Whether it’s trading cows milk for almond or boycotting fast fashion in the aim to shop more sustainably, we are arguably looking more at our role as consumers than ever before. We are becoming increasingly aware as a society, it is something we pride ourselves on – being more ethical. But what about our porn?
While porn isn’t necessarily bad, the way we consume and at the rate we do is. PornHub – the largest and most popular porn site globally heavily consists of user-generated content, making it hard to monitor the videos uploaded and ensure consent of the videos posted. In light of such issues, The Internet Watch Foundation in the last two years have processed and confirmed 118 cases of child rape and trafficking on PornHub. Lives are torn apart- left violated, traumatised and ruined for the profit of porn hub and its users’ pleasure whether they know they are complicit or not. We need to remember there are livelihoods behind the camera, they are not just bodies and there are peoples well beings at stake.
Now, this isn’t an article geared towards shaming people for their porn use. It is far from it. It is more about creating a dialogue surrounding porn so we can begin to make more ethical choices when viewing, as with it being such a taboo subject, we often are misinformed of the damage it can cause. Social media movement @exoduscry is currently advocating for the removal of Pornhub and have already made huge advancements. With Thailand recently shutting down PornHub for violating their Computer Crimes Act, we are getting closer to tearing down such vile corporations at their source. However, till more progress is made, we must take it upon ourselves as consumers to pledge to view porn more ethically and paying for porn is arguably one of the best ways forward.
Performers need support and safety, which big corporations do not provide; more care and integrity go into independent production and the content being uploaded is carefully monitored. To top this off, the cringe cliché scripts and blatant sexism promoting domination and degradation are often avoided by smaller porn companies and independent adult film content makers. Avoiding the closer to home issue of porn having detrimental effects on its users, particularly young people, ranging from erectile dysfunction in young boys to body dysmorphia in girls. Seeking out more ethically produced porn and paying for it, therefore, doesnt only benefit the actors behind the camera (who we can often feel removed from) but also ourselves as viewers too. Paying for porn would not only cut down the excess rate at which we consume it but also prompt everyone to stop and think about what they are watching.