Not that I believe that porn is always sexually violent towards women or men, however more often than not there is a feeling of being witness to someone’s degradation at the very least and someone’s punishment at worst. These thoughts are echoed in a recent AlterNet article by Sam Benjamin of SeXis Magazine entitled, “Why I Had To Stop Making Hardcore Porn”, and it raises some interesting food for thought.
Sam made his living as a videographer in the heterosexual and homosexual porn industry, and admits a feeling of complicity toward aiding what felt like “a happy willingness to be violent, a willingness to degrade.” Sam also admits that he didn’t sense this while filming gay porn. He writes, “They may have stuck to roles of “tops” and “bottoms,” but in the dressing room, we all seemed equals, on the same team.” Perhaps this speaks to some internal issues for Sam, which he alludes to in the article.
It’s an engaging read about the business of capturing sexual pleasure and release on video, and brings forth deeper questions about sexual violence towards women and men when pornography isn’t a part of the equation.
AlterNet: “Why I Had to Stop Making Hardcore Porn”
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