Porn - Philosophy for Everyone: How to Think With Kink (18 page)

2
Bryan R. Weaver and Fiona Woollard, “Marriage and the Norm of Monogamy,”
The Monist
91, 3–4 (2008): 507.

3
Ibid., pp. 515–17. Weaver and Woollard argue that whether loveless sexual activity undermines the significance of sex within the loving relationship will depend upon how partners see the significance of sex. They may see sex within the relationship as significant, but not see all sexual intercourse involving either partner as significant. Our argument for monogamy depends on the claim that some partners reasonably attach significance to all sexual intercourse involving either partner.

4
There is a difference between the cheater who claims that casual sexual intercourse is different from lovemaking and the solo masturbator who claims that auto-masturbation is different from lovemaking. Casual sexual intercourse is still sexual intercourse – still the same physically intimate interaction to which a partner can reasonably attach significance.Although a partner might attach significance to sex in general (including auto-masturbation), the important differences between auto-masturbation and sexual intercourse and the important role masturbation can play in a person’s sex life (which I will defend below) suggest that this understanding of the significance of sex is not reasonable.

5
John Finnis, “The Good of Marriage and the Morality of Sexual Relations: Some Philosophical and Historical Observations,”
American Journal of Jurisprudence
(1997): 123. Finnis classifies as non-marital, and condemns, sex between unmarried or homosexual partners in committed relationships as well as masturbation and casual sex. I wholly disagree with this condemnation, but will not discuss this here.These aspects of Finnis’s argument are not relevant to the point at issue.

6
Ibid., pp. 122–3.

7
Woody Allen (dir.)
Annie Hall
, Rollins-Joffe Productions, 1977.

8
Wendy McElroy,
XXX: A Woman’s Right to Pornography
(New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995), p. 130.

9
Thomas Scanlon,
What We Owe to Each Other
(Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1998), p. 165.

10
Alice Walker, “Porn,” in
You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down
(New York: Harcourt Brace, 1981), pp. 77–84. Reprinted in Drucilla Cornell (ed.)
Feminism and Pornography
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 600–5.

11
Andrea Dworkin, “Pornography and Grief,” in
Letters from a War Zone
(London: Martin Secker and Warburg, 1987). Reprinted in Cornell,
Feminism and Pornography
, p. 43.

12
Andrea Dworkin and Catharine A. MacKinnon,
Pornography and Civil Rights: A New Day for Women’s Equality
(Minneapolis: Organizing Against Pornography, 1988), p. 138.

DARCI DOLL

CHAPTER 8

CELEBRITY SEX TAPES
A Contemporary Cautionary Tale

That the Internet has played a significant role in the development and viewing of pornography goes without saying. One surprising area of pornographic evolution stems from the availability of privately recorded pornography online, perhaps the most popular and influential being celebrity sex tapes. Since the release of the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape in 1998, celebrity sex tapes have garnered a stronghold in pornography, specifically on the Internet. As interest in celebrity sex tapes rises so does availability as well as acceptability by the consumers and participants. The celebrities involved in such tapes are as diverse as the field of their profession. Celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Vern Troyer, Dustin Diamond, Kelsey Grammar, Kim Kardashian, Amy Fisher, Collin Farrell, Chyna Doll (Joanie Lauren), John Edwards, and Jessica Sierra represent only a small sample of celebrities involved in some way with sex tapes. In some cases, the tapes are recorded and released without the knowledge or permission of the celebrity. In other instances, the scandal consists only of the celebrity’s blocking the release of the tape, or the denial of an alleged tape. Some others, however, have intentionally recorded and released tapes to further their careers.

While filming oneself can provide a means of extending sexual expression and exploration, these examples may provide poignant lessons. On the one hand, these tapes have encouraged others to explore the thrill or intimacy that private taping can offer.Yet, on the other hand, these celebrity sex tapes provide a more cautionary tale. They remind us that there are risks associated with filming one’s sexual activities.While the act of taping may enhance sexual experiences in one way or another, the public release of the tape may be quite traumatic.What seems to be forgotten is that private sexual intimacy takes on different meaning when exposed to public eyes, especially when it is done without permission. Furthermore, the demand for private tapes, celebrity or not, is rising. The market of home recorded or even amateur porn is expanding exponentially for several reasons, only one of which is the low cost and high availability of privately recorded porn. This ought to bring up considerations about trust, privacy, and distribution when thinking about filming one’s sex acts. However, the increased amount of personally filmed pornography indicates that either these considerations are not often made or are not compelling enough to dissuade individuals from filming themselves.

