Female Porn Stars Have Higher Self Esteem

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1354031246' post='2517689']

Right, because being sexually abused, doing drugs and/or "do[ing] alcohol to escape the pain" necessarily leads one right into the open arms (or legs) of the porn industry.
[/quote]

Way to twist my words around. That's not what I said at all.

[Tony]

In other news.. burgers have a better conscience than other people.

[MIKolbe]

with or without cheese?

[beatitude]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1354037097' post='2517710']
Fxd
[/quote]

Central to mainstream pornography is the sexualisation of rape and violence against women, very thoroughly explored by Andrea Dworkin. Porn is simply a plank of rape culture, and for every 'high class' female porn star out there who gets to name her own terms and may feel empowered by her lifestyle, there are hundreds of women who are eking out a precarious existence. Even those who 'feel' empowered by it are contributing to a culture that is fundamentally damaging and woman-hating. The few privileges they get from their participation in porn are achieved at the expense of less-privileged women.

I am part of a group of radical feminists, most of whom view my religion as inherently patriarchal and have no time whatsoever for it. One thing we can all agree on is the damage caused by porn to the women's liberation movement, especially by the so-called 'sex-positive' third-wave feminists who have bought into the idea that being a porn star can be a positive free choice - usually as a way of making their feminism more palatable to men. "I may be a feminist, but I'm not one of those nasty ugly ones who oppose all the fun stuff!" That's basically what attempts to package porn as a legitimate profession amount to.

Edited November 27, 2012 by beatitude

[Ash Wednesday]

I was going to post something, but now I don't feel like it. So here is a picture of Tard the Cat.

[img]http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/09/Grumpy-Cat-Tadar-Sauce.jpg[/img]

Edited November 27, 2012 by Ash Wednesday

[4588686]

[quote name='Ash Wednesday' timestamp='1354050670' post='2517851']
I was going to post something, but now I don't feel like it. So here is a picture of Tard the Cat.

[img]http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/09/Grumpy-Cat-Tadar-Sauce.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

Probably used up and thrown away. I know a woman who worked at Wal-Mart for 19+ years. She was fired very shortly before her retirement came. Now's she's back working minimum wage as a temp worked at another corporation. She also feels pretty used up and thrown away.

Pornography isn't a problem. Nor is it a feminist issue. But the circumstances that lead men and women into pornography so they can be used up and thrown away once they start to sag a bit is an immense injustice. And the treatment of women within the porn industry is a serious feminist issue.

[4588686]

[quote name='beatitude' timestamp='1354047722' post='2517824']
Central to mainstream pornography is the sexualisation of rape and violence against women, very thoroughly explored by Andrea Dworkin. Porn is simply a plank of rape culture, and for every 'high class' female porn star out there who gets to name her own terms and may feel empowered by her lifestyle, there are hundreds of women who are eking out a precarious existence. Even those who 'feel' empowered by it are contributing to a culture that is fundamentally damaging and woman-hating. The few privileges they get from their participation in porn are achieved at the expense of less-privileged women.

I am part of a group of radical feminists, most of whom view my religion as inherently patriarchal and have no time whatsoever for it. One thing we can all agree on is the damage caused by porn to the women's liberation movement, especially by the so-called 'sex-positive' third-wave feminists who have bought into the idea that being a porn star can be a positive free choice - usually as a way of making their feminism more palatable to men. "I may be a feminist, but I'm not one of those nasty ugly ones who oppose all the fun stuff!" That's basically what attempts to package porn as a legitimate profession amount to.
[/quote]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOZLdw6n2L4

[4588686]

So all in all, I agree. Let's abolish wage labor thereby ensuring that only healthy forms of pornography are permitted to exist.


In all seriousness though, I agree that a lot of the porn industry is sick. However I find it hard to take the right-wing outrage over pornography seriously. If you want to combat pornography then combat the economic conditions that give rise to pornography. Otherwise you're just wasting time because picketing and complaining about it on the internet isn't going to do anything to make a multi-billion dollar industry curb its excesses.

[jazzytakara]

From what I understand, they are only as happy with themselves as they are told by those in the porn industry, also a huge factor involves what family and friends think. Most women literally tear themselves a part performing in the adult industry, and physical appearance is key more so in this industry than in the rest of Hollywood. So women are victimized physically and if they fail to perform they are tossed aside. If their films ruin their lives outside of the pornography industry, there is no one who can help them. And if they don't have the look necessary to succeed in the industry they either have to make drastic physical changes, face ridicule, and be once again tossed aside. Its an incredibly shallow and former producers/directors/etc. of the pornography industry feel incredibly guilty for their part in it, as the job is basically to tear women down for the sake of entertainment and pleasure. I have a cousin involved in porn, and she is happy with it, her family accepts it and approves of her job, but at the end of the day you have to wonder, how satisfying can a job that only values your physical attributes really be. If she gains weight, or begins to show signs of age, her career options are incredibly limited.She won't feel great then when all the glamour disappears, and for that I feel sorry for her and wish she would find a way out before she is tossed out.

[4588686]

[quote name='jazzytakara' timestamp='1354052237' post='2517863']
From what I understand, they are only as happy with themselves as they are told by those in the porn industry, also a huge factor involves what family and friends think. Most women literally tear themselves a part performing in the adult industry, and physical appearance is key more so in this industry than in the rest of Hollywood. So women are victimized physically and if they fail to perform they are tossed aside. If their films ruin their lives outside of the pornography industry, there is no one who can help them. And if they don't have the look necessary to succeed in the industry they either have to make drastic physical changes, face ridicule, and be once again tossed aside. Its an incredibly shallow and former producers/directors/etc. of the pornography industry feel incredibly guilty for their part in it, as the job is basically to tear women down for the sake of entertainment and pleasure. I have a cousin involved in porn, and she is happy with it, her family accepts it and approves of her job, but at the end of the day you have to wonder, how satisfying can a job that only values your physical attributes really be. If she gains weight, or begins to show signs of age, her career options are incredibly limited.She won't feel great then when all the glamour disappears, and for that I feel sorry for her and wish she would find a way out before she is tossed out.
[/quote]


Most of what you said could be applied to anyone working at a dead-end retail job.

