freedom and pornography
...of this metaphor. Because in all facets of life, whether it be in the grocery store, home or anywhere else choices are limited and we are only free to choose between these limitations. The definition of freedom, according to Webster’s Third Edition, is the quality or state of not being coerced or constrained by fate, necessity or circumstances in one’s choices or actions. It is therefore interesting that its definition alone means that freedom cannot exist. It does not exist within our subjective world because we cannot imagine a society independent of constraints or coercion. We are expected to act freely as long as it is within the norms. To expand on the above example, when a person goes to purchase an item from a machine they also have the freedom to smash the glass and take what they need. This however would be unacceptable within the confines of society. As citizens within the western world we have the freedom to act within certain parameters, the freedom to act within the norms that have been set up to facilitate our political economy. As Rousseau said “all men are born free but everywhere they are in chains”. It is my contention that true freedom cannot exist within the realms of government or societal rules. While “true” freedom cannot exist with the presence of government human beings still hold on to trivial freedoms such as choosing what time to go to bed, what line of work to enter or what television show to watch. This trivial freedom that humans cherish within advanced capitalism is further restricted with regards to women. Pornography is one way in which this freedom is restricted. It has already been established that true freedom cannot by its definition (independent of constraints) exist in our society. We experience different degrees of freedom, however we cannot experience it to its full extent. Therefore when asked if pornography threatens the freedom of women, the question becomes complicated, for in a sense, they (along with everyone else) never truly had it to begin with. However what pornography does is further limit their already constrained freedom. It was mentioned previously that our capitalist structure limits ou...