Happy Anti-Porn Hysteria Month!

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that February is "White Ribbon Against Pornography Month" (didn't know that, did you?), but it seems we can't swing an MP3-enabled dildo these days without hitting a news story about some anti-porn crusaders or sex-negative journalist somewhere claiming dubious "proof" that pornography is responsible for rampant moral degeneracy, corrupting the young, destroying marriages, the death of Anna Nicole Smith, the war in Iraq, and/or global warming. (OK, we made a few of those up. But you get the idea.) Since we've always been against consensual porn only when it happens to be boring, we're pretty used to taking all these blatherings in stride, but we can't do better to assist you should you happen across any arguments with white ribbon-wearing zealots than to point you towards the latest column by our very own Violet Blue in the San Francisco Chronicle this week, which provides as succint an explanation of why pornography isn't nearly quite the big bad bogeyman its detractors are making it out to be ...

Porn is legal in the United States —and no other entertainment industry is as heavily policed and scrutinized by officials. Pornography is made by adults, for adults. It is a job that requires skilled performers who must display enthusiasm for the job. When someone says that porn exploits women, who exactly is being exploited? The lesbian PA? The woman behind the camera? The paid performer? The woman watching it for self-gratification? And who does gay porn exploit?

Saying that porn "leads to harder stuff" is analogous to saying that people who like spicy foods will never be satisfied until they set their tongues on fire (and in the case of the AFA, the tongues of children and farm animals). Saying that porn is only enjoyed by people who "can't have a real relationship" is one of the most hurtful myths. Porn is an excellent way to make yourself feel sexually self-reliant and satisfied between partners, and is routinely enjoyed by couples (together or alone) as part of a healthy sexual routine.

Porn can't "make" anyone do anything: People who molest children and rape will do so regardless of whether a copy of "Edward Penishands" is available for rental or downloading. "Buffy the Vampire Layer" will not make you get an abortion or an STD or become a serial killer.

If that doesn't belong printed on a t-shirt or stiched across a sampler on a cushion on your living room sofa, we don't know what does.

· "Kink.com and Porn Hysteria: The Lie of Unbiased Reporting" (Violet Blue @ sfgate.com)

See also:

· "Community Leaders Declare February 'White Ribbon Against Pornography' Month" (newsnet.byu.edu, via MOC)
· "Anti-Porn Billboards Pop Up Around Jax" (news4jax.com)
· "Provo film calls porn epidemic" (deseretnews.com)
· "Montana Lawmakers Look to Pass Stricter Adult Ordinances" (AVN)
· "Anti-obscenity crusader Dallas Erickson on God, family, and the temptations of sin" (missoulanews.com)
· "Some bloggers have no shame" (smh.com.au)
· "Internet raises Lib's ire" (news.com.au)
· a href="http://www.gateway.ualberta.ca/view.php?aid=7403">"Point/Counterpoint: Are money shots costing us too much?" (gateway.ualberta.ca)
"On pigtails and porn: a modern-day occurrence" (bangordailynews.com)
· "Things ain't so sweet in Sweet Home Alabama" (comstockfilms.com)