Hey everyone,
In this week's tutorial I'm hoping to elaborate on the workshop discussion of virtual ethics by taking a look at the implications of pornography on forming identities and communities on the net. I will aim to discuss some of the issues raised Kathy Albury in her chapter 'The Ethics of Porn on the Net' as well as making some links to an additional article written by Jonathan James McCreadie Lillie called 'Cyberporn, Sexuality, and the Net Apparatus'.
Albury begins her discussion by demonstrating the ways in which the Internet has created an increased familiarisation with porn and has thus helped to break down societal taboos surrounding pornography by making once private acts publicly accessible. Albury presents a somewhat optimistic view of Internet pornography by describing the potential new avenues of enterprise for both men and women and the ways in which members of marginalised sexual identities are able to form online communities. She also discusses the ways in which such communities challenge heteronormative discourses and how women are able to safely initiate and engage in sexual activities.
Critiques of Internet pornography can be seen to stem from the fear that it can be accessed anywhere, at anytime and by anyone with the right amount of computer knowledge. One argument against Internet pornography is the perception that the female body is sexualised and commodified which leads me to ask the question:
How are pornographic images of women any different to images available though mainstream, advertising and media?
Is there a different set of ethics attached to the commodification of bodies in the mainstream media and pornographic images on the Internet?
McCreadie Lillie's article elaborates on Albury's discussion of pornography on the Internet and in many ways the two authors share a similar view of the Utopian potential for the exploration of sexual identity in the virtual world that is the Internet. McCreadie Lillie provides further consideration of Foucault's discussion of sexuality and he also provides a brief history of pornography. McCreadie Lillie discusses the notion of a 'post-pornographic era' in which sexualised images have been normalised through readily available access to pornographic images and the sexualised images found in pop-culture and the mainstream media. It would be interesting to know to what extent everyone agrees with this notion. Personally, I think that the distinction between mainstream media and pornography has been broken down to an extent. Clothing companies such as American Apparel use advertising campaigns which to me seen reminiscent of soft porn images, take for example this advertisement for socks. Do you think this sort of advertising has resulted from the breaking down of taboos surrounding the access of pornography?
One last question I wanted to ask is whether everyone agrees with the positive description given to Internet pornography by Albury and McCreadie Lillie? What do you think are some of the ethical implications of easy access to porn through the Internet?
Anyways will see you all in the tutorial on Wednesday!!
Hey Jasmine - just wanted to agree on the nuances of sexuality as a tool/aid and sexuality in its raw, discrete portrayal in pornography. It seems palatable for the public to be exposed to a 'healthy' dose of sexuality, as long as it isn't the be-all and end-all of the message itself. For advertising or artistic ends, for example, it's acceptable. Isolate that image however and you've got a moral dilemma! (This I can somewhat understand in the way that I could perhaps watch Top Gear and not like cars because there are jokes and personalities and so on that distract from the intensity of the cars themselves, which I'm not particularly interested in)
ReplyDeleteWhat is further suggestive however, is the question over whether the pornography has artistic merit and/or poignant eroticism. Many erotic paintings from the renaissance may for example be deemed 'pornographic' by virtue of explicit representation. It really isn't that easy.
As long as we see that there are not these discrete distinctions to be made, and that perhaps all pornography is art in the same way that all cinema is art, we will begin to get at the dynamic all-encompassing perspective from which we may see the full picture.
As an aside I also think that the ethical implications from easy access to porn are balanced well by the easy access to information and knowledge.
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ReplyDeleteI think the ease of access of pornography via the internet to some extent has been benifical for minority groups though, for example gay males. As Albury argues, the Internet has allowed minority groups to experience and experiment with their sexuality, especially in areas or situation where physical pornographic media is not available or where homosexuality is punishable or stigmatized. The Internet in this way has allowed minorities to experience aspects of sexuality in the privacy and safety in their own home. Communities which can provide support and understanding have also sprung up around these medinsharing an dubbing groups, which often are helpful for those who are unsure or undecided re: their sexuality
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough question to answer, how much different is porn to media and advertising? It really does come down to both what the creator intended with their images and what the viewer sees. The last time I walked past one of the mainstream jeans stores the posters in the shop front windows were of model gorgeous men and women only wearing jeans. The men were front on, the women showing there backs and looking coyly over their shoulders. The ad might be trying to say, these jeans are so good you don't need to wear anything else, but I think the underlying message is that if you wear these jeans you can be as stylish and sexy as these models. Which is why I liked the idea of these, non-mainstream porn websites operating. They show the un-edited versions of people doing what all people do. I don't know how much it may be breaking down the the distinction between mainstream media and pornography but it will certainly have more people feeling better about their images.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as was raised in the tute on the subject of art or porn we mentioned Bill Henson, the artist who did an exhibit where all of his models were children. Of the few images that were released to the public and I saw I thought they were beautiful. He really captured the essence of these kids and did them justice on the canvas. The exhibit was shut down for reasons of child pornography. At no time did I look at these paintings with sex in my mind, I only saw art. This isn't to say that a pedophile would look at these pictures with the same appreciation that I did, but that's where it comes down to the individual. I don't think the exhibit should have been closed, people who go there for art would have gotten art, and those that wanted to go for something else would get the same result as looking through a K-mart catalogue in the kids section. There is sexualisation in advertising of children, at least these artworks were all natural.
On a different note access to porn at home, just means another place where people can get porn if they want it. I find it laughable that there are lobbying groups trying to block it on the basis that their kids, or them, could accidently stumble across it some day. Unless your looking for it, it isn't as omnipresent as some people would have you believe. Plus concerned parents can always install nanny software to block sites on the slightest of dodgy reasons. I like that if people want they can look at porn from the comfort of their own homes, or even create it and post for other people to see. I'm sad that people say porn is immoral, based on the morals of Christianity in these articles. I'm not Christian, so don't see why their morals should be imposed on me, and my right to see home made porn if that's what I want to do. The people who watch shouldn't be shunned and the people that make it shouldn't be shunned, when it can be such a liberating experience for all involved.