nt meet many elyse/elises around here, or ever for that matter, hehe