Amateur porn - is it wrong from a feminist perspective?

[Bennifer]

Just a general question. There's obviously porn that is "professional" in a sense, and it relies on the exploitation of women. What about amateur porn that's done between consenting couples who put stuff on the internet (or couples we assume are consenting)

PS, I don't want to include amateur looking porn that is professional in this category

[littlesez]

amateur porn is different though from JUST two people having sex and other people just happening to watch them.

people could still be exploited even if its not apparent on the film eg. couple decide to make a film together for their own personal use as consenting adults but they split up and the video ends up on the internet


voyerism i just find it really creepy. not whether its "wrong" or not ?

[motherinferior]

I can think of at least one MNer who's partial to quite public and/or group sex...

[motherinferior]

But sex isn't all about het couples in private. Some women like having sex with more than one person at the same time. Some women like having sex with other women. Some women do want to watch and/or be watched.

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

Does no-one objectify the men in porn, then?

[Bennifer]

Dittany,

Now we're getting back almost on to an evolutionary argument. Our culture makes lots of things bad. But our culture is patriarchical. I don't know whether in some cultures, having sex in the open is natural. I don't know how ancient men and women had sex.

The point about privacy is that it doesn't mean I shouldn't be allowed to share things that were once private. Did you know that I fancied Chris Hatton at school? See, that was private, but I chose to divulge it. I've not been brainwashed. It's just my choice

[Bennifer]

Dittany,

I would rather you didn't try to make this so personal against me. I'm trying to dispassionately discuss the ethics of pornography. To be honest, I don't think you're making a very good case as to why viewing sex is bad, other than just repeating that it is bad.

Take voyeurism, all you can say is that it's seedy. Well, so what, if no-one is harmed and someone wants to watch it.

[Bennifer]

I'm taking a line from John Stuart Mill from his On Liberty here, on the idea that if it doesn't harm anyone, and someone wants to, why not?

[Bennifer]

Because they want to and it's their choice. What's to justify?

By the way, I think asking ethical questions and thinking about ethics is a very positive thing to do

[Bennifer]

The defence of voyeurism is that if the couple have consented to it, and have distributed it to people who they're happy to watch, then there's very little to defend. It's their free choice. What is wrong with it?

[Bennifer]

Dittany, it seems to be you confusing sex and porn to be honest. What is porn, if not the depiction of sex (through videos and pictures) (I'm aware of the greek origins of the word)

You seem to suggest that sex is ok, but as soon as a camera gets switched on, it becomes exploitative.

[Bennifer]

I'm deliberately not going to answer about whether I watch people having sex, because this thread is not about me. Take from that what you will.

I think I have a very good sense of privacy and boundaries. My boundaries just happen to be different from yours, that doesn't make them wrong.