Legitimate_Goal_9041 Stay with me right now before coming after me because I KNOW that a lot of people are not going to like this one. This also isn’t hate towards anyone. So believe what you want to believe in because this is simply my personal OPINION.

Normalizing OF is the furthest thing from feminism. Normalising OF isn't 'empowering' because in the end you're just perpetuating the commodification of women's bodies. You dont take advantage of the patriarchy, you work for the patriarchy when you normalise things that objectify womens bodies.

Edit: I do also believe the same about men in the OF industry. I also did think it was a hot take because people have been calling me “pick me” and “anti feminist” for this.

idkwhyimhereguyss Another edit: Not disclosing details of what happened to me specifically. I already responded to someone about how it happened in general.
As someone who was funneled and groomed into OF and eventually trafficked, I completely agree. People telling me that it was feminist and getting me to disregard my discomfort because it was "empowering" was part of why I got funneled. And to other commentors, yes it would be safer to legalize on the sex worker's end (and still charge pimps and traffickers) and ensure they are provided protections and/or dedicated, highly regulated spaces. Because yes, some are in desperate situations where they have to do it, or they might choose to do it of their own free will. These legal protections need to be alongside tools that educate vulnerable women about the industry, the dangers of it, signs of grooming and trafficking, and safer alternatives.
My problem is that there are a lot of men who glorify it and pretend they are feminist, when what they are doing is promoting an industry that heavily facilitates grooming and trafficking of vulnerable women.
Edit: I thought it wouldn't have to be said, but I'm not referring to an OF user referring to and considering their own account and work as empowerment. That's not my business and not my problem. I'm talking about it being promoted and advertised as such to vulnerable people.

ObscuredHeart I will never understand when sexual exploitation became “female empowerment” to those people. I never entertained that nonsense.

Enticing_Venom This is really a diversion from choice feminism. Choice feminism mindlessly argