An Argument Against Porn That's Tough to Beat

[LegendarySandwich]

A while ago, I visited a radical, man-hating feminist blog (I'm not saying that to be insulting; she really did seem to hate pretty much all men), and while most arguments and propositions there seemed to be utter bullshit, there was one point she made that has lingered in my mind ever since. All my rationalizations against it are fairly weak, and my inner Devil's Advocate can defeat them all.

This is the argument:

Some of the women [and men too, I would assume] in porn are coerced into it, and you could be putting money into the pockets of a scumbag porn director.

Your thoughts?

[The Magic Pudding]

Good to see you back Sandwich.

Do you stop wearing shoes because some bastard in Asia mistreats his workers? 
Some may loose a hand to machines, lungs to chemicals.

Maybe I'm rationalizing too.

[LegendarySandwich]

Good to see you back Sandwich.

Do you stop wearing shoes because some bastard in Asia mistreats his workers? 
Some may loose a hand to machines, lungs to chemicals.

Maybe I'm rationalizing too.

I knew that would be one of the first and main counterarguments, but fear not, for this is my devil response:

Just because it's impossible, or at least very hard, to detach ourselves and our money from all types of coercion that occurs, does that mean we shouldn't detach ourselves and our money from any coercion at all?

And thanks for the welcome. I think I'm going to start coming here again, although from the looks of things, it's even more dead than before.

[The Magic Pudding]

Just because it's impossible, or at least very hard, to detach ourselves and our money from all types of coercion that occurs, does that mean we shouldn't detach ourselves and our money from any coercion at all?

You would resist watching anyone who seems young, eighteen may be legal but it's still seem too young to me.  Any depiction of someone being mistreated could be rejected as well.  Having every orifice you own filled at once may be fun for some, I've got my doubts though.

You can get ethical Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, and Palm Oil.  You could add porn to that I suppose.

And thanks for the welcome. I think I'm going to start coming here again, although from the looks of things, it's even more dead than before.

We're not dead, just conserving energy.
There was a fifty post requirement before new people could post outside the Laid Back Lounge, this has been reduced to ten posts.  I think the fifty rule had a bad effect.

[absurdsolidarity]

All the more reason to illegally download it!

But all joking aside...

Coercing people is bad, greed is bad, but is porn itself bad?  Even decades after the sexual revolution, sex is still so closely associated with shame.  If we write off porn as bad, we'd be assuming all people who enjoy porn are perverse.  Really though, if someone knew that a person in the particular porn they were watching was actually forced into it, more than likely they would be against that particular porn.

[fester30]

I would argue that porn has positives as well.  Porn makes my marriage more fun.  Porn helps to take some of the stigma out of sex.  I even think that to a degree porn makes some religions seem a bit ridiculous for their stance against sex.  Perhaps we're winning a few more folks to the atheist side thanks to porn.  There are many porn workers that are happy with it, and make more money with it than they could make in other industries without a college degree.  There are negative aspects to many jobs.  Some people have trouble finding work anywhere else so they work in a bar where smoking is allowed.  They're putting their life in danger in that environment.  We're fighting that fight the right way by banning smoking in bars instead of banning all bars.  We should fight harder against the negatives of the porn industry instead of fighting the entire porn industry.

I am biased, by the way.  I happen to love porn.

[Davin]

Some of the women [and men too, I would assume] in porn are coerced into it, and you could be putting money into the pockets of a scumbag porn director.

I think it is possible that some are coerced, but not all are, in order to make the point have any validity, one would need to determine how many are coerced: If the majority are not being coerced and it is possible to have porn without coercion, then the problem is with the coercion, not porn. It would be just as bad to coerce someone into giving money to the poor.

[Stevil]

Porn is OK, it get get boring quickly though

Healthy to add a bit of spice into a relationship once in a while.

If people are being coerced then it would indicate that the government ought to step in and regulate it, make sure employes are of age, are disease free, are treated and paid well.
Coertion can go with any industry, this is why I think prostitution should be legal.

[ThinkAnarchy]

Yes, some of the women are coerced, and some are even drugged. But women are also coerced and drugged for pure sex, that does not make sex wrong or morbid. The act of drugging, and the individuals who do are, but not the act of sex itself.

As for coercion, I don't see the problem so long as the woman is old enough. Most men coerce women into sex, "come on baby, you got me so worked up, you can't leave me like this." "I promise if you just do this for me I will treat you to a really nice dinner." I also don't think theres anything wrong with propositioning a woman who needs money. She may find it insulting, but if the money is worth the act, she can accept or deny it.

[Medusa]

I dunno. I love porn. I am a woman. I could be conflicted. Some people have to work at McDonald's you know. Some get coerced into getting a job as a sewer agent because it makes good money. Some get coerced into a certain job for fame. We all make the choices we think we can make. If someone wants to make what I think is a dumb choice, I aint gonna stop them.

[Hidelight]

This is one I will barely touch as I am not responsible for anyone's morality but my own

I have cared for very sick/addicted/mentally ill .. exploited people...so for me and porn it is a huge NO....sure it is easy to shrug in a hedonistic world.. My choice on this one..I will not in good faith support an industry with what I have seen first hand..choked and tossed on the side of the road...yeah shit happens so is it ok that a porno is made first?...will it go away...nope not ever...do I think it should be legal and regulated...yup...but I will for the memories I have..never watch porn

If you want to have fun in a marriage....find a mossy picnic table in woods

[skwurll]

There's something you forget, a lot of "actors" in porn get paid. You seem to have "coercing" confused with "raping". It's their choice to have their bodies shown on camera for money.

Now of course, if it's not by choice, then it's rape, which (I believe) is a felony, and morally wrong.

[Medusa]

This is one I will barely touch as I am not responsible for anyone's morality but my own

. My choice on this one..I will not in good faith support an industry with what I have seen first hand.

I guess you don't wear brand name clothes or drink coffee or..I dunno...eat? Tell me an industry you can support with clean hands and I'd mail you a penny!

[ThinkAnarchy]

This is one I will barely touch as I am not responsible for anyone's morality but my own

. My choice on this one..I will not in good faith support an industry with what I have seen first hand.

I guess you don't wear brand name clothes or drink coffee or..I dunno...eat? Tell me an industry you can support with clean hands and I'd mail you a penny!

Purell hand sanitizer. That wasn't directed at me, but I'm a penny pincher. Do you want to send that penny through paypal?

[Medusa]

This is one I will barely touch as I am not responsible for anyone's morality but my own

. My choice on this one..I will not in good faith support an industry with what I have seen first hand.

I guess you don't wear brand name clothes or drink coffee or..I dunno...eat? Tell me an industry you can support with clean hands and I'd mail you a penny!

Purell hand sanitizer. That wasn't directed at me, but I'm a penny pincher. Do you want to send that penny through paypal?

Have you looked into the bribery scandal from Johnson and Johnson (the owners of Purell)?

*puts penny back in pocket.