If you believe that prostitution is immoral because it involves society forcing a person to be sexually penetrated to make a living
But that's not why most people think prostitution is immoral? There is an observable coercion by one leader to a prostitute; the word "pimp" gets used a lot.It is not the primary reason for why people object to prostitution, although many do on the grounds that it is economic coercion. Regardless of whether a pimp is involved or not, a prostitute is often obliged to be sexually penetrated by economic necessity. Such is a reflection of our failure to ensure decent living standards for those who would otherwise not need to resort to prostitution just to put food on the table.
What if you're viewing pornography made by a company that does not pay a living wage to its actors? Is that any different from a PETA supporter wearing a fur coat?
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If TNF is talking about breaching a right, your example is talking about hypocrisy, or insincerity. And maybe your whole argument is based on insincerity of the pornography viewer, but that is a narrow moral position you're taking. It is not compatible with the utilitarian arguments made by Tweed, Lief and others.
Furthermore, arguing on insincerity would make it harder to claim pornography as a total moral wrong. Maybe a viewer pays good money to ensure his porn is made with professional actors in a controlled environment. That seems to solve the problem you posed.
I have a very hard time seeing how pornography can be a categorical wrong ... the secular view is that pornography has to infringe on a right, so probably the right of a person to her body. Anyone with references to arguments from scripture would aid this discussion.
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TNF said that viewing pornography is not acting immorally, but producing and giving the actors poor wages is. I merely posited the question of if the same moral standards should be applied to those who give money to the porn industry by viewing their content. That money doesn't necessarily go to the actors in fair proportion, but of course I'm not saying this is true for the entire industry. I'm not really arguing whether or not pornography is immoral by itself. I have my own views on how society should address these questions, and I am not among those who think that outlawing porn (or treating prostitutes like criminals) will make the world a better place.
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