The Standards of The Pornographic Industry Are Immoral

Thanks for the debate WindWaker. -- Pornography, according to dictionary.com, consists of "writings, pictures, films, etc, designed to stimulate sexual excitement." [1] The point here is that porn is created with the intention of stimulating people sexually. It helps them get off. Porn is thus responsive to the desires of its consumers. -- Pro claims porn is bad because its depiction of human sexuality is often extreme, violent, sensationalistic, or perverse. Thing is, this is a reflection of our desires. No one is forced to watch porn, individuals CHOOSE to watch it. The pornographic industry thus makes extreme or perverse porn because there is a demand for it. There is an audience out there that craves that kind of porn. This doesn't make the pornographic industry bad. It makes them good. They are catering to and fulfilling the desires of different people. That's why you can find all sorts of porn out there, ranging from softcore to perversely violent and fetishistic porn. Pro claims porn portrays people as sexual objects. I counter, so what? What's so bad about this? People are as much their bodies as they are their minds or souls. What if I were to concentrate on a person's sense of humor to the exclusion of their other characteristics, would this be a problem? No, it wouldn't. There is nothing wrong with portraying someone as a sexual object because we are sexual beings who function as sexual objects during sex. Pro's argument is like if I were to say, televised sports are bad because they exclude the "human dimension" and focus purely on the physical. Of course, this is ridiculous. Just because porn (or sports) focus on the physical doesn't mean they exclude other aspects of being human. Pro claims the pornographic industry is bad because the healthy and safety of actors is secondary to profit. Pro fails to provide any sources for this claim. But supposing Pro is correct, for the sake of argument, it still doesn't follow that the pornographic industry is immoral. Entering the porn industry is a choice that individuals make. There is not a single person working in the pornographic industry that forces actors to engage in dangerous actions. The actors and actresses in the pornographic industry are there by choice, and any risky or dangerous behavior they engage in is, likewise, by choice. Thus, the porn industry is not responsible for any harm that comes to the actors/actresses. Pro claims porn is bad because it is widely available. This argument can be dismissed entirely. It has no impact or force whatsoever. There are many things that are widely available that are nonetheless moral. The availability of something is not a factor in evaluating it morally. Porn, I contend, is not only moral but good. It gives us a view of the world's sexual possibilities. Porn offers not only basic sexual information but also the possibility of alternative experiences of pleasure that you never could have imagined. It thus enhances and expands the limits of our sexual life. Furthermore, porn is a source of solitary enlightenment. The problem with the actual act of sex is that it can be dangerous. Porn offers a way for people to learn about sex, and to experience sexual pleasure, without having to engage in actual sex. The existence of perverse and violent pornography is thus a good thing as it teaches us about risky forms of sexual behavior without ever having to engage in them. To put this another way, porn in fact offers us vicarious access to emotions and experiences that otherwise could only be experienced directly. It provides us with a sense of how it would "feel" to do something. [1] http://dictionary.reference.com...