Definition of Pornography

Pornography is typically regarded an ugly term and maybe an unpleasant behaviour. Pornographic images and statements might be offensive and insulting to many people, but are they the worst of all evils? Why do we have a problem with violence towards women and minorities in general? No! The media is laden with various sexist, racist, violent stuff, yet much of it is not deemed pornography. Pornography is only a small part of the problem of violence and oppression. While the majority of the population opposes pornography, the general public should not support its censorship. Freedom of expression is more reasonable than censorship due of the absence of a description of pornography, individual liberties and the notion that pornography encourages violence against women. Consequently, I oppose the censorship of pornographic material on the internet (Kuipers, 2006).

“The main issue with pornography and its free availability is its access to children, as a prevention measure to this the automated internet filter can automatically restrict and protect child pornography by blocking the access, therefore there is no need to censor pornography”.

The term “pornography” derives from the Greek language and refers to the writing about prostitutes that is done. As a result, its origin does not serve as much of a reference to its contemporary meaning, be many of the items popularly referred to as “pornography” currently aren’t written or written about prostitutes at all (West, 2004).

Here is a basic, straightforward definition. Pornography is any content that is sexually explicit, whether it be in the form of images or words. As a result, this concept of pornography may be applied to a variety of different forms of content in various circumstances, because what is considered sexually explicit varies from different cultures and across time. As an indexical phrase, “sexually explicit” can be used to pick out distinct characteristics based on what really specific consequences or breaches certain stigmas in different situations and cultures. Displays of women’s bare ankles are considered sexually explicit in certain cultures, but are no longer considered such in the majority of Western countries (Hardy, 2008).

Those that are curious about new media tend to stick around for a while. There is a nice overlap in the demographics of those who use computers and those who watch pornography: young, Caucasian males dominate both sectors. Young men who are into electronics and who are also into girls will spend more time at a terminal that has both girls and devices. To conclude, multiple studies have demonstrated that, rather than instilling sexist and aggressive attitudes in young males, pornography has a relaxing and cathartic impact, relieving teenage stress by providing a dosage of moderate erotica in a safe environment (Hardy, 2008).

Pornography and Violence

“The only aim for which authority can properly be exerted against any member of a civilised community, against his choice, is to avoid harm to others,” says John Stuart Mill in his harmful principle. The state should only be able to restrict individuals’ liberty when doing so is necessary for the greater safety of the residents of the country. Censorship initiatives have been developed by the UK government in order to prevent the general people from accessing anything that may be unpleasant to them. To educate the public about the dangers of smoking, the government places warning advertisements on cigarette packaging. Hardcore pornography, on the other hand, does not produce any physical harm, although cigarettes do, in a similar sense. Hardcore pornography is only performed in a private setting; neither the watchers nor the makers of pornographic material do their acts in a public setting; instead, they perform them at home or in an adult cinema. There has also been no discernible change in the behaviour of people who engage in pornographic viewing vs those who do not. According to the findings of a research done by Diana Russel, there is no link between watching extreme pornography and committing sexual assault (Linsley, 2012).

In the same way that art is a means of expression, pornography is a form of art in and of itself. A painting, a movie, or an image are all examples of artistic expression that may be beneficial to society through catharsis. Art, according to Aristotle, should be cathartic in the sense that it provides for the release of emotional tension (Davis, 2007). In essence, audiences of art “sympathise” with the characters when they display emotions, without the viewers having to express their own feelings in response. This sort of art provides a way for the audience to express their feelings. Because their own emotions are missing, people are better equipped to exercise their judgement. Aside from being therapeutic, pornography may also be considered to be such because it diverts individuals’ attention away from their own desires, preventing them from engaging in sexual behaviour. The perusal of pornographic material, on the other hand, allows these folks to sexually relieve themselves . Moreover, according to Aristotle, even artwork that is seen as being terrible may be useful to society in some cases. To put it another way, terrible art gives people a reason to judge whether or not anything is positive or unfavourable. As a result, even if some critics argue that pornography is a kind of terrible art, it should not be restricted since it educates society why certain activities, as shown in art, are harmful (Davis, 2007).

Therapeutic Role of Pornography

“Marcuse believed that great art, particularly the finest art, is negative, disruptive, and illogical, and that it is thus a valuable aspect in our civilization.” Just as hardcore pornography is sometimes regarded as “negative, damaging, and illogical” by members of society, it is also regarded as “useful” by members of society at other times. Pornography that is considered hardcore is a portrayal of a story arc, with characters who express themselves. This method of conveying expressions is universal to all types of art, regardless of medium. Apparently, the activation of sexual impulses is an acceptable creative goal, according to Goodman. Despite the fact that hardcore pornography arouses people of society sexually, it is considered a respectable form of art since it depicts the human body in a condition that cannot be described in words. In this way, banning of extreme pornography is harmful to society since it results in the formation of a “passionless and conformist community” at the end of the day (Garlick, 2011). When individuals comply to mainstream society’s attitudes on matters such as extreme pornography, their thinking are restricted and their ability to express themselves is hampered.