Defensible Taping

People’s sex lives may be recorded for a variety of reasons. Before discussing the impact and consequences of private pornography or home porn, it is necessary to first identify when it, and/or its release, may be justified. The first and perhaps most obvious criterion is that the participants must be consenting adults. In order for the tapings to be justified all involved parties must have autonomously chosen to engage in the act.This means that the people involved must have consented to do so voluntarily. Furthermore, they must be as fully informed about the circumstances as possible. Under this model, the taping of an individual without her or his consent would not be ethically justified because it is a violation of the individual’s privacy rights and autonomy. For example, hiding a camera to tape someone without her or his knowledge would not be an example of justified taping; nor would be telling your partner that the tape recorder is off, or does not have a recording medium installed (such as tape, a DVD, memory card, and so on), or any other similar deception. However, if consenting adults agreed to tape themselves having sex there would not (at this juncture) be a strong moral objection to the recording.

In addition to consenting to taping the involved individuals must establish the conditions under which the tape is made and/or distributed. They must establish and agree upon whether the tape is intended only for private use or if it may be distributed publically. In the former case, the agreement makes any release of the tape unjustified in that it violates privacy rights, self-determination, and trust – all features that are essential to sex. However, in the latter type of agreement the tape can be released under the conditions that the involved parties agreed upon. Wrestling personality Chyna and her partner allegedly brought their sex tape to a porn production company for distribution. In such a case, both the recording and distribution would be justified on the grounds that they have consented to, established, and agreed upon terms of release.

The Public Appeal

For many, the appeal of watching celebrity sex tapes comes not just from sexual interest but from a celebrity obsessed culture. In the United States, for example, paparazzi follow celebrities non-stop, documenting every behavior from the mundane to the more salacious.While magazines that sport a celebrity’s latest trip to the grocery store
sans
makeup will sell some copies, magazines that show celebrities in compromising situations will sell in droves. It seems all the more so that documentation of celebrities having sex will appeal to a considerable audience. This interest can stem from two basic elements. First, we have created a culture that glorifies celebrities and has elevated them to a level of importance above and beyond other cultural or social figures. Entire enterprises have been created to connect the lives of celebrities to the lives of regular people.

Second, as a result, people feel a connection to the celebrities. The more the public knows about a celebrity, the closer they feel to that person (even if it is still in a distanced voyeuristic manner) and this connection creates higher levels of interest. Reconsider the previous statement about going to the grocery store. Every day, millions of women go to the grocery store without makeup in their least flattering outfits, yet this garners no national attention. However, if that woman is Eva Longoria Parker the outing will get attention from magazines, webzines, and perhaps even news or TV coverage. Likewise, if a sex tape of a no-named couple is released the public interest will probably be relatively low (unless the tape shows something of interest beyond being homemade porn) in the absence of an impetus to garner interest. However, if the tape is of someone familiar or known, personally or distantly, the interest in the tape rises. If, for example, the no-named couple are colleagues, neighbors, or friends of yours, you may have an increased desire to see the tape. People have curiosity about the lives of others that is intensified by relationships, which creates an appeal to seeing others (especially others we have relationships with) in compromising situations. Since we live in a culture where we feel like we “know” celebrities, this desire extends to them as well. Compound that with our obsession with celebrity behaviors and there is a clear explanation for the public demand for celebrity sex tapes; we’re obsessed with them and are intrigued by seeing people we know (or have an interest in) caught in inopportune situations.

Sexual Appeal

For others, though, the intrigue is not just a desire to look into the lives of celebrities. Several of the reasons people give for watching porn in general give insight into why there is a social interest in celebrity sex tapes. One such reason is that there is an erotic appeal to voyeurism. People have expressed that the sheer act of viewing others engaged in sexual acts is arousing.
¹
In this vein, celebrity sex tapes fulfill a sexual desire to see others in sexual scenarios.

Another appeal to pornography is that it elevates one’s ability to fantasize. Porn provides viewers with the means to expand their sexuality by offering a variety of new sexual images and possibilities.This enables the viewer to fantasize that she or he is engaged in the displayed acts. Additionally, the viewer is able to imagine that she or he is engaged in the acts with the porn stars. For some, this provides an opportunity to “have sex with” someone who would otherwise be out of her or his league.
²
However, celebrity sex tapes have additional elements that may be absent in traditional pornography.

