A very fine line
I understand ideal08's points, because watch and participating can be seen as two different things. But as I think more about this topic, I wonder if the voyerism connotates support in that you pay to watch the sex acts, which is the bottom line when it comes to any commerce. If you put your money behind something, at least in the entertainment realm, you are at least participating in the increase of demand for the product. When we go to the movies, I often wonder, as a Christian, could I in good faith be entertained by the movie "Friday" for example. I did pay to see Friday when it came out (I think) and thought it was funny, in a base level type of way. But in paying money to see it, we show the industry that this type of thing sells. Even though I think that drug use in our community is a cancer, I supported the production of that image in paying to see the movie "Friday". Did I smoke weed? No, but the money, I think to a certain degree, implies support, at least for the entertainment value of the images.
As for porn, I think that there is also a conundrum, because we say it is wrong to support porn, because of its graphic depictions of sex, but we also support movies that have graphic depictions of violence and drug use as entertainment, and reason with ourselves by saying that I can separate fantasy from reality. From a morals perspective, if we say that watching porn is immoral and supports prostitution, then we have to call in to question what role does entertainment have in our lives. What is entertaining vs. what should be entertaining? While a freshman in college, porn videos were watched for their "entertainment" value by guys on our floor. I do not know how so many 18 year olds got so much porn, but it seems as though watching porn was like watching a football game with the fellas. We were popping jokes, commenting on the scenes, etc. These women were exploited, true enough, but let us think about our other forms of entertainment and the other types of entertainers as well. Football is a prime example. Football players are indeed exploited, though they are paid well, they put their bodies through torture to entertain fans every fall. We have our favorite teams, players and games. We crtitique the players, we are in awe of their talents, and critical of their performances. Some would say that the violence displayed in the games is immoral, while other would say football is an ugly sport and is very unforgiving. And the players choose to be exploited, just as any American chooses to sell their talents on the job market.
Now I am not saying that sex and football games are synonymous in their visual imagery nor their purposes in the lives of human beings, but I am saying that we have to really start being more critical on what we deem as entertainment. If we leave entertainment and "what is entertaining" to the whim of the consumer and his or her "tastes", then commenting on the support of pornography as synonymous with prostitution I think goes too far. But if we begin to place entertainment in the realm of an indicator of one's morality, then not only should we call porn into question, but movies, sports, music, and other forms of entertainment has to be considered as well.
Blackwatch!!!!!!
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