Pornography Uncut: Beyond the Visuals

The word ‘pornography’ comes from the Greek word ‘porne (pórnē)’meaning prostitute and ‘graphein’ meaning to write. Hence ‘porngraphos’ meant writing about prostitutes which in the 19^th century was called pornography. The word prostitute instantly brings to mind someone who engages in sex to acquire money and someone whose professional career choice is performing sexual acts. However the term ‘prostitute’ is gender biased and frowned upon. Most of the times it refers to women and leaves out a whole lot of men who receive a much toned down, chivalrous title of being an ‘escort’.

Pornography as an industry appears as a perverse parallel to the film industry. It is the amalgamation of prostitution and the film industry and is popularly known as the Adult Film Industry. While the root words of its etymology are related to prostitution, what separates the two is the glamour and filming for mass consumption. Hence the rate of objectification and exploitation is higher in the pornographic film industry.

While people consume the products of such an industry to fulfill their voyeuristic needs, the larger argument has always been centric around the objectification of women in such an industry. However one needs to realise that pornographic films are not consumed by men alone and not necessarily all consumers are heterosexual beings. This implies that objectification happens at all levels by various people with regards to various people- men objectifying women, women objectifying men, men objectifying men, women objectifying women and the overall objectification of children and much more. Sigmund Freud emphasizes on the Oedipus and Electra complex which is commercialized by the Culture Industry and projected in its visual form. This concept is sold to the viewers as personalized gadgets and has now become safe spaces of indulging in the forbidden.

Just like in the mainstream film industry the movies are based on scripts too and hence the visual representations of one’s fantasies are scripted. The idea that sex is as long lasting as seen in the long porn videos is completely misleading. It is the result of scripting behind such porn videos, the efforts taken by the actors to remain turned on for as long as five to six hours of the entire shoot, the amount of Viagra taken to maintain the erections and the fake orgasms, thus making the consumers that are seeking escapism, passive recipients to the commodity sold to them in the name of sex and this in turn is mass deception. Most of the times, various scenes are shot at different locations. At such times the actors have to engage in off-screen sexual acts serving as objects or props that bring out their acting skills onscreen. Just as a mainstream film is shot over a span of few years or months, most of the times one scene in a pornographic film is shot across two to three days in order to capture different angles and the actors are disengaged from the act completely. The scenes that are at times shot at public places are illegal and the entire cast faces the risk of being arrested at any given time.

Consumers of pornography tend to believe in the unrealistic outward physical beauty standards set by the industry as well. It subtly promotes various other industries, especially the huge range of body modification surgeries. The practices of hair removal are also related to the idea that perfect body desirable for sex is a body free from all sorts of bodily hair especially in areas around sexual organs. It has also led to extreme objectification of women and depict women as beings created for the pleasure of men alone. It shows women as passive receivers of sex thus painting women as merely subjects of male fetishization and reinforcing the patriarchal ideas of female subjugation and normalizing violence against women. However, it is not only women who are objectified through the visual representations. Men too are objectified in subtle ways. It leaves behind expectations of bigger erection-sand longer capacity, adding pressure on men to offer good sex to their partners. It normalizes the idea of cheating or moving on to another partner offering better sex and determines the value of people based on their sexual performance.

While the main criteria to fit into the industry seems to be engaging in sexual acts, exclusion in the industry is felt at individual levels as well. One such example is the suicide of pornstar August Ames who refused to engage in sex with men who had previously engaged in sex with other men. She faced a negative backlash as she excluded the other men and ended up being excluded by the viewers. Many of the porn stars turn to drugs in order to cope with the alienation they feel from their work and the exclusion they experience on a daily basis from people and society. However, sexism in terms of pay-scale are reversed in the porn industry as men receive way lesser money than women. People of different races and skin colour also face exclusion as they receive lesser payments for performances similar to that of their white colleagues.

The pornography industry too has award ceremonies across various categories like the film industry. Though, the prevalence of a moralistic discourse has led to hushing of discussions on the adult film industry in contrast to discussion based on mainstream film industries. Hence the use of drugs to cope within the industry and suicides of porn actors due to depression goes unnoticed and un-mourned in the larger context. Their troubles and struggles lack empathy from their consumers. People also tend to troll porn actors who speak up against sexual assault they face on set as they have chosen this profession. This is unwarranted as they too are professional-sand have a right to speak up against sexual harassment and exploitation at the workplace.

The fact that a person is or was once associated with this profession leads to disregarding other talents they might possess. There is a constant stereotyping regarding those who engage in the industry. Few of these stars are married or engaged to other stars within the industry and also have kids. They lead a completely regular life off-screen. The consumption of porn leads to desensitization and dehumanization of people. It takes away the right to dignity of labour from porn actors. Our interaction with them starts and ends with the viewing of the particular film or clip. To an outsider it may seem the most convenient and easy way to make fast money. However, when the directors call for a cut and the cameras stop rolling there is an entirely different story that enfolds. This story needs to be spoken about, it needs to be heard and it needs to be brought to the fore-font. Often times what we see is not the what we think it is and often times what we think is not the way it is seen. There is always more to what meets the eye. Hence, while seeing we need to think and be critical of what we see. We need to look beyond the scenes and see the unseen.

Written by:

Joelle Fernandes- TYBA