To a FAKE Feminist

This article is a rebuttal to the following article: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/dont-ban-rape-porn--introduce-more-porn-with-negotiation-and-boundarysetting-8727612.html

It is as though this article is some conscious attempt to malign Feminism. As though, somebody thought: “What better way to create opposition to the movement than combining two infamous topics such as pornography and rape. I know: a Feminist should write of being pro rape pornography!” Your declaration of being a “Feminist” is precisely why _ACTAUL_ Feminists are very keen to denounce neo-Feminsits _AND_ you!

You state that: “Taken as a whole, the plans are technologically unworkable and politically dubious.” Never mind how making this type of pornography illegal in any shape-or -form is far from dubious. Let us discuss how making this type of pornography inaccessible is quite do-able. For instance, we are all familiar with filters placed due to: region and ip address as well as those content filters the user is able to implement herself. Furthermore, when you pretend that “...content blocking possibly leading to decreased access to support for survivors of abuse while allowing the state a frightening level of control over internet freedom” holds true, you are again, QUITE wrong! One __OBVIOUS__ example is that when the word “rape” or “sexual assault” is paired with words such as: “survivor,” “services,” “help,” “counseling,” or “file a report.”A search engine would THEN know that you are looking for help, not some sort of how-to video.

Your age old “trick” of saying that blocking pornographic material would allow “the state a frightening level of control over internet freedom,” violates the well known fact that one’s “freedom of speech” stops where the infringement of the rights and safety of others begins! Again, you may _PRETEND_ that pornography is some "absolutely meaningless form of entertainment” but, I assure you that there ARE real world ramification to one’s watching pornography. While I am sure you HONESTLY ___DON'T CARE__ about what these consequences are, I am going to tell you anyways!  :D

Incidentally, this brings me back to your reference of the bobo doll experiments. I _LOVE_ the cherry picked facts, by the way! Bandura, himself, found that: “Cognitive Social Learning Theory and its earlier variant, Social Learning Theory, predict that people will imitate behaviors of others when those models are rewarded or not punished for their behavior. Modeling will occur more readily when the model is perceived as attractive and similar and the modeled behavior is possible, salient, simple, prevalent, and has functional value.” Firstly, let me inform you that this is gospel in its respective field; it ranks among Frued’s idea of the subconscious.  Now, let us observe that the actors of pornography are viewed as attractive. Also, the actors are not only are NOT punished for their behaviors—specifically, we are speaking in the context of raping another—but are, in fact rewarded! Next, let us consider that raping another can be made salient with the use of alcohol and drugs. Plus, we live in a Rape Culture where victims are automatically reemed whereas the rapists get off scott free (about 1% of rapists go ever see a day in jail). Partially because you can’t go around, externally broadcasting your injuries due to the fact that they are internal. Partially because people feel comfortable with CHOOSING the lesser of two evils rather than systematically analyzing facts, only to conclude that someone they know-- maybe a FRIEND or a relative-- is a rapist.  Not to mention Bro Culture where one’s masculinity, the worth of a male, is measured by how many times he “scored” with separate women. Where, the means of securing sex is entirely irrelevant. "Functional value" is attained also, then.  And, as we know, this modus operandi is becoming increasing prevalent. So, we see, that it is actually QUITE likely that others will emulate what they observe.

The claim that “actual evidence of cultural harm caused by rape porn is very weak” MAY be true if only because it is a RECENT PHENOMENON. There is, however, evidence against a more “benign” form, however, which flies in the face of your claim. According to Jane D. Brown:  “Most mass media rarely depict three C’s of responsible sexual behavior: Commitment, Contraceptives, and consideration of Consequences.” Furthermore, if one were to ask: “ Does the sexual content in the media influence how people behave sexually? Are people having sex earlier, with more partners, without protection or affection because of what they see in the media?” The inquirer would be quickly relegated to the status of a naïve individual when Brown responds that “The answer to these questions is a qualified ‘yes.’” The author explains: “People use stories they see both in the news and in entertainment media as reference points about what’s important and to compare what they already know, or think they know about what’s good and bad, and what should be done about problems. The result often reinforces stereotypes and helps define what is considered appropriate and inappropriate behavior in the culture (Lyengar, 1991).”

Now, in reference to any possible cultural effects of ANY type of pornography—let alone extremely violent RAPE pornography—while I have not PERSONALLY read about any “cultural” studies, I AM well aware of the depth and breadth of studies on large swaths of individuals. Aside from the fact that all types of pornography viewing result in becoming “soft” on rapists (the more violent the pornography, the quicker are the effects), there are other consequences as well. Linz expounds upon this: “The Commission asserted that substantial exposure to the first type is causally related to increases in sexual violence, sexual coercion or unwanted sexual aggression.” The first type being sexually explicit “material that, although not violent, depict women as existing solely for the sexual satisfaction of others, usually men, or that depicts people, usually women, in decided subordinate roles in their sexual relations with others, or that depicts people engaged in sexual practices that would to most be considered humiliating (Commission, p. 41).” According to McCrmick this is an accurate description of most heterosexual pornography.