First, celebrity sex tapes have additional voyeuristic appeals beyond traditional porn. This is closely related to the earlier claim that we are obsessed with celebrities.With celebrity sex tapes, you’re not just seeing people having sex, you’re seeing famous people having sex. In our culture, this may be the penultimate form of celebrity watching: viewing them in their most intimate moments. Additionally, a person not only gets to view the sex but can also become engaged in it. By viewing celebrities having sex one can become involved (granted, in a very distanced and removed way) in the act; it is an opportunity to participate in sex with a celebrity. Celebrity sex tapes strengthen and elevate the ability to imagine oneself having sex with a celebrity. When watching the tapes, one can engage in a sexual encounter with a celebrity and can imagine oneself as participating in what has been recorded. For most, this is the closest they will ever get to having sex with a celebrity. Furthermore, with the idealization of celebrities, this provides the opportunity to imagine oneself having sex with what has become the most coveted class of society, an opportunity that would be impossible outside of pornography.

The Allure of Taping

Why people are compelled to watch celebrity sex tapes may seem obvious. However, given the public demand for celebrity sex tapes, one may question why a celebrity would make a sex tape. The allure of making a sex tape is that it may add to the excitement of sex.Taping oneself adds elements of the taboo and intensifies the voyeurism; it creates a visual stimulus wherein oneself and one’s partner(s) are the ones being seen. For some, the idea of being watched can be as arousing as watching others. However, many hesitate to experiment with actually being watched. Taping oneself mimics the allure of being watched with presumed controls over who will actually be able to view the tapes.

Furthermore, taping oneself extends the porn experience. When one merely watches porn, involvement in the sex is entirely fantasy. There is no real connection, engagement, or participation. However, if you tape yourself your involvement is real and is at the highest level possible. Watching your previous sexual encounters can be more arousing than watching professional porn because you will be drawing on, and reliving, the acts. But, given the demand for celebrity sex tapes, a certain level of risk is involved in this type of sexual exploration; the likelihood that the tape will be released is phenomenally high.

For those who voluntarily tape themselves (that is, those who are aware they are being taped), there are a variety of additional motivations. For some, the taping occurs while within a long-term or serious relationship. In these instances, the celebrity may honestly believe that the tape will be made for private use only. In such circumstances there is a high level of trust.The celebrity honestly believes that the tape will not be leaked and that only the couple will view it. In such scenarios, the taping is an extension of that trusting relationship; it is a means of expressing the intimacy, trust, and respect in their sex life.This extension of trust can be sexually enticing and may contribute to the motivation to tape.The celebrity does not believe the risk of the tape being released is high. She or he believes that the trust within the relationship creates control over the viewing of the tape and that it is relatively safe from public access.

Motivations for Release

For others, however, sex tapes have been a lucrative career move. Paris Hilton may not have taped her evening with then-boyfriend Rick Saloman with the intention of public distribution. However, when a porn distribution company acquired the tape, Paris opted to permit the tapes to be sold. As a result, Paris saw a boom in her career.
³
For celebrities like Paris, the release of a sex tape can accelerate a person from a barely known into a household name. In such cases, a sex tape can create an elevation to celebrity status.

Others have picked up on the PR magic of sex tapes and have opted to record and release tapes to boost a dwindling career. Some celebrities, such as Kelli McCarty, have opted to fully immerse themselves into venturing into a career in pornography.
⁴
Other celebrities with whom the public has lost interest feel that a scandal can bring back the public attention and can revive their careers. Sex tapes tend to provide the perfect scandal opportunity.The public has an interest in sex tapes of celebrities past and present. Moreover, sex scandals no longer carry the penalty of social ostracism they once did. General acceptance of sexuality and sexual expression has risen. As a result, the social stigmas associated with the revelation that a person has had sex are not as strong as they used to be.Thus, while there are still some taboos and associated concerns with the release of a sex tape they no longer guarantee the end of one’s career. Instead, a celebrity sex tape tends to bring more public attention to the celebrity, which usually increases career opportunities
even if
the response to the tape is negative. Because of this potential career boost, filming a sex tape may seem like a quick and easy way to put oneself back in the limelight.