The restriction of pornography upon internet is truly detrimental to the general public. People’s human condition depends on their ability to make their own decisions about sexual behaviour, which includes watching extreme pornography. This freedom is essential to a person’s well-being. Furthermore, pornography may be used as an instructional tool, in that it gives knowledge about human bodies as well as strategies for “facilitating sexual pleasure” and arousal, among other things (Kuipers,2006). As with the Kamasutra, which is widely acknowledged by society and sold in bookstores, this instructional tool trains people to perform a variety of extreme sexual positions. Hardcore pornographic films, on the other hand, are restricted to an adult-only viewing audience. As a result, the dilemma arises as to how society can allow Kamasutra while simultaneously attempting to prohibit the right to see hardcore pornography. Between the two, the distinction is that the former displays intense sexual postures through pictures, but the latter depicts real persons in these situations. As long as no one is harmed by watching the hardcore pornographic movie, society can’t stop people from doing what they want to do in their spare time (Eaton, 2017).

Because pornography shows “obscene” scenarios for women, rather than putting them in potentially harmful circumstances, it can actually lessen the risk of harm. A female who fantasises about having rough sex might fulfil her sexual desire by watching hardcore pornography rather than putting herself in the hands of a guy in the real world. Although Strassen refers to this phenomenon as being specific to women, the same may be said about males. Pornographic videos allow males to express themselves without having to commit a crime against women, such as rape in an alley (Eaton, 2017).

Censorship and Individual Liberties

Claims have been made that hardcore pornography has a negative impact on the general population. It has been claimed that hard core pornographic shows blend violence, dominance, and sexuality, although none of these allegations are supported by evidence. A number of assertions have been made in society that persons who watch pornographic material will become aggressive and express their wrath on society, which includes sexual abuse and violent activities such as rape. Despite the fact that its thesis is that humans replicate what they see, this concept is quite imprecise. However, this does not imply that those who see these intense pornographic films would unleash their imagination on the rest of society. As a matter of fact, “pornography has been shown to lower aggressive behaviours in those who are inclined to aggress” (Garlick, 2011). Many people believe that pornography is the source of all forms of sexual violence in our culture, but the truth is that sexual violence is a far more complex issue, and we must stop placing blame on others when we are responsible for our own mistakes. Similar circumstances happened during Prohibition, when the government forbade all sales and production of alcoholic drinks due to an increase in societal issues. As a result, there has been a rise in the use of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana as a substitute for alcohol. The administration immediately accused organised crime for the increase in crime. The government, on the other hand, was to blame since they were denying society of what it wished to have. According to these campaigners, hardcore pornography is a direct cause of rape and sexual crimes, and that data is being used to support their claim. If that’s the case, I just argue that males who live in houses are much more likely to kill someone since male murderers tend to live in homes? These are ludicrous assertions that no one can accept as true (Eaton, 2017).

It is crucial to highlight that while liberals have traditionally defended the freedom to pornography, this is not true of all current liberals who support such a right. Accordingly, there has been an expanding and heated debate about whether there are solid liberal reasons for barring or otherwise regulating the voluntary private view of pornography (Stemmet, 2005). Some academics believe that the liberal commitment to defending personal sovereignty, equality, freedom of expression, and other essential liberal ideals may actually justify a policy that outlaws’ specific types of pornography, instead of the permissive posture that liberals have generally preferred. These theories are not often opposed to the damage principle, which is defined as follows: What they all agree on is that restriction of pornography is appropriate only if there is sufficient evidence to establish that the production or consumption of pornographic view by consensual adults causes considerable harm to other people’s interests. Contrary to popular belief, they believe that there is enough evidence to support censorship, especially when it comes to violent or degrading forms of pornography, to make them receptive to the idea of imposing restrictions on the dissemination and consumption of such content (Lambe, 2004).

Pornography is one of the most contentious issues in contemporary liberal debate, and those who support the freedom to pornography and those who believe that liberals ought to be open to the validity of censorship differ on a number of critical factual issues, including whether there is credible data to indicate that the creation and enjoyment of pornography by consensual adults inflicts harm on others, especially women. However, they regularly disagree on some very significant conceptual issues as well, which is unfortunate (Lambe, 2004).

In conclusion, society should not prohibit extreme pornography since doing so will actually bring more harm to society than it is now doing. We’ll be denying ourselves one of life’s greatest pleasures while also limiting our capacity for self-expression and personal choice. Hardcore pornography has no place in a civilised society, and censorship for that reason is absurd. Rather than pointing the finger onto extreme pornography, we should look at the underlying causes of the problem. As Pierre Trudeau famously stated, the “government has no business in the homes of the country,” and more people should adopt this type of thinking as well. Consequently, censorship of pornography is not a legitimate course of action to pursue.

References

West, C., 2004. Pornography and censorship.

Linsley, W.A., 2012. The case against censorship of pornography. In Pornography (pp. 361-378). Routledge.

Kuipers, G., 2006. The social construction of digital danger: debating, defusing and inflating the moral dangers of online humor and pornography in the Netherlands and the United States. New Media & Society, 8(3), pp.379-400.

Lambe, J.L., 2004. Who wants to censor pornography and hate speech?. Mass Communication & Society, 7(3), pp.279-299.

Hardy, S., 2008. The pornography of reality. Sexualities, 11(1-2), pp.60-64.

Davis, G.S., 2007. Aristotelian Privacy: Perfectionism, Pornography, and the Virtues of the Polis.

Eaton, A.W., 2017. Feminist pornography.

Stemmet, J. A. (2005). The pornography debate: historical reflections on the legalisation of pornography in South African communities.

Garlick, S., 2011. A new sexual revolution? Critical theory, pornography, and the Internet. Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, 48(3), pp.221-239.