People see the problems with porn differently for a variety of reasons.
Regular readers might guess that I see the main problem associated with it being our agreement not to talk about it. We reached that agreement without any conversation. We reached it by default.
One of the questions on my mind is why so many people volunteer to appear in it. I am curious about their motivations, and I would like to know something about how they overcame their squeamishness—if they had any.
I would also like to know if anyone sees significance in the failure of men in pornography to appreciate the women they work with. The beast in the sculpture accurately symbolizes the male point of view in this kind of activity.
Edouard Manet: Le dejeuner sur l’herbe, 1863
Another point I would like to explore through conversation is the massive gap between candor levels in our various channels of communication. I photographed the fine lady in the sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In contrast, Facebook has a fit over a glimpse of nipple. Pornography draws no lines of any kind. How do these conflicting points of view add to our collective confusion?
The majority of states in the U.S. have made it legal for women to be topless in public. Many cities celebrate with an annual topless festival in August. There will be one in Phoenix this year although Arizona’s legal stand on toplessness is said to be ambiguous at best. Arizona, in most matters, is quite hostile and harsh in its judgments.
Meanwhile, people continue to be enormously confused about nudity, sex, and personal values associated with these subjects. The confusion endures in silence, for the most part.
As Joan Rivers famously asked, “Can we talk?”
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