“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
I think most women out there believe that being a stripper, porn star or prostitute is degrading to women. And they may be right, but I have a different viewpoint. As with all things in this world, nothing is black and white, and I believe that to understand anything you have to understand the context and personal motivation involved. In other words, you need to understand things like why the person is doing what they’re doing, and also what is that person’s own perception of it? If the person involved doesn’t consider it degrading, is it still degrading? Should the definition and standards of what is termed degrading be determined by others, or by each individual as it applies to themself?
In my opinion if you say that all sex workers are degraded it’s like saying that all sexuality and sex involving women is degrading. If a woman has sex with a man in privacy, vs. the same woman doing the same thing but in front of a camera, what all of a sudden made it degrading? The camera? Other people watching? Why is that degrading? Now, if you say – it is the way the woman is being depicted – then perhaps you have an argument. If the woman is being treated in a way that makes her feel inferior or worthless – and that is not what she wants - then I will agree it is degrading. But that doesn’t mean every single adult movie out there is degrading to women. Why do feel the need to throw all pornography into one bucket and call that whole bucket “wrong”?
I’ll use another analogy. Saying all sex workers are degraded is like saying all waitresses are degraded. I should know, I used to be a waitress and I can recall many times where I was treated in a degrading manner. In fact, I think anyone who has worked in the service industry can relate. Anyone who is part of a minority can relate. Probably all of us have been treated with degredation at some point (or several points) in our lives. Does that mean that we should always blame the person who tried to degrade us? Should we blame ourselves for being in that situation? What made it degrading? How did you react? These are all important questions, and until those are answered, we can not draw any real conclusions.
I have done some research (I’ll give you some links at the end of this) regarding female porn stars and their opinions about their industry. Most of them not only disagree that what they do is degrading to women, they actually consider it empowering. It is one of the few (if not only) careers where women get paid way more than men, they determine when they work, who they work with, what they will and will not do, and for how much. And they are doing something they enjoy. How many women (or men, for that matter!) can say those things about their current job/career? The other interesting trend that I have learned about is that there are more and more women on the other side of the camera in the adult industry. They are starting their own businesses, directing the scenes, creating a different view (a woman’s view) of sex and pornography. And I for one say – it’s about time!
Well, I have more to say, but I’ll save if for another post….lol. Here are some links to studies about women and pornography:
A Feminist Defense of Pornography
Research on Pornography
Pornography – Safe or Sexual?