On another note, when you say that: “…blocking content would do little to stop children from looking at porn” the stament MAY certainly hold IF AND ONLY IF you mean that: blocking content would do little to stop ALL children from having seen at least ONE pornographic image. Otherwise, this is _FAR_ from true! The sheer fact that pornography would be less accessible directly equates with there being  a FAR lower probability of it being accessed-- EVER. Secondly, blocking the content will disable the possibility that some innocent child could stumble upon the material by accident. Ever do an image search on Google and type in something as benign as “Lorentz transformation” and then get intermittent pornographic images of women?! My point, EXACTLY! Moreoever, as kids are a curious bunch (for better and for worse) it stands to reason that once they become aware of this strange world, they might go out of their way to see more of it.  For boys, they have learned young that the number of females they copulate with equates with their social standing amoungst men, whereas women receive the message that THIS is how they must behave in order to be desired by a man (though, they fail to dissect the full message).

Relatedly and interestingly enough, there are three poignant factors that equate to an increased incidence of rape: (1)”Sex magazine circulation is positively related to the rape rate” (Baron and Straus), (2) There is significant tendency for the rape rate to increase as the status of women decreases (Baron and Straus), (3)”Rape rate increases in proportion to the level of instability and disorganization of society” (Baron and Straus). 

Now, let me draw your attention to the statement: “Let us assume, though, that porn does have the potential to teach those who see it about how they should and should not behave when it comes to sex. Why, then, are we not directing all of our energies into flooding the internet with better porn, which teaches people about consent?” I would _REALLY_ just like to emphasize that you are asking our great nation to use pornography as some sort of sex education tool. So, folks, if any one is still reading this—do you __STILL__ not believe that we have an unbelievably large societal pornography problem on our hands?! To combat this either willfully ignorant or consciously destructive statement, I ask you to consult above; where I discussed the effects of pornography as well as other lax attitudes towards sexual intercourse, as presented by the media.

Your rhetorically wondering why if it would “… not be better if all porn contained this process of negotiation and boundary-setting, modeling its audience that this is something which ought to be part of sex”—never mind again that you are ACTUALLY imploring us to use sex as an instructional video (Which speaks volumes about how strongly pornography influences you; how you implicitly take the material as a how-to but, fail to draw attention to how this translates in terms of rape pornography!)—the fact is that people that purchase this type of material are NOT interested in talking! No one would buy it!

So, when you suggest that: ”we need to see better sex and relationship education” I agree with you in this regard. Given that you seem to be suggesting that kindergartners should view pornography as part of their sex education, I _STRONGLY_ disagree with you! In my mind, what would serve us best would be to inform kids of what a healthy and unhealthy relationship consists of. Also, I would expound upon what the many effects of pornography, as well as what some of the more “mild” images of objectified persons, inflict upon the human psyche. Not to mention that I would teach children to dissect what kind of messages these images are sending. Furthermore, I would require kids to write pro and anti pornography essays (they would get to choose). So that those who are pro-porners could have their essays reamed due to the fact that they are given to employ THE _MOST_ elementary logical fallacies and are nearly always entirely and unforgiving emotional. And, that they are entirely unable to substantiate their points because, quite simply, they are wrong in all that they claim (or cherry pick facts like YOU! Just as ironically, none-the-less  ;)  ).

Now, when you state that “banning rape porn will not make it go away” you may well be correct. The fact that it has not been diminished by 100%, however, does not mean that it can not be GREATLY mitigated! When you declare that it will only go “underground” you are stating that it will be so inaccessible that one will need an “in”—to know somebody who knows something—in order to access it. Thus, illustrating that our efforts WILL be fruitful! Thank you for THAT by-the-way! ;)

You’re claiming that its being underground translates to our “being less able to observe the safety of the performers” is patently wrong! Do you think that the only things that take place on those sets all end up on the very film you are surely viewing?! What about retakes and in-between takes?! When you pretend that having sex work legalized and “out in the open” equates to less physical violence, you are sorely mistaken. Even when the practice is fully legalized AND the workers have personal body guards on standby, it is common for a prostitute, by some extraordinarily subtle slip of the tongue for instance, to offend a renter and be physically assaulted. This line of work is inherently dangerous. It does NOT matter how you “spin” it!

Lastly, when you claim that: “The key difference between porn depicting simulated rape and images and film depicting a real rape is the consent of all parties involved,” I need to remind you that the effects on the brain are, in fact, the same. Yes, you can consult my mentioning of Bandura’s work but, you can also recall that the belief of rapists is that the victim REALLY, secretly, WANTED to be raped! So, when a buyer of the pornography sees that there is some women who willingly plays a victim of rape, it feeds into the wish of a man that women—ALL women-- secretly want him to thrust himself into her, no matter how long or forcefully she protests!

In short, you are either willfully ignorant or consciously corrosive! You maim the name of Feminism!

__SOURCES__

Baron, Larry and Murry A. Strauss. “Four Theories of Rape; A Macrosociological Analysis.” Social Problems December 1987. University of California Press. July 29, 2008. ,

Brown, Jane D. “Mass Media Influences on Sexuality.” The Journal of Sex Research February 2002. Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.

Linz, Daniel. “Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials and Attitudes Toward Rape: A comparison of Study Results.” The Journal of Sex Research February 1989. University of California, Santa Barbara. July 29, 2008. http://www.lib.unc.edu/house/mrc/films/full.php?film_id=7702.

McCormick, Thelma. “MACHISMO IN MEDIA RESEARCH A critical Review on Violence and Pornography.” Social Problems 1978. Univerity Press. July 28, 2008.