This past Friday, the Amory Moot Room was packed to the rafters with spectators for Debate Society’s extremely successful first Friday Debate of the term. HCX was lucky enough to have front row seats to watch the motion of ‘This House Believes that Pornography provides a good public service.’ The ensuing debate proved to be extremely controversial, with the audience eventually voting in favour of the Proposition. For the first time in DebSoc history, an all female panel debated all aspects of pornography, from human trafficking, to governmental measures to clamp down on the availability of pornography on the Internet.
The wide ranging panel included influential females from both sides of the Atlantic. For the Proposition, Jane Faye, Guardian columnist and coordinator of CAAN, was joined by Zac Jane Kier, an erotic author and co-founder of the Guild of Erotic Authors. Arguing for the Opposition, ex-porn star and founder of the Pink Cross Foundation Shelley Lubben and Tiffany Leeper, the founder of Girls Against Porn and Human Trafficking both visited from California.
Both sides presented strong arguments which appeared to challenge the perceptions of the audience with their views to the porn industry. Jane focused her argument on the importance of human trafficking in other industries such as retail, citing the tragedy of the collapse of a Primark factory in Bangladesh earlier this year as a more serious concern. Zac also supported this argument by reminding the audience that workforce exploitation is not just an issue exclusive to porn, arguing that women can equally be empowered by the freedom to watch porn.
To counter these arguments, Shelley drew on her experience as a former porn actress in California, the heart of the American porn industry. After surprising us all with shocking statistics emphasising the brutal conditions in which many porn actresses work, Shelley asked the audience to stop contributing to exploitation, explaining that she was forced in to the industry. For many, Shelley argued, there is not a choice. Tiffany, who also had her life dramatically affected by porn, told the audience that the feeling of discovering that a loved one is addicted to porn is indescribable. The tendency of porn to replace love with lust is, according to Tiffany, the biggest issue.
HCX was also able to talk to the Opposition after the debate. When asked what their advice would be to girls whose boyfriends watch porn frequently, Tiffany insisted that ‘laying down the law is essential’; watching porn every so often can easily progress in to an addiction. Shelley, on the other hand, only had two words to say in response; ‘dump him’.
But what do you think? Is porn simply a healthy way to explore sexual desires or does it hide a more sinister side?
Photo Credits: www.blogspot.com, www.xmedia.ex.ac.uk