Some women work in porn and enjoy it. Some women are strippers and enjoy it. There isn't anything wrong with porn in itself. But the porn industry is as ruthless and degrading as any other set of corporations in an unregulated capitalist system.

One thing that could help these women? Strong union representation. Or maybe government restrictions on the number of sexual acts they can be forced to perform in a day. Or maybe a better welfare system so young women without family support and decent education don't have the sell the only commodity they possess, their good looks, in order to get a roof over their heads. Or maybe an economic system wherein people aren't treated like commodities in the first place.

Edited November 27, 2012 by Hasan

[jazzytakara]

[quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1354052659' post='2517871']
Most of what you said could be applied to anyone working at a dead-end retail job.

Some women work in porn and enjoy it. Some women are strippers and enjoy it. There isn't anything wrong with porn in itself. But the porn industry is as ruthless and degrading as any other set of corporations in an unregulated capitalist system.

One thing that could help these women? Strong union representation. Or maybe government restrictions on the number of sexual acts they can be forced to perform in a day. Or maybe a better welfare system so young women without family support and decent education don't have the sell the only commodity they possess, their good looks, in order to get a roof over their heads. Or maybe an economic system wherein people aren't treated like commodities in the first place.
[/quote]

I may not agree with the porn industry, and think it should be stopped, but I do agree that a lot of the women involved feel as if they have no other option (my cousin not included, she came from a wealthy family and more so enjoys it as it promotes her appearance and pays well). But not every adult film has basic employee rights, so I think there needs to be more rights so that women aren't sent to the hospital after shoots. But even more so, a world where that type of work isn't something the world values or buys into. We can resent the industry all we want, but as long as there is an audience for it, there will always be someone willing to provide it at a cost. So there needs to be better options for men and women that are safer and get them jobs that don't involve selling themselves and being exploited.

Retail does treat women different than men. Maybe not at the same level as pornography, but I will always remember my former McDonald's manager telling me that all I was good for at work was smiling and looking pretty for the customers (and I was trained at every position). It may have been a few years ago, but it isn't healthy for a 16 year old girl to be told by an older man that her value was derived from her appearance.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1354051970' post='2517860']
So all in all, I agree. Let's abolish wage labor thereby ensuring that only [b]healthy forms of pornography[/b] are permitted to exist.


In all seriousness though, I agree that a lot of the porn industry is sick. However I find it hard to take the right-wing outrage over pornography seriously. If you want to combat pornography then combat the economic conditions that give rise to pornography. Otherwise you're just wasting time because picketing and complaining about it on the internet isn't going to do anything to make a multi-billion dollar industry curb its excesses.
[/quote]

I would argue that there is no such thing as "healthy pornography." It is sick and degrading. Ted Bundy told a reporter who interviewed him that his obsession with pornography eventually led him to crave acts of violence.

[url="http://www.pureintimacy.org/piArticles/A000000433.cfm"]Fatal Addiction: Ted Bundy's Final Interview[/url]

I'm not saying that all who watch pornography will become serial killers, but there is a real risk of losing your sanity and/or your soul. It's like a drug.

[BigJon16]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1354037097' post='2517710']
[s]Fxd[/s] [color=#ff0000][b]Alright[/b][/color]. [color=#ff0000][b]But I must say that [i]some[/i] people think that eating sand is okay, even though eating sand is obviously very harmful. But because they say they like it, then that negates the harm. What they say is totally always what they feel. [/b][/color]
[/quote]

Fxd


Two can play at this game, bro.

[4588686]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1354053691' post='2517882']

I would argue that there is no such thing as "healthy pornography." It is sick and degrading. Ted Bundy told a reporter who interviewed him that his obsession with pornography eventually led him to crave acts of violence.

[url="http://www.pureintimacy.org/piArticles/A000000433.cfm"]Fatal Addiction: Ted Bundy's Final Interview[/url]

I'm not saying that all who watch pornography will become serial killers, but there is a real risk of losing your sanity and/or your soul. It's like a drug.
[/quote]


Well, I mean, if Ted Bundy said it then it must be true. But in all seriousness, pornography can be a trigger. So can sex. So can sexual frustration. So can rejection.

Plenty of straight, married couples make their own pornography which they retain for their private usage. Pornography can be harmless. Or it can be degrading and crushing. It depends on the context.

[Ash Wednesday]

[quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1354051491' post='2517855']
Probably used up and thrown away. I know a woman who worked at Wal-Mart for 19+ years. She was fired very shortly before her retirement came. Now's she's back working minimum wage as a temp worked at another corporation. She also feels pretty used up and thrown away.

Pornography isn't a problem. Nor is it a feminist issue. But the circumstances that lead men and women into pornography so they can be used up and thrown away once they start to sag a bit is an immense injustice. And the treatment of women within the porn industry is a serious feminist issue.
[/quote]

I disagree that porn isn't a problem (or a feminist issue to a certain extent) but pretty much agree with you on everything else. And I thank you, dear S.G. friend, for the thoughtful response despite my decision to go full Tard the Cat.

Edit: philterz took out teh ghey

Edited November 27, 2012 by Ash Wednesday