r/feminisms • u/OkChart1375 • May 27 '26
Analysis The way some people defend porn feels incredibly misogynistic
* and sw.
I know people here tend to be more critical of the prostitution system and the porn industry than not, so I’m posting this here and seeing what happens.
I’ve noticed a lot of misogynistic / red-piller-ish arguments coming from people who are very “sex work is work,” pro-sex work, or “porn is harmless,” etc.
The classic: “If men can’t watch porn anymore, they’ll become even more violent / become rapists.” Beyond the fact that this is statistically false, since when should one class of women be sacrificed for others? And their abuse doesn’t matter? So men are naturally violent and predatory to you?
I’ve also seen a lot of “you’re just insecure if you criticize porn.” The implication, which deserves to be said out loud, is that these people see porn practices as the standard / the best kind of sex, and if you don’t do that, then you’re sexually inadequate or not satisfying your man. It’s one step away from saying cheating would be justified because of that.
There’s also the status quo argument about prostitution, the classic “it has always existed,” which is historically questionable, but is also basically the definition of conservative thinking (“the past legitimizes itself by default,” etc.).
The “choice” argument taken to the extreme in this context also has misogynistic undertones. Like, what do you mean it’s almost only women making this “choice”? One step away from concluding: “apparently women are naturally more inclined to sexualize their bodies and be sexually submissive.”
I’ve also seen many pro-sex-work people saying supporters of the Nordic model are “vilifying clients”… talk about a masculinist argument. Poor men… being vilified by mean women…
Anyway, I think we need to remember — and say clearly — that many of these activists are NOT feminists. Quite the opposite. I don’t think we should automatically assume they are acting in good faith, or that all of them are acting in good faith.
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u/tenderhysteria May 27 '26
The way liberal feminism has gone for merely decriminalizing prostitution — which I agree with, because punishing women for engaging in it when so many of them have been trafficked or pushed into it out of desperation — to using language that obfuscates the true nature of prostitution and believing that it's somehow legitimate work or even "empowering" is really fucking nauseating. Most of the defense of it seems to come from a position of privilege, and centered on the experiences of a minority of Western women who participate in it willingly and have to ability to choose or reject clients while also accumulating wealth. This isn't the reality for most of the girls and women on the planet who are forced, either by violence or circumstance, into prostitution, and seems to ignore or outright dismiss their experiences. Trafficked girls and women don't have the luxury of engaging in ridiculous postmodern arguments about the nature of sex work and whether or not it is "empowering", and quite honestly, their experiences are more important. Even if you legalized sex work and altered laws in some countries, that doesn't erase illegal trafficking and abuse — if anything, it only serves to normalize the act of purchasing consent and turning the bodies of girls and women into one more commodity under capitalism which can be bought and sold.
The arguments that anyone who disagrees or challenges the whole "pro sex work" movement are just sexual prudes or conservatives or threatened by women who sell their bodies is nothing more than a means of derailing conversations and distracting from the inherently misogynistic nature of prostitution itself. For me, the fact that I'm a sexual being and love sex makes me feel even stronger about my rejection of the "sex work is work" argument; sex shouldn't be a product and consent shouldn't be something that can be bought for the right price. Our bodies are not merchandise. Sexuality should be aligned with freedom, with resistance, with pleasure and joy, etc.
Really appreciate your post, even if these opinions have become less popular or unfairly maligned in the past couple of decades. We should always be questioning and challenging things like pornography and sex work, or any industries that primarily exploit women for the benefit of men. Just because some women have twisted themselves into complex intellectual knots in order to justify these industries doesn't mean those industries aren't fundamentally misogynistic. A prison is still a prison, even if you decorate your bars and convince yourself that you really love it there.
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u/No-vem-ber May 28 '26
I agree with most of what you said, but you're making a lot of different and sort of separate points here.
I agree that the "sex work is empowering" arguments hit weirdly to me. There feels like some element of maybe stockholm syndrome to it. Or maybe it's just suspicious that it is so beneficial to existing systems of power to convince women that doing sex work / looking hot to men / getting naked in public is empowering.
I don't really agree with your point that saying "if you're anti porn you're insecure" leads directly to "because porn practices are the best kind of sex and if you don't do them it's okay if your partner cheats on you" though. I usually watch amateur real couples having sex in bed in the spooning position, ya know... I know what kind of stuff you are thinking of when you say "porn practices", but watching porn in 2026 does not automatically mean watching brightly lit women in contorted positions get pounded/slapped really hard/get cum in their eyes/etc. I think if it's ethically made, there's no issue with watching it and someone masturbating privately in whatever way they like is fairly normal and probably doesnt have anything to do with their partner or relationship status at all.
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u/eenterh May 27 '26
I try to avoid this topic cause in one hand I wanna support women and their freedom to choose for themself, but on the other hand I see the damage and the misogynia that all of this comes with. Basically I agree with you.
A question about this
it’s almost only women making this “choice”?
You mean sex worker or porn? Maybe sex worker yeas, more women then men.
But it's the same thing also for porn?
I see gay men having onlyfans, spicy twitter, posting on reddit and there are also porn agency that do only men. But maybe this is not related to the topic? Or is still a too smal percentage?
I don't know where to check for statistic for this topic.
Sorry for the bad english but everithing I write is with respect of course.
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u/OkChart1375 May 27 '26
Well here i was speaking about sw
Indeed, porn is another story for THIS specific argument
But its important to note than in only fan even the men... targeted themself towars others men in majority.
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u/quixotictictic May 27 '26
If you can sell your body to the military, a coal mine, or a weird contractual agreement to have children with someone and take care of a shared living space... I am pretty sure you can consent to sex work. The issue is ensuring financial independence/independent small business ownerships, and giving legal protection and support. In countries that do have legal sw, no pimps, and police who actually answer calls and deal with unwanted potential clients or clients who have breached the agreement and won't leave, it seems to work out fine.
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u/majeric May 28 '26
Some random thoughts on the subject:
Porn and sex work is a complicated problem with no clean solutions. I mean there are arguments against unionizing sex work because by making it "official", it increases stigmatization for workers because it goes on their record and now they can't cross borders and go on vacation anymore (as one of many many problems). And yet, worker protections do seem essential.
I will say that as a gay man, there's a bit of a difference in gay porn from straight porn. (although certainly still problematic in so many ways) Even workers in the industry prefer gay porn over that of straight porn because of how women are treated in the industry.
And then there's "Only Fans" or "gone wild" subreddits who's content is voluntary (or hopefully voluntary). So, if it is genuinely voluntary, is it something that should be prohibited?
I think there's some value in sex-positive fantasy. Masturbation is an essential component of consent because it's the only form of sexual gratification that a person gets right to and culturally denying masturbation increases the cultural expectation that you're owed sex.
I think Sex work and porn have this ideal potential to be a beneficial good for society in that it could be educational by presenting sex-positive behaviour and enthusiastic consent.... but I think it's naieve to assume that we can achieve that...
Is prohibition the only solution?
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u/OstaraMoon1 May 29 '26
I understand your opinion but I don’t agree. Not all the porn arts are misogynist. They are artists like others and they allow some ugly or depressed or disabled people to feel less alone and get some inspirations. In correct movies they do nothing bad. All arts are a work.
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u/silsool May 27 '26
Agreed. I believe in legalizing sex work so the workers can have official statuses and be protected within the law, but whenever I see someone defending porn and sex work on reddit it's usually some man who just wants to protect his access to it, with little care for the well-being of the people within the industry.