Porn and Feminism
On the ethics of (watching, doing, commercialising, etc.) pornography/adult entertainment, we commonly find six major positions: Three positions on porn itself: Neutral: There is nothing morally wrong with porn itself, but nothing good about it either. Pornography is a semantic category and, as such, it has no moral significance. Positive: Porn itself is morally good. Porn is art (Maes 2011) and art is good. Porn is, at least for the consumer, (safe, consensual, satisfying) sex and (safe, consensual, satisfying) sex is good. Negative: Porn itself is evil. It contributes to the subjugation of women. It debases sex. Positions on porn de facto, i.e., as it actually happens nowadays: Negative: Porn de facto is evil, but it need not be. It contributes to the subjugation of women, but it could not; as a matter of fact, it could be liberating to women. It debases sex, but it could not; as a matter of fact, it could ennoble our sexuality. Positive: Porn de facto is good, but ...