What about pornography?
The question whether pornography should be restricted or not has been a question of discussion for a long time and still, people do not have clear answer to that. Some may say that it should be banned because of its violent character and that it encourages inappropriate behavior not only among teenagers but also among adults and that can have negative consequences. However, in many countries pornography and many branches of that industry are legal and they are presented as pieces of art, as part of the cinema industry and a mean of expressing yourself, in quite extraordinary way. That’s why this question has two sides and both of them are right, in sense that it is not right to promote pornography as a way of satisfaction and that it should not serve as an example of possible behavior, but it is also a freedom of choice of the people who participate in it, and people who watch it.
The first point of view seems to be the stronger one, not because it has more proofs, but because more people believe in it, lets say, reflects the voice of the society. There are infinity many articles, statements and books written about pornography and its negative effects, like encouraging violent behavior, treating women only as sexual objects, reducing women’s role in the society and teaching people that ordinary sex is no more something normal, but it has to include all the additional tactics with tools, hands and other instruments, which are quite weird. The sexual violence nowadays is one of the biggest problems, which are a consequence of the pornography. Seeing a particular way of behaving on the TV makes people want to act in the same way, because that will make them look better in their own eyes or in these of others. It fills consumer’s heads with all possible beliefs and attitudes and because of its addictive nature it can finally turn into an indelible part of their every day life. It is proven that pornography serves as a powerful sexual stimulant, followed by the desire of self satisfaction and sexual release. This can lead to acting out sexually, which means to adopt the behavior shown in the adult movies – acting towards women without respect and treating them only as asexual objects, without being interested in their thoughts and needs. This, unfortunately, can totally change the social image of the woman and reduce her role in the society and present her not like a person equal to men, but as a “thing” which is created to please men and nothing else. That desensitization becomes part of the society because of the wide spreading of pornographic materials, which can be found everywhere.
However, the other side of the problem is quite interesting. It is not that pornography is good and that is should serve as an educative tool for teenagers. On the contrary, we agree that it is bad and can have negative influence on people, but the question is can it be fully banned? Can it be stopped? Should it be stopped? The thing is that, as mentioned above, pornography is legal in many countries and many famous events are connected to it. It is true that it may reduce women’s role in the society and that it can lead to violent behavior and that it can harm people, but it is important to understand that it is a matter of personal choice whether to watch it or not. We see that behavior in the movies, how men treat women in a really bad way. However, if we think about it we will find out that nobody forces these women to participate in these movies and they do this because they agreed to do it or because they like it and what is more, they make pretty good money from it. According to the philosophical Harm Principle, people should be stopped from doing something only and only if it harms others or themselves. That involves the freedom of choice and freedom of speech, because pornography is a mean of self expression. Some may say that pornography harms others, but is it really like this. The thing is that nobody forces viewers to actually see these movies, they do it because they want to or because they need to. This is their personal choice that they cannot be judged for that because they are responsible for their own actions, and if they feel offended or harmed this is their own fault, not the movie producers.
As a whole we can say that pornography has mainly bad influence on people and it changes their perception of how to behave in a way that can harm not only others, but themselves as well. However, what people do and how they do it is their own responsibility because they have taken the risk to watch or participate in that kind of media and they cannot be judged by the society, because exactly the society claims that every person is free to choose for himself and no one can take this right from him.
