On Pornography

I've always been attracted to controversy. So when my twitter feed erupted with an entire three tweets about an Internet creeper, an uncredited blog post and Internetiquette, I almost came in my pants.

Speaking of orgasms, I came across another post on this blog regarding porn stars.

Oddly enough, I've started to become a bit of a porn connoisseur (in a way). I've watched some of the major porn from the 70s, and several from today.

It's mostly heterosexual porn, although sometimes there are girl-on-girl scenes. With the exception of one pegging scene (in "The Opening of Misty Beethoven"), these movies depict only the standard stuff: vaginal, oral and anal sex.

What I've noticed is that, while the standard of beauty may be diverse, mainstream porn both then and now is a very male-centric, submissive-female genre of film.

Despite all of the advances in women's rights, the working conditions for porn actresses and a (slight) decrease in the taboo nature of working in porn, this simple fact still remains: mainstream pornography objectifies women.

(For purposes of this discussion, let's only consider the most recent spate of porn that I've watched, made in the past 10 years. Also, please don't judge the DVD titles.)

The women in this specific genre of porn are depicted as "perfect" when submissive to their male co-stars ("The Perfect Secretary"), in need of fucking to advance their careers ("The Contractor") and in need of "punishment" (spanking) for their sexual desires (almost all porn movies).

Let me acknowledge first that all of these aspects and story lines have legitimate places. Domination and submission, sadomasochism and bartering sex are fine as part of the genre, but they have largely become the standard for the genre.

Which, in and of itself, would not be a problem either, except that it translates to borderline physical abuse of the women actors.

Cunnilingus in these movies is violent and mashing and when the actors fellate one another they gag and gurgle uncomfortably. From personal experience, I know that residual vaginal fluid and a palmful of spit does not pleasurable anal sex make. Sometimes even vaginas look too dry for gratifying consensual sex.

Sex is supposed to be fun and enjoyable for both (or all) parties. Whatever revs your engine is great. But I have yet to see porn (that I would watch and enjoy) that looks like everyone is truly being pleased by their partners.

What's the big fucking deal?

I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Vice President Joe Biden, in front of an open mic, said to President Barack Obama that the healthcare reform bill is "a big fucking deal." This in turn has sparked minor outrage at gaffe-prone Biden and even questions of an FCC fine for his fleeting expletive.

Aside from my firm belief that "decency standards" are, for the most part, unnecessary, the fact that Biden said "fuck" really isn't anything we should care about. I wonder how many people were actually watching the signing ceremony live. My guess is that there weren't that many people who would be offended by the slip. (God knows journalists only watch their language in print.) Which means that everyone complaining about his naughty language are people who sought out this clip, knowing exactly what they were about to see.

Everyone who did that is more to blame for hearing the vice president's slip of the tongue than Biden is for saying it. In this instance, those people are no better than the Parents Television Council. They search out offensive material for whatever thrill they get from being offended and outraged. I won't blame them for that, though - I love to watch Fox News simply to be an indignant liberal once in a while (plus, it provides great fodder for this blog). But when I do, I don't scream at my cable provider for telling me that it's available to watch.

I really want to know why no one is asking why Biden said that in the first place. I'm pretty sure Obama knows that healthcare is a big fucking deal. The whole debate has been a big fucking deal for over a year now. Obama himself has been a big fucking deal since at least 2007.

So why even say it, Joe?

Because he's excited. I'm excited. Even the Tea Partiers are excited, if not for a different reason. This healthcare bill is huge, figuratively and literally (thank you, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor) speaking. I hate to parrot the politicians and the media, but in so many respects, this really is a historic moment in US history. And Biden is on the side that is worn and weary, has been abused for a year, but has finally emerged victorious.

Biden deserves to say this is a big fucking deal. Everyone for whom this is a triumph deserves to say this is a big fucking deal. And even the Republicans can call this a big fucking deal.

Even if we are hesitant to admit it, Biden just said what we all were thinking. It very well could be the most honest six words spoken in this whole debate.

That is the big fucking deal.