• Muad'Dibber@lemmygrad.ml
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    2 years ago

    Porn / filmed rape is a multi-billion dollar industry, 99.9999% of it is made for a profit. As materialists, we don’t focus on what-if scenarios, but how the industry currently functions.

    • Good point. I’m all for criminalizing production of pornography as long as there’s a profit incentive (at least when it involves actual people; in theory, I’m fine with drawn pornography, although… there’s a lot of shit that I’d argue should be illegal there too). Of course, the producers should be the ones receiving punishment, not the sex workers themselves

      • Preston Maness ☭@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 years ago

        Of course, the producers should be the ones receiving punishment, not the sex workers themselves

        And if those are the same person? A good chunk of for-profit pornography is individual people producing and selling on their own.

        • Is it really a large percentage? If so, it’s a bit murkier for me – if that’s the only way they have to pay their bills (which is a bigger problem in and of itself, of course), I can’t just say that there should be a blanket ban until every sex worker is provided with a reasonable alternative job, guaranteed housing, etc. (which is basically guaranteed not to happen under capitalism)

          Edit: in addition, if you’re talking about OnlyFans and the like, the workers don’t receive the full profits, which is at least as much of a problem as for other types of labour

          • Preston Maness ☭@lemmygrad.ml
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            2 years ago

            Is it really a large percentage?

            I honestly don’t know the exact percentage, only that the workers on markets like OnlyFans and various cam sites are, from my own personal experience, mostly one-person or one-couple gigs. And indeed, those markets do take a cut. But we’ve already seen an example of the uproar sex workers gave when it looked like OnlyFans was going to stop supporting adult content. So, “just get rid of OnlyFans” isn’t likely to be a benefit to those sex workers.

            I can’t just say that there should be a blanket ban until every sex worker is provided with a reasonable alternative job, guaranteed housing, etc. (which is basically guaranteed not to happen under capitalism)

            Unfortunately, that’s not guaranteed to happen under socialism either. There are several existing socialist states that outlaw sex work, despite (supposedly) eradicating the coercive nature of work under capitalism. In such a free society, why shouldn’t anyone be allowed to put a price on their consent for sex, as they would put a price on their consent for any other form of labor they could provide in their economy? Are these workers genuinely liberated of their previous forms of oppression or not?

            And if they haven’t entirely eradicated the coercive nature of work within their state; if other axes of oppression are still festering --and thus, work is coercive within that state-- then what happens when the state’s workers choose sex work over the “alternative” job that may be (or may not be) available? Because that is the material reality of the world we live in now. Millions of sex workers --almost entirely women-- are “opting” to engage in coercive sex work. And I’d venture that most of them would not continue to do so, that most of them would leave, if better alternatives presented themselves.

            But if you don’t have a viable alternative for them to exit to, then you aren’t prepared to abolish the sex trade. If you don’t have an alternative, then you’re not protecting workers. You’re protecting your image. The worker knows best. If there is a better alternative, they will exit, and it is your moral imperative to build that alternative. But if they’d rather engage in coercive sex work than coercive factory work, then that is their unfortunate so-called “choice” to make, and the state wagging their finger and saying “no, you must report to the factory instead,” leaves a distinctly patriarchal and Calvinist taste in my mouth.

            • ☭ 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 ☭@lemmygrad.mlM
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              2 years ago

              I can think of a few reasons why AES countries would outlaw sex work:

              • They’re in a very early stage of socialism, so there are still many people who work for private businesses and not everyone is guaranteed a home regardless of their job (e.g. China, AFAICT)
              • They had a severe problem with prostitution pre-revolution and don’t want to risk that happening again
              • They live in a largely capitalist world (i.e. every country) and don’t want people to be tricked into doing sex work
              • They ban pornography as a whole because they believe it is detrimental to the mental health of their citizens, which means that sex work is also prohibited

              Obviously, there’s no simple answer here. If there was a worker-owned alternative to OnlyFans, that would at least be a better solution as long as there’s a market economy

      • Muad'Dibber@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 years ago

        If it involves even a little money, it isn’t consensual. Tons of people on onlyfans depend on getting men off in order to pay their rent. That is patriarchal sexual exploitation no matter how you package it.

      • panic@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 years ago

        Why? In what way is onlyfans different from a pimp? In what way are these sex workers completely uncoerced by capitalism to perform or else starve?