Musings on the purpose of porn.
Sex…okay, I said the dirty word. Horrors! Granted, sex isn’t something as prevalent here as at some of the more party-friendly state schools or small, liberal arts colleges. As evidenced by the constant post on bored@harvard, though, perhaps Harvard students at least think about sex as much as their peers. Perhaps the calls for “rimjobs” are not answered, but at least Harvard students perhaps understand that vast and ever-changing edifice that is human sexuality.
Perhaps most glaringly, though, Harvard students approach sex from two different, unrelated perspectives. Most recently in the New York Times Magazine, the True Love Revolution, Harvard’s pro-abstinence group, was showcased. At the other end of the spectrum are, H-Bomb, launching soon, and the yet-to-be-published Diamond, our internationally-renowned porn mags.
Now to the real meat (pun intended) of the article. First, yes, I have watched porn before. And most likely, so have you. So don’t snicker.
Harvard students do consume pornography. From drunkenly watching it, thinking it to be a good idea at 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning, to publishing and producing controversial magazines, it’s a part of our campus society. However, what does porn do?
The moral question of pornography has been quibbled over for years. Tackling such a weighty question is perhaps beyond the scope of an article. But what does it do to us mentally and physically? Ultimately, is watching porn good for us?
Physically, the effects of pornography cannot be divorced from masturbation. The point of pornography is typically more than just self-edification; if you’re watching porn, you want stimulation in order to facilitate masturbation. Masturbation, contrary to the myth that you’ll grow hair on your hands, can be healthy for you. Besides the view that it helps further abstinence by removing sexual tension, masturbation may: remove the risk of acquiring STDs (in the case of manual masturbation, though I would caution against saying that if you are a US Attorney General); potentially relieve depressive symptoms; reduce blood pressure; and even reduce the risk for certain cancers.
However, that’s just masturbation. Porn itself has no direct physical impact on the body unless you get a paper cut flipping through the Hustler you bought from C’est Bon. However, the mental impact of porn is undeniable. What you see and hear everyday shapes your perceptions of things; porn is no different. Argument for and against porn center on the fact that it influences the perceptions of individuals. Many argue that the potential for porn in prompting sex crimes is immense; others argue the reverse, that porn reduces the potential for sexual crime and aggression, serving as an outlet for sexual aggression and tension. Studies overall have produced conflicting and inconclusive results.
So, is porn good? Morally, that’s debated. Physically, in many ways, due to masturbation, it’s good. Mentally, the results are inconclusive. Perhaps the one most interesting thing about pornography, however, is the way it is presented. Disregarding the question of sex crimes, pornography, especially Internet pornography, is framed in a very specific and fascinating manner. In the typical Internet porn site, the woman is usually presented first — introduced, maybe even interviewed. The man is introduced and the fun begins, starting with oral sex and subsequently progressing to more explicit forms of sexual intercourse. Typically, it will end with the money shot, with the camera zoomed in on the face of the woman, spent of all energy.
While graphic, the point is that the focus is on the woman. Whether she is objectified or not may be debated; however, what I find more interesting is how anonymous the male actor in the video is. He is kept intentionally faceless in order to create in the average viewer, a male heterosexual, the fantasy that he is having sex with the woman.
Of course, there are numerous different sites on the web, as there are a plethora of videos, stores, etc., catering to different tastes and predilections. A site dedicated to lesbian sex, or bi-curiosity, would have a different format, as would a site dedicated to some sort of “plot” to the porn. Ultimately, though, each of these acts is brought with the intent of gaining one thing: pure sexual pleasure. Other than this, there is little, if any, point to their existence.
Thus, perhaps maybe what I’m asking now is whether porn is actually dangerous, or anything beyond simply a masturbatory aid? Beyond perhaps a few Internet sites with questionable, if not offensive, political messages (i.e. themes involving the military, immigration, etc.), pornography lacks any sense of real message. Even art seems to have rapidly faded from the realm of pornography as the mass culture of the Internet devolves porn into a constant hardcore video.
What may surprise some is that porn used to convey a message besides titillation. Playboy, of course, existed as more than a softcore porn magazine, including commentaries by noted authors, politicians, etc. Enlightenment pornography even helped to delegitimize the ancien régime in France and proved instrumental in facilitating the spread of new philosophies.
So, is porn good for the mind? Harvard students are trying to answer that: H-Bomb is perhaps our version of pornography with purpose. In addition to the sexuality, there is actual artistry and commentary found in the magazine’'s work. Though details on Diamond are limited, perhaps it can help alleviate the malaise of porn. Indeed, perhaps that’s what Harvard students, the connoisseurs of porn that we are, should demand. Pornography that exists solely for the sake of sexual pleasure definitely has its place in society. However, we want, in the words of ’70s one-hit-wonder/porn star Andrea True, more, more, more.
Don’t jump to any conclusions about C’est Bon, Hustler, and Peter Bacon ’11 (pbacon@fas).