The Trouble With Porn: Why Fourth-Wave So Called Feminism Supports The Industry

Think of feminism. Think of porn. Think of how the two have intersected for decades. What probably comes to mind is angry, alarmed women, leaving their workplaces and homes, taking time out of their lives to protest what they saw as a brutal onslaught of objectification, a loss of sexual agency, and the normalization of sexualized violence.

Or maybe you think of a documentary you've seen, or a newspaper article you read, about a young woman- perhaps even a girl, finding out that intimate photos or videos of herself have been circulated online without her consent.

Enter fourth-wave so called "feminism".

Seemingly, in 2024 the a stream of the fourth wave of this historic movement supports not only the legality, but the social acceptance of mainstream pornography, including material that is violent, rape-adjacent, and "BDSM" centered.

The argument in support of this shift in mind-set stems from what some call "choice feminism". The idea that feminism exists to give women choices.

But that would be incorrect.

Feminism exists to advocate for the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Which the vast, vast majority of the time does indeed mean providing women with more choices.

But not if you as a woman are making a choice that actively makes it categorically harder for other women. Not if it undeniably promotes violent, sexually charged and aggressive ideas about sex in men. And certainly not if the industry you normalize by definition rests on women being financially coerced into sexual encounters.

Porn hurts women. Porn hurts men. Porn causes both sexes to raise their sexual thresholds high enough that actual sex becomes boring. It causes erectile dysfunction and lower life satisfaction.

Pornography, however, is far more sinister than that.

I have heard the argument that porn is no different than any other type of labour under a capitalist regime. You know who says that? Privileged, bored University students. The tiny fraction of porn workers who either don't mind their job, or are making enough money to pretend that they do.

But realistically, if I put a gun to your head, and you had to either have sex with someone you didn't want to, or teach a class, work construction, babysit, or any other type of normal job, only one would cause you trauma.

Forced sex is not the same as forced labour. Forced sex is rape. And in pornography, where people have to choose between paying off their debt, satisfying their pimp. paying rent, or feeding their children, true consent is impossible.

As well as this, many people in pornography are forced not only by circumstance but by other people keeping them hooked on drugs or holding them at literal gunpoint. Sex trafficking is a major issue in the porn industry, and that is not something that will ever go away without the social abolition of pornography.

So if you support women's rights- if you want true liberation for women- if you want to engage with real, meaningful feminism- say no to porn.