Steven D. Thomas wrote a very good article here about how pornography’s tolerated existence in society forces a view on women that every woman is a legitimate subject of sexual exploitation. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it’s a well-thought out presentation.
It’s my view that all sex-related businesses are inherently exploitative even to the women who freely involve themselves in such businesses. The reason I believe this is that a woman’s sexuality can never be marketed or commoditized. There is basically no fair price that you could ever pay a woman to degrade herself. Therefore, any such arrangement is automatically exploitative, and thus there can never be true consent to such an arrangement. The only way it could occur is if the woman either does not realize she is being exploited or does not feel she has a legitimate option, and this is no justification. This is why businesses and the military typically forbid relations between different ranks or managerial levels, since the likelihood of such exploitation is too high. If I encourage women to sell their bodies, the only ones who will respond are those who are vulnerable to such exploitation, whether they realize it or not.
Interesting. The thing is, there are obviously many women (and men) who “get off” on being exhibitionist — why else would someone enjoy feeding into the sexual imaginations of who-knows-how-many-people and who-knows-WHO-people (let alone the camera/photographer and fellow subjects), or enjoy the thought of these people committing fornication/adultery with them in their minds? What an absolutely horrific thing.
I think the answer to that is in Phil. 3:18-19- the enemies of the cross who glory in their shame, and whose end is destruction. A very sad kind of person, but I’m afraid we live in a society full of them.