Violence Against Women in Pornography

In society today, it isn’t hard to find pornography. With internet access only continuing to become less controlled, especially with the introduction of AI, pornography is becoming easier to access as technology advances. Growing up in Las Vegas, I’ve continued to hear opposing views supporting, and opposing pornography and sex workers working in the porn industry. However, we cannot deny the blatant racist, oppressive labels and stereotypes that pornography places on women. While this may be an uncomfortable conversation to have, it is necessary to acknowledge the harm and history behind pornography and who is being sexualized in our society

One author, Andrea Dworkin, points out the violence exhibited in porn. Specifically, she points out an extremely harmful common trend, where pornographers essentially encourage rape culture by sexualizing an indirect ‘no-that-means-yes’. We observe this through behaviors with patterns, where more aggressive behavior often follows repetitive refusals. Sexualizing such behaviors is scarily influential to society, more so to younger people considering their naivety. While there may be higher rates of sexual assaults towards women, this is an extreme danger to men as well which should be a concern to everyone. Dworkin also reveals the oppression of women, specifically black women, in pornography. She uses Fredrick Douglass’ passion against oppression and for women’s rights to explain how our standards of fighting oppression, degradation, human pain, and humiliation have heavily declined in modern society. She says how people used to put an end to injustices, rather than discussing or debating them. Society focused more on actively pursuing justice in the past, rather than dwelling on irrelevant differences as we do in modern times. 

Andrea Dworkin further proves the harm in pornography by finding the historical roots of violent sexual behavior commonly seen today.  Violent and oppressive pornography are inherently shaped by race and gender. From Dworkin’s work, we can see how experiences of torture and punishment began with first-person testimonies. Some familiar testimonies are from Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, and Primo Levi. Their testimonies were shamed and rejected by the public. The public turned their heads out of shame and humiliation after hearing such horrendous acts with negligent people standing by. Dworkin connects this to women in pornography today with how the public tends to ignore or turn away from testimonies of rape, prostitution, trafficking, battery, and incest. She describes women in pornography to be survivors. However, other authors have brought up the negative implications that come with characterizing certain aspects of sex, such as pornography, as “bad”.

L. Comella writes how it is more important for feminists to focus on studying how discussions of sexual pleasures have been introduced in both, cultural and historical contexts. She rebuts Dworkin’s argument by describing how characterizing pornography as “bad” does not contribute to our understanding of the relationship between sexuality and power in the daily lives of women. Without understanding the contextual roots or the underlying power dynamic we see in pornography, we aren’t able to create effective and lasting solutions. Comella further explains how characterizing pornography as “bad” would actually result in ceasing any critical analysis by having a fixed argument without room to debate.

There are many opposing arguments on pornography by feminist scholars. Many women support pornography believing it gives women more autonomy and power, while other women oppose it revealing its dehumanizing and violent tendencies. I believe it is most important to hear and validate victims’ testimonies over a power concern. If any individual is being harmed by another and speaks out, it’s our responsibility to validate them and do what we can to help. In regards to the harm we see inflicted on women in porn today, I don’t necessarily agree with Comella’s argument of understanding the relationship between sexuality and power. If critical analysis is hindered temporarily for the sake of a person’s safety then we must do what is necessary to put the individual first. 

References: Comella, L. (2008). Looking backward: Barnard and its legacies. The Communication Review, 11(3), 202–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714420802306627

Dworkin, A. (1989). Pornography: Men possessing women. E.P. Dutton.