There are many reasons why DSTV should not have a porn channel, none of which have to do with morals. The debate about morals lands up with sex being a sin or at least frowned upon, and the idea of watching other people having sex is almost outlandish if not only a bit rude. But there are real reasons why porn should not be shown on DSTV, whether you have to pay for it or not. And here they are:
1. Porn displays both men and women in a way that creates a limited understanding of sex which is harmful to both men and women. Why? Because if the only sex I ever see or hear about is where a woman is face down in a pillow or a man has a member the size of the Eiffel Tower I’m going to a) as either a woman or a man have a warped understanding of equal and mutually fulfilling sexual relations. If I understand sex as a male-dominated arena, but I don’t desire that sexual space then it may lead me to think of my own sexuality as flawed/be angered when my partner doesn’t want sex like that. Furthermore b) I’m going to be very disappointed with the average man’s member if I’m a woman, or think my own member is teeny-tiny as a man. All round disappointment really.
2. Porn portrays unequal sexual relations as ‘sexy’ and thus puts men in a position of power and women in a position of sexual submission. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes people want their partner to be in charge the sexual situation. Not all sexual encounters are equal and this is not always experienced as dis-empowering, especially when the sex is in a safe relationship. Porn is not about these relationships. It is about ‘women wanting it but not knowing that they want it’ and men ‘taking what they want’. This is a dangerous sexual situation to support in a country with extremely high levels of sexual violence and rape.
3. Porn creates an idea of women as hyper-sexual or ‘gagging for it’. I like sex as much as the next woman. But like most women (and I’m going to say men here too for balance) I’m not simply walking around hoping some man is going to tackle me in a lift and do me up against the mirror while the security company watches. I’m not likely to accept a gang bang in a club, or to suddenly have a stripper pole descend from my ceiling so men can watch. But porn says that I do want these things, and what’s worse, when you show it all day every day on TV, it tells women that they should want these things. As soon as something starts telling me what my sexuality should be like, it shouldn’t be on TV.
4. Porn casts some groups as more sexual than others. Porn constructs black sexuality as ravenous, rough and it constructs white sexuality as timid and lacklustre. Perpetuating racial sexual stereotypes is harmful to all parties, particularly in a country where there are already myths and misconceptions about the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
5. The women in porn (and perhaps the men too) are often coerced into performing. The porn industry is notoriously linked to pimps, and the sex trade. Sex workers across South Africa face physical and sexual abuse daily and are frequently exposed to STIs. The reality is that selling sex is not a safe business for women, and unless we’re going to make our own porn here and ensure that it is filmed in a manner that is both safe and economically empowering for women, then we are allowing DSTV to perpetuate relations of economic dependence and sexual slavery for women.
If 5 reasons aren’t enough, then I’m not sure how many will be.
My interest is in what type of porn the company would like to show, because perhaps this indicates more about their own understanding of personal politics in South Africa. Will DSTV show gay porn alongside heterosexual porn? Will there be SnM? Will there be rape-porn (because this disgusting form of pornography exists)?
I hope that this channel does not go forward. South African’s already have a warped sexual culture that doesn’t need further confusion.
A prince with dignity and determination
Prince Ngarambe’s goals are to become Rwanda’s first transgender model and to uplift the country’s youth
The EFF’s principles are unshakeable
Unlike the ANC, the core values of the freedom fighters do not change with each leader it elects
