Kevin Arnold claims in his op-ed "EndPorn Has An Agenda" (The Dartmouth, April 30) that "the consumption of pornography may in fact be beneficial to sexual health, both for couples and for individuals." His entirely accurate and appropriate use of the word "consumption" exemplifies the problems of pornography. To consume something is to take what you want from it, use it entirely for yourself and abandon the rest. In pornography, the viewer uses the body depicted to satisfy his sexual impulses, and ignores the fact that inside the body is a human being with innate dignity, identity and value. It effectively reduces people to objects. Their value becomes confined to their immediate usefulness.
Sex is not shameful or intrinsically wrong; it is a beautiful part of a committed and loving relationship. At its best, it is an expression of love and a way of drawing two people closer together. I believe that far more than just a physical need, sex is a gift to be shared, involving the whole person. Pornography distorts sex by removing it from its natural context and reducing it from an exquisite unifying experience to a solitary and self-serving activity.
Arnold asserts that viewing porn and masturbating are not only beneficial but essential to a healthy sex life: "By viewing porn and masturbating there is nothing sick about you or anything wrong with you. . .Your sexual health is at stake." He offers no explanation as to why refraining from viewing porn and masturbating would harm one's sexual health. I, on the other hand, would argue that the person who consumes pornography exploits himself in much the same way that he exploits the person he looks at, because he limits his own sexuality to a primitive drive and removes it from the rest of his humanity.
Arnold states that "viewing pornography with your partner can encourage dialogue, better sexual stimulation and hence a healthier sex life for both you and your partner." If you feel you need pornography to spark dialogue between you and your partner, perhaps you should rethink your relationship. Dialogue, not porn, should be the base of your interaction, and precede the physical component of your relationship. Nor is better sexual stimulation necessarily equal to a healthier sex life. "Health" to me does not only mean heightened physical sensation and the prevention of STDs, but incorporates all aspects of a person: the emotional, spiritual and physical. Arnold seems to assume that because some people enjoy watching porn, it is unhealthy for them to refrain from doing so. But health also involves self-discipline, regulating one's desires rather than giving them free rein. No one would argue that eating whatever and whenever you want is healthy; why should giving in to every sexual impulse be?
Arnold portrays himself as the champion of the nation, fending off the dire threat of takeover from the "Christian ultra-right," as represented at Dartmouth by EndPorn. He accuses them of "playing to wide-spread fears about sexual licentiousness and appealing to our own (as Michael Warner termed it) 'culture of sexual shame'." Do we go to the same Dartmouth? During my four years here, I have had brightly colored condoms taped to my door, seen vibrators on display at the Sexfest, and come across brochures in dorms telling me it's "NOT-2-LATE" to use emergency birth control. The "culture of sexual shame" at Dartmouth is not one that tells you sex is dirty, but rather one that "shames" those who believe it is too beautiful to be banalized by random hookups and deformed by pornography.
To combat the nonexistent problem of the culture of sexual shame at Dartmouth, Arnold suggests forming a supposedly value-neutral campus group to discuss pornography. This group would be devoted to providing "fair and balanced information" about pornography, without "attempting to maneuver the social agenda." I am curious as to how he is not attempting to maneuver the social agenda with his own article advocating a very specific view of sexuality, in which nothing matters but the freedom to immediately satisfy your physical desires.
I don't claim to be value-neutral; I have my own points of view just as Arnold does. But the dignity of the human person is a value that everyone shares, and pornography is an affront to it. Sexuality is intimately intertwined with every other aspect of a person, and to exploit someone's sexuality is to show disrespect for the whole person.
Arnold claims that when discussing pornography, "your sexual health is at stake." But in all issues of sexuality, your whole health is at stake.
