By Elio Wilder (they/them)
Content warning: mention of rape, rape culture, and sexual assault
There’s been a lot of talk in the Australian media lately about sexual assault, and who is to blame for the prevalent rape culture that exists in our society.
In the midst of finger-pointing and ignorant press conferences, pornography is being used as a scapegoat. Many people are blaming porn, in order to avoid taking accountability for the appallingly high rate of sexual assault.
A female silhouette in front of a window. Image via Maru Lombardo on Unsplash
Suggesting that porn is responsible for sexual assault is as ridiculous and unfounded as suggesting video games are responsible for school shootings. The United States experienced at least 177 school shootings between 2009-2019. In contrast, Australia didn’t have any school shootings during that period. First-person-shooter video games are equally as accessible in the US and Australia. Granted, guns are more difficult to access here, but they are still available if you want to obtain one. Ultimately, the primary factor in our lack of gun violence is our lack of gun culture.
Equally, the primary factor in the prevalence of rape in our society is our rape culture. Many things contribute to rape culture, but pornography is not a major factor. Pornography that depicts rape and toxic interactions are available. But this kind of content is not being viewed by the masses. In fact, ‘Lesbian’ is the most searched porn genre in Australia. Far from seeking out porn depicting male predatory behaviour, many straight men choose to watch content without men altogether. As to why this is the case, one Quora user writes, “in a lesbian porn there is both a dominant and submissive woman. Men that enjoy lesbian porn are watching it for the dominant woman”. A Redditor writes: “We don't watch actual lesbians, it's girl on girl porn but it's done in a way that appeals to straight guys”. The latter demonstrating an awareness that professional pornography is fake and not intended to be an accurate depiction of a real-life sexual encounter. This is also an important distinction, as male fetishisation of lesbians is problematic in itself.
Some people argue that hardcore pornography is giving young men unrealistic expectations of what sex is ‘meant’ to look like. If this is true, it’s more a failing of our education system than the fault of porn, which is created to be viewed by 18+ only. Even so, Australian women are 38% more likely to search ‘rough sex’ compared to the rest of the world. Because the type of sex act is irrelevant to consent. Don’t kink shame! Additionally, plenty of professional porn emphasises consent and includes models talking about what the scene will involve and how they’re feeling, some even including discussion of boundaries or safe words.
Two people lying in bed, one on top of the other. Via Dainis Gravis on Unsplash
There is a genre of scripted, professional pornography that includes scenes that would be rape if they were not contracted, paid acting scenes. Such scenes feature female models being ‘stuck’, coerced, or saying “no”, either through words of body language. I want to believe that men who watch these videos only do so because the video was on the recommended page, and they were enticed by the conventionally attractive models, not the title. There is a stereotype that many men do not care about the story or dialogue in porn at all, and that ‘men are visual creatures’. I can’t speak to the accuracy of this statement, but I do believe that the overwhelming majority of people are capable of discerning the difference between paid, professional actors, acting in a role-play rape scene and actual sexual assault.
The frequency of rape plot lines in porn is a concern. It does send the wrong message. However, many survivors of sexual assault report ‘freezing’ and disassociating during their attack. I would be far more concerned if popular videos depicted a woman silent, still, afraid, or otherwise incapacitated and unable to consent. This is the reality of many sexual assaults. Porn like this does exist. Even real rapes and revenge porn are posted on the internet. This is disgusting and inexcusable. Major porn sites like Pornhub have made a concerted effort to removed unverified videos from their platform in response to public pressure. But the average person does not seek this kind of content out. In fact, according to Pornhub, the #1 search that defined 2019 was ‘amateur’, which typically depicts a real couple with a genuine connection having ‘normal’, ‘vanilla’ sex. Ethical porn is a growing genre that more people are actively seeking out. It is not the existence of a porn genre that reflects of society; but rather what kind of porn individuals actually choose to seek out. Fostering a society that respects women encourages people to choose to watch porn that does the same. Nevertheless, pornography websites must strive to ensure only ethically produced content is uploaded and that this can only be viewed by over 18s.
I’m not saying porn is harmless. Particularly not when it is the first exposure to sex a young person receives. This is a failing of our education system. As has been recently highlighted by Chanel Contos, youth in private schools are anecdotally more likely to commit (and be the victim of) sexual assault than their public-school counterparts. Australian youth have fairly equal access to pornography - it is rape culture fostered in elitist, single-sex, out-of-touch private schools that is the more significant predecessor to sex crimes.
I believe blaming porn is an attempt to make the issue more complicated and difficult to solve than it actually is. It is an attempt to pass the blame to an external and faceless entity. Adult film actors, like many sex workers, have struggled to gain respect from the greater population and yet again they are be used as a scapegoat. As Brittany Higgins said, in her March 4 Justice speech, “It’s time our leaders on both sides of politics stop avoiding the subject and side-stepping accountability. It’s time we actually address the problem.” Rape culture is the problem. We, as a society, are responsible. We push gender roles and stereotypes onto young people that enforce warped perceptions of what is ‘expected’ of an individual based on their genitalia. In addition, appalling legal process, poor education, and government inaction are the biggest factors that contribute to rape culture. These foster a society that protects rapists and silences victims. All more damaging to women than porn.
We must take responsibility, and we must be at the forefront of demanding change. We need to eliminate the gender roles and stereotypes we push upon young people. We need to emphasise the importance of respecting women from the beginning. We need to lead by example. We need to teach young kids- of all genders- that women are powerful and capable of success. We need to create opportunities for visible representation of women in power to be role models. We need to teach young men, particularly those in single-sex schools, to respect all women. We need to demand affirmative consent legislation, a crucial step for providing proper recourse for survivors, and to help discourage wrongdoing. We need to use reformed legislation as a guideline for teaching consent in schools. But that’s a whole other article.
Ultimately, pornography has been widely available for decades; sexual assault has been prevalent for millennia. Let’s stop passing the blame, and instead take accountability, and push for real change.
5 steps you can take:
Call out rape culture such as misogynistic jokes.
Have an open conversation with your teenage children. Don’t assume they will learn about safe, consensual, positive sexual relationships at school.
Only watch ethical porn. Research sex-positive creators who pay actors properly for their work. Often this means going away from mainstream sites.
Flag problematic pornography. Let websites know if you suspect the content was not ethically created/posted e.g. revenge porn.
Contact your MP expressing your support for affirmative consent legislation and a revision of gender awareness and sex education in schools.
Sources:
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-some-men-like-lesbian-porn-Do-all-men-like-it-Why
https://www.pornhub.com/insights/women-of-the-world
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/07/us/ten-years-of-school-shootings-trnd/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Australia