The Orion Online

Issue date: 12/6/06 Section: Features

Media Credit: Gina Perry [Click to enlarge]

Some words are just attention grabbers. You see them on a page or hear them out loud, and you're immediately intrigued. Few words epitomize this example better than "porn."

Twenty-five random people in the Bell Memorial Union, 14 male and 11 female, were asked Nov. 30 to weigh in on the great porn debate. Questions to tackle included: Is the porn industry an enterprise based on degradation, or is it harmless entertainment? Is it blatant exploitation, or rather, women owning their sexuality? Is it misogyny at its worse or America's favorite pastime?

Of the 14 people who said porn was exploitative and misogynistic, six were male and eight were female. Eight men and three women said porn was harmless.

Former Chico State student Derek Radey was one of the 11 people who said that in nearly every situation, porn is not exploitative and doesn't portray women as part of the subordinate gender.

"I just don't know how someone is being exploited when they willingly decided to get into that type of work," he said.

Radey said women in porn should be seen as people performing a job and shouldn't be analyzed as anything more than that.

"I think saying porn degrades the entire female gender is kind of ridiculous," he said. "It's the woman's choice to participate in it, and the person watching it knows she's just in it for the money. That's how they make a living; they're just trying to put on a good show."

Chico State senior Katie Welsh said women who are comfortable with their sexuality have the chance to make an easy living in the porn industry.

"I just don't really see what the big deal is," she said. "If you're comfortable having sex on camera, then why shouldn't you make a living out of it? You'll probably have more fun doing that than working a 40-hour week."

Communication and Spanish major Gus Balla was one of the 14 students who thought the porn industry degrades and exploits women, especially in recent years.

"A lot of stuff you see on the Internet these days just looks mean-spirited and degrading for no purpose," he said.

Balla has no problem with the basic idea of porn, but he thinks that most films disrespect the female gender, he said.

"Just look at some of the titles that are out there - how many have the word 'sluts' or 'whores' in them?" Balla said. "Stuff like that really gives off the vibe that women are only there to please the guy."

Senior Allison Schroll said she thinks much of the exploitation in porn happens because many of the women are too young to really understand the gravity of their decisions.

"I think they should maybe raise the minimum age and make it 21, like alcohol," she said. "By being so young, people can exploit their ignorance."

Kevin Snyder can be reached at ksnyder@theorion.com

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