Porn, Prostitution, And Human Trafficking: The Hamburger Argument
Before we talk about the sex trade, I want to talk about hamburgers. Lets face it, there are a lot of overweight people. By overweight, what I really mean is fat. This is particularly true in the USA. The USA has a lot of fat people. Fat people are less healthy. They have more health issues and drive up the costs of health care insurance. The high cost of health insurance kills people, so fat people kill other people with their fatness.
Fat people also squish over into your seat on flights and at the movies. They block aisle at the super market. While sometimes it’s not their fault, due to a medical condition such as a bad thyroid, most of the time fat people are fat because they eat too much and don’t exercise enough. In countries where people lack food and are starving to death, you don’t really see anyone who’s overweight due to an overactive thyroid. Funny that. For all intents and purposes, being fat is a choice. If you disagree, just stop reading and go away right now.
Now that we’ve set a baseline, lets continue. There are pictures of food everywhere, especially on TV. Grocery stores have tons of high calorie food right in direct view. Fast food chains post giant hamburgers on huge billboards so we can see the dripping cheese and crunchy bacon on our way to work. Hmm.. bacon… yum… wait… what am I writing about? Oh yeah… Yeah, so our daily exposure to food imagery is rather extreme!
What if I were to say that we need to put an end to images of food so that people will stop getting fat. We shouldn’t even have pictures of finished dishes in recipe books. I’m talking about the prohibition of food imagery. No more late night fast food commercials in between episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (see what I did there? umm.. the characters, they are food).
A lot of people, perhaps not everyone, can probably see a lot of problems with everything I’ve said. Pictures of food can be linked to encouraging us to overeat… but getting rid of pictures of food isn’t going to ensure you have elbow room the next time you get on a jet. People are fat because they choose a lifestyle that leads to being fat. Those people in starving countries don’t have the option to be fat. If we want to help stop fatness, we should probably consider nutritional or fitness education for children. Seems like a better place to start, doesn’t it?
Lately, I’ve run across a lot of online discussion linking pornography to human exploitation. I’ve also run across discussion linking prostitution to human trafficking – attached to calls for total prohibition (yeah, like that ever worked). The problem with these subjects is that they get extremely emotional. Yes, you can make strong connections. If no one paid for prostitutes, then human traffickers would have no reason to sell children into sexual slavery. There are links, but the jump to causality is… kinda dumb.
The food analogy works because we all eat. We know what it’s like to deal with cravings. We know what it’s like to be hungry, to be snacky, etc. We also know, aside from those that like to make excuses, that our weight is a matter of personal responsibility. We may not always make the right decisions, but deep down inside, we know that the only person making us eat – is us. Talking about the sex trade is hard, because it’s a “hush hush” topic with lots of confusing emotions and you never know how people will react.
This idea that watching that delicious 5 minute clip of 15 Swedish lesbians licking each other like a box full of kittens is somehow going to transform you into an uncontrollable raping machines is both absurd and insulting. (By the way, I’ve never actually seen a video clip like that, but if you know of one… *cough* um, we’ll talk later)…
If you’ve followed many of my blog posts, you know I recently took a long walk through Feministville. Along the way, I saw some nobel women working for the fair treatment of oppressed women all around the world. I saw women stepping up and taking the initiative to be leaders and to make change happen. However, I saw a massive dose of man hating and power hungry women looking to blame and oppress at the drop of a hat.
As far as I’m concerned, we’re a sexually confused society. You can turn on the television or play a videogame and watch extreme violence unfold right in front of your eyes. There’s a careful science to just how much extreme violence is alright for child viewership. Passion of the Christ anyone? They actually measure what – amount – of blood and gore is appropriat for different audiences. Yet, if a woman in a movie takes a topless walk through the forest and a nipple flashes the screen – watch out. If people actually have sex… on the scree?! Woah! And what could be more frightening than – a penis. Penis…. …. .. Penis ….. Why do we have such a confused and fearful attitude towards sex and nudity? It’s so confusing. Penis.
Most of everyone I’ve ever known are strongly apposed to a child being forced into a life of sexual slavery. The last thing I want is for anyone to suffer needlessly. But, somehow, this bizzar agenda linking the sex trade to human suffering seems to be forming and gaining momentum. It wouldn’t bother me as much if it stayed on websites about the subject, but it’s leaking elsewhere in a frightful way. Somone’s propaganda machine is starting to be effective.
I wrote this post just after I ran across the following comment: “Don’t you think by looking at nude pictures of girls, you are feeding the market for sexual exploitation of a group prone to being taken advantage of by those they trust?” I can totally see it. Yes, YES, there IS a link there. This person was right!
But you know what? You don’t cut your leg off when you stump your toe. After all, you can’t stump your toe with no legs! But links like these… links between something some people view as objectionable (porn or sex workers) and something most people view as horrible (sexual exploitation)… those links are very risky. A minority who finds something morally objectionable LOVES the opportunity to demonize what they dislike by linking it to something much much worse – because it helps push their agenda.
There’s something else that is very important here. This whole game of confusion, fear mongering, and emotional gaming distracts us from solving problems the right way. This means, while people are busy fussing about the damaging effects of seeing naked people, children are being sexually exploited. That’s where it gets sick.
Just like education children on nutrition and fitness, there are good ways to solve bad problems.Don’t fall for this propaganda crap, you’re smarter than that – think for yourself.