Pornography's Empire: A Critical Analysis of Human Rights Issues

This essay critically examines Catherine McKinnon's perspective on the pornography industry, highlighting its connection to human rights violations, exploitation of women, and the cycle of human trafficking and prostitution. It argues that the industry perpetuates a system of abuse, where victims are forced into sex work and pornographic film production. The essay further discusses how societal attitudes and the objectification of women contribute to the problem, emphasizing the need for education and empathy to combat these issues and promote respect for women. It also touches upon the role of media and the glorification of violence against women, calling for a shift in societal values to address the root causes of exploitation.

Running head: PORNOGRAPHY’S EMPIRE
PORNOGRAPHY’S EMPIRE
Name of the Student :
Name of the University :
Author Note :

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Porn in today’s world is a normal thing. The advent of science and technology has indeed
gifted us with more than we could have had imagined. The purchasing power of people has
increased tremendously. Our great grandparents and grandparents could not even think of
buying an iPhone for one lakh fifty thousand rupees. Today, we have smart phones and
microchips that are loaded with tons of information. We can access to anything from our
phones and internet even porn (Butler). We have all heard that watching porn is unethical and
it violates our religious beliefs. However, not many of us know that the process of maimg
porn violates human rights. When people indulge themselves in porn, they unknowingly
promote the making of pornographic films that exploits the human rights of women (Chen).
The porn industry is more than just an industry that fulfils our sexual urges and desires. The
industry is a system that goes on due to human trafficking and bondage. Pornography and
prostitution is interconnected and interlinked. When a person finds himself or herself trapped
by the evils of trafficking, then sex becomes forced. This has become a vicious cycle of
abuse. Humans are traded and then sexually exploited. Victims of human trafficking are
forced into prostitution and making of pornographic films. We forget to look at the bigger
picture and we forget to see the grim reality behind the act (Foubert). Prostitution is the
product of a social evil. Prostitutes often have abusive pasts and are brainwashed by pimps.
Catherine Mckinnon in her book ‘Pornogaphy’s Empire’ says that pornography goes against
women twice. Firstly, when it is made and secondly when it is viewed. Her central theme of
the book is sensitive yet valuable as she says that pornography is the oppression of women.
These pictures lead to the degradation and sexual assault of women (Horeck). Women are
brutally beaten up, raped and even murdered if they refuse to participate in the process of
filming of pornographic pictures. Mckinnon points out that there is, in fact, a sub-genre of
S&M videos that are set in terrible concentration camps. She is of the opinion that our

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freedom of speech makes someone dominate and dictate someone else who is weaker. She
strongly believes that speech can be used to silence the speech of another human being and
raise a doubt about one’s self-worth. The speech that Mckinnon refers to is the speech of
catcalls, verbal abuses, sexual bombardments that are often thrown at women on the streets
and at home. Sexual taunts are horrible and degrading (Kappeler). These taunts shout out at
women and say that women are just objects and body parts that are to be used by men.
Women are also objectified in movies and this has been overlooked for decades now.
Mckinnon has always believed that good speech can be powerful enough to terminate bad
speech. By using the right words for human exploitation, we can change the corrupt and
vicious system.
Everyone looks down at prostitutes and sex industry while also deriving pleasure through its
services. This is a world of hypocrites that we live in. Some find it utterly funny. What people
lack is insight, clarity and compassion to understand that these so called ‘prostitutes’ are the
most vulnerable and highly exploited women of our society (Hepburn, Stephanie, and
Simon). The irony is that today even pronouncing the word ‘prostitute’ is a sin. Whereas, the
elites and powerful of the society are involved in the sex industry and exploitation of women.
Thus, our world runs on dualism. These predators and pimps have only helped in crushing the
dignity and self-worth of women. Sadly, these women are forced to accept their reality and
carry on with the path in silence. What Mckinnon proves is that the male sexuality along with
violence is terrifying of used wrongly against women (Chong). The truth is that we still
haven’t been able to develop a world where women get their due respect. Patriarchy has been
ruling the world for centuries and it looks like it is going to rule the world for years to come.
What Mckinnon points out is that people who are in power will do everything to preserve
their position and not to change it. The Canadian Supreme court did hear the views of
Mckinnon and took strict actions against lesbian and feminist pornography but then it

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neglected the mainstream pornography (Huntley). Society, at large is to be held responsible
for the violation of human rights and exploitation and it is the same society that have to make
an effort to set the records correct. If racism has been removed to a considerable extent then I
am sure that even a society free of human abuse and assault can be developed.
Unfortunately, what we have today is mere materialistic wealth and highly scientific gadgets.
Our basic human values have been forgotten. It takes a human to become a beat in order to
rape, murder and sexually abuse another human. Maybe, we are all beasts and not humans
living in the garb of a human. In a modern world, women are still facing and tolerating a lot
more casual abuse and violence than they have in decades. Movies like ‘Interview with the
Vampire’, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ only glorify women as mere objects to be used for the
pleasure of manhood. People go and watch these movies and they are under the same
impression that women are to be objectified. What we need to do is that every women needs
to be educated so that she can educate her son to respect other women. Humans are not
ignorant they are just arrogant to accept the correct methods. Humans are hard wired for
empathy and not violence. Once, we realize this we can hopefully solve some of the greatest
problems and miseries of the world. It will be a hard and long battle, but it will be something
worth fighting for.

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References:
Butler, Cheryl Nelson. "The racial roots of human trafficking." UCLA L. Rev. 62 (2015):
1464.
Chen, Chao-Ju. "Catharine A. Mackinnon and Equality Theory." (2018).
Chong, Natividad Gutierrez. "Human trafficking and sex industry: Does ethnicity and race
matter?." Journal of Intercultural Studies 35.2 (2014): 196-213.
Foubert, John D. How pornography harms: What today’s teens, young adults, parents, and
pastors need to know. LifeRich Publishing, 2016.
Hepburn, Stephanie, and Rita J. Simon. Human trafficking around the world: Hidden in plain
sight. Columbia University Press, 2013.
Horeck, Tanya. Public rape: Representing violation in fiction and film. Routledge, 2013.
Huntley, Svetlana S. The Phenomenon of" baby Factories" in Nigeria as a New Trend in
Human Trafficking. International Crimes Database, 2013.
Kappeler, Susanne. The pornography of representation. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.