Why pornography should be regulated

List A

       Pornography has attracted immense attention in the recent times as a result of the contention it triggers with regard to the effects it has on society. Questions have particularly been asked regarding the efficacy of regulating pornography. While there may be varying opinions, it is evident that prostitution should be regulated. This should be attained through imposition of heavy taxes on both actors and directors of pornographic films to ensure that the varying sites increase the fees that they charge ton viewers. In essence, individuals would have to be above 18 and to make payments before accessing pornographic material in any platform. 

       On the same note, pornography is a major driver for human trafficking. Studies have shown that pornography is the rehearsal ground for most people for prostitution. Human trafficking is a $97 billion industry, in which case stakeholders are always willing to traffic women and children from other parts of the world so that they can produce content at a low price and continue benefiting from the monumental revenue source. 

       Moreover, pornography should be regulated as it promotes hate speech and degradation of women. More often than not, pornography involves hate speech and degrading statements against women, an element that promotes violence and discrimination. Such sexually explicitly expressions are degrading and subordinating to women. More often than not, pornography involves explicit violence meted against women in the name of satisfying the fetishes of the different parties. 

       Moreover, regulating pornography goes a long way in controlling and eliminating prostitution. Scholars have noted that pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking are inherently and indisputably connected. Indeed, pornography was initially seen as any work of art that displays the life of prostitutes. Pornography simply underlines film productions in which actors have sex on screen to satisfy the sexual entertainment and gratification of other people. Studies have demonstrated that 39% of prostitutes or individuals who took part in prostitution were regular consumers of pornography who were simply trying to reenact pornography with the women in prostitution. In particular, hardcore pornography shows explicit demeaning and rough sexual acts that tend to desensitize viewers and increase their craving for more extreme and harder sexual acts that they try to reenact through participating in prostitution. 

List Two

       The regulation of pornography should not be left to one entity alone rather it requires the combined effort of both the government and the society or general public at large. The government can regulate pornography through requiring that all pornography actors and film directors register with the government agencies. This would allow the government to ensure that all the individuals and participants in the pornographic industry are of legal age and have consented to the filming and the distribution of the films and are not engaging in the same out of duress. This should be complemented by harsh penalties and punishment for people who flout these rules and fail to adhere to the standards particularly with regard to the distribution of sexually explicit material. There have been instances where individuals drug women and end up filming them and blackmailing them to undertake particular actions to prevent the distribution. The imposition of such regulations would reduce the potential for such criminal activities to thrive as there would be no potential or possibility for publication and distribution of sexually explicit works. 

Morality of Pornography

       The morality of pornography has always been a contentious subject. However, pornography is perhaps one of the most denigrating and immoral things. This is particularly given the fact that, as much as indulging in pornography can have immediate pressure, it would only leave an individual unsatisfied and empty. The immorality of pornography is predicated on the fact that it could be a trigger for other social ills such as prostitution and human trafficking. On the same note, it involves the degradation of women through violent acts and the use of explicit language that is supposed to put them down. Perhaps most noteworthy is the fact that there has been an increase in “leaks”, where individuals are filmed without their knowledge and their sexual escapades distributed in varying platforms. This would amount to bullying of the participants and their stigmatization. Unfortunately, the porn industry seems to support and inspire such criminal acts of invasion of privacy.