Watching Pornographic Products: Yes or No?

Films and obscene or vulgar productions. These are Persian equivalents often used to refer to pornographic productions. A generation or two ago, some would also say 'super films.' Regardless of what word we choose for this group of products, the concern and question can be whether using these products is fundamentally right or wrong? What consequences does the use of these products have? And is there a way to use such products consciously? These questions remain taboo not only in Iran but in many other societies as well. This week, Zhila Shari'at Panahi, a Quran researcher and women's rights activist, and Hossein Ghazian, a sociologist, are guests on the taboo and we discuss pornographic products. Many people consider the free use of porn products as one of the signs and necessities of sexual freedoms. Ms. Shari'at Panahi, you have participated in our program as an opponent of the use of porn products; why are you against the use of porn products and what explanation and reasoning will you provide to our listeners? Zhila Mohaddes Shari'at Panahi: If we consider this as freedom, I can say that everyone’s freedom is limited by several issues, one of the most important being the preservation of one’s health and the physical and mental well-being of oneself and those around them and the surrounding community. The incident that occurs in the brain when watching porn is similar to what happens when consuming drugs, meaning increased dopamine secretion that creates a kind of happiness and pleasure, but the problem is that, like drugs, every time this pleasure-seeking is done, more stimulation is required the next time. Therefore, the threshold for stimulation rises, and many may become addicted after a while. Another problem is that in pornography, since these relationships are artificially constructed and the viewer has no knowledge of the behind-the-scenes, they think that their sexual partner should also stimulate them or provide them pleasure to the same extent. In reality, this is not the case, and there is a lot of editing and behind-the-scenes work. Men watch these films, and women dislike many of the actions in these films or do not consider them appropriate for themselves, and then divorce and separation rates rise. It seems to me that in this case, the culture of patriarchy and oppression intends to eliminate the emotional and romantic love that we women consider a prerequisite for a desirable romantic relationship and reduce relationships merely to physical interactions devoid of sufficient love and affection. You mentioned various issues from health or comparing porn products to drugs to divorce and separation due to the consumption and viewing of these products, and of course, the point you made about romantic love and sex. Perhaps Mr. Ghazian has responses to all of these, and I will return with another question for Mr. Ghazian that I will raise, but I think they may want to respond to your points here. Hossein Ghazian: Yes, exactly, and thank you for giving me such an opportunity. The truth is that all four reasons that Ms. Shari'at Panahi presented seem to me to be questionable. This means that if we assume that behavior that does not affect our health or that of our surroundings and harms others or sometimes society should be abandoned, then many of the things we do fall into this category. For example, let’s say we have dreams in our professional lives that sometimes harm ourselves and sometimes our families, even socially. Someone who goes and fights for a social cause ends up in prison, and their family suffers... all of this exists, but we sanctify many of these social and political fighters. Therefore, I think the idea that if something endangers a person's health, the health of those around them, or the surrounding community, it is a wrong behavior and should be discarded does not seem to be generalizable. The second issue is addiction. As far as I know, there has not been a decisive study or a definitive opinion that states watching pornography is just like drugs in terms of addiction and harm. The issue of dopamine secretion applies to any pleasurable behavior, and it cannot be banned solely for that reason. Our favorite team scores a goal in football, and we jump up and celebrate, and dopamine is released. We cannot abandon that for this reason. There is no solid research in this area. Regarding the behind-the-scenes of these porn products, we should point out that the consumer must be wise and know what is going on behind the scenes. We consume many products that, because we are unaware of the exploitation occurring behind them, may not be appropriate to consume. For example, we all eat bananas, but do you know what conditions these bananas are sometimes produced under exploitation? Therefore, it is the consumer who can have a proper consumption method by increasing their awareness. And the last point is that we should set a standard for sexual relationships and say that if this relationship is not accompanied by love and affection, it is not an acceptable sexual relationship. Setting such standards comes with significant errors, which I can discuss whenever you give me time. Ms. Shari'at Panahi, you mentioned that there may be elements in pornographic products that create fantasies or demands that are impossible in the real world and this causes conflicts in relationships. Some may argue that, well, in cinema and even in literature and visual arts, there are fantasies added to the audience's life, and they demand them; why is there this sensitivity regarding their consumption? Does this not relate to a kind of sanctity surrounding the body when it comes to pornography? Shari'at Panahi: Well, let me address a few points that Mr. Ghazian mentioned. You see, of course, nothing definitive may have been proven yet. But the negative effects of these types of films are becoming more apparent every day, and this is not comparable to those who sacrifice for society or take financial risks to improve their lives. This is merely a pleasure-seeking behavior that may lead to bad places in that person's life, especially for young people who turn to these films. Because the actions that these women perform, through editing and tricks, distort natural relationships, and a woman may not see many of these actions as appropriate for herself, and the vast majority of viewers are men. It is very