The Stigma of Pornography

Photo taken from indiewire.com
By: Chris Valletta

Throughout the United States, legislation has been underway to police the internet for pornography. However, simultaneously the culture has been taking aspects of pornography and implementing them into television, music, and art. As a result, the distinction between pornographic and non-pornographic is not evidently clear. In Laura Kipnis' preface, she attempts to explain a different debate of pornography, rather than just looking at whether or not it belongs in the culture. Kipnis is looking at the similarities between pornography and culture. It is a form of cultural expression, and even though it is disruptive and is perceived to be shocking by some, it is one of the main forms of our national culture.

Kipnis divulges into pornography's world of fantasy, where she believes a number of philosophical questions are raised. Some of these questions are concerning "the social impact and the price of repression, what men are and are not, what women are and are not, and how sexuality and gender roles are performed (Kipnis viii)."  Simply looking at pornography and its display of actions shows an expression that is most often repressed and never seen. These are the most hidden of forms of expression, yet Kipnis argues that these expressions are of the most politically and culturally significant. This fact leads to the question of why and how our culture has become in such a way where our most important forms of expression are repressed.

However, even though these sexual forms of expression are repressed, they have been brought out to the open by pornography, which is a now a multi-billion dollar machine that has a gross annual revenue which few rival. The pornographic aspect of fantasy and meanings in society is always the forefront in Kipnis' analysis, as she criticizes the state for making something illegal just by fantasizing and having thoughts alone. Since our public policy is making assumptions simply on the basis of thought, then they are taking away people's basic freedoms. These actions by the state seemed to be controlled by fear regarding sexuality and reverts back to people's initial repression that pornography brings to the surface, where in this regard the state may see pornography as their enemy.

Simply put, pornography is a business that has become popular because it gives its audience what it wants. If it wasn't satisfying the needs of the audience, then it would no longer even exist. Kipnis believes that pornography is able to speak to its audience, because it shows us as humans who we are at our core, and displays our displeasure with what is considered to be the norm of sexuality. Pornography gives us the opportunity to have more pleasures and desires; to open us up to different ideas and experiences. That is why it is a part of our culture and here to stay, which is the real importance of its existence. It is not about whether or not it has a bad influence on society and its "vulgarity", but a reflection of humans expression without any form of repression. After all, why shouldn't we enhance our pleasure?