natural that after watching this film, this man will want the same from his wife or partner, and if that woman does not comply, it causes disruption. I have seen that women accept this coercively and then suffer from issues like frigidity, and instead of these types of films and relationships bringing spouses closer together, it drives them further apart, and I personally seek a world where women become more familiar with men's world and men with women's world, and they can establish beautiful bonds that we see many examples of in nature between themselves, increasing family stability. Mr. Ghazian, we see that Ms. Shari'at Panahi emphasizes the issue of nature and natural relationships a couple of times. I think it goes back to the point you made about standardizing sexual relationships and you said it could have consequences. Perhaps it would be good to explain here whether we can talk about something called natural and unnatural relationships? Ghazian: I feel that there is a stereotypical perception of porn that arises from the assumption that porn is limited to professional porn, which is produced in a very elegant and professional manner with the best possible bodies and the best execution of relationships, and secondly, that in most of these, women are subjected to exploitation and violence. I will stick to these two stereotypes. They do not consider that a significant amount of current porn production is amateur or homemade porn, where none of the things we have in mind as porn stereotypes are present, while these are produced and consumed abundantly. What does this mean? It means that in these, the bodies are ordinary bodies of ordinary people. The lighting and setting are not at all professional. The relationship is a messy one and sometimes can be interrupted or cause annoyance, and these are not what we see in professional porn, and they cannot be lumped together. While they constitute a massive volume of porn production and viewing. What porn are we talking about? Here it is clear that the stereotype is at work. The point that in these porns, women are usually in a passive role and do nothing and are exploited by men, also faces a counter-current in our professional porn industry, with the production of porns where women dominate and make men their passive executors, and in homemade porn, this issue is very mixed and is not at all in the style you mentioned. Even in professional porn, sometimes it is said or behind the scenes is added to the scene that we were playing these roles, and be aware that this is acting. Therefore, I want to conclude that it is the consumer who must be wise. They, like any other product they consume, must think about how to consume it and how to think about it. But regarding the point you made about natural and model relationships; it is clear that as civilization expands, these become rules that are supposed to be implemented uniformly for everyone. Therefore, today we are no longer faced with natural relationships. We execute these relationships in a modeled way, meaning the civilizational patterns that have been taught to us. Just like, for example, eating food. Today, it is rare to find someone who eats with their hands. We set rules and regulations for it, and if someone does not do this, we consider them uncivilized or very careless. Therefore, we cannot talk about a natural relationship at all. It is a relationship that has a model, and this model has a cultural aspect. For this reason, it also varies in different cultures. If it were natural, we would expect it to be executed uniformly across all nature. In fact, Mr. Ghazian, perhaps the point you make, now you use the word model, and Ms. Shari'at Panahi uses the word natural, is somewhat related and follows her words. If there are models that, for example, individuals follow in sexual relationships; she says that watching professional porn films can create demands for models that can cause problems in a relationship between two people, and a housewife may not want to perform a model that a porn star plays in a porn film, and the problem arises here. Ghazian: Yes, well, we see these models like previous models we have seen and learned. We can also learn and execute these and be harmed. The discussion is that the consumer must be wise. Just like food models. If you go to a restaurant and the food is against your will, do you have to eat it at any cost? Well, you shouldn’t eat it. Because you don’t like it. If you do not accept a type of sexual relationship, well, you do not accept it. There may be the same conflict over food. Someone may like a certain food more at home, and because their partner does not cook it, it may cause conflict. This is true for all aspects of consumption and modeling in life. But if they and their partner enjoy this consumption, then what is the problem when they do not harm themselves, or if they do harm themselves, they accept the harm? This concerns them. It is related to each individual consumer, and for this reason, a general model and a standard cannot be set for everyone that they must behave according to a model, and that this model is correct and others are incorrect. Shari'at Panahi: I wanted to say that then this consumer protection organization, the FDA in America, which is so strong, why was it established? For the very reason that at least producers who cause harm to health should not be granted licenses. Second, many psychiatrists and psychologists and even the biology of men and women tell us that our expectations from this relationship are different, which is predominant, and those are emotional preliminaries and delicacy. Well, we women should not accept this and overlook our delicate and beautiful world of love that is accompanied by deep emotions and causes more oxytocin to be released. We should try to make this happen in men’s bodies too, not just leave men free to go and impose their tastes, and if they are not imposed, then there will be so many same-sex relationships and desires, and women will turn to themselves and men to themselves. One last point I want to make is that due to the excessive desires that may fuel pleasure-seeking to infinity, there is now a village in the Philippines where families train their children to sit in front of the camera and make soft porn films and sell them. Well, as social reformers, as sociologists, shouldn’t we really intervene and address the problems that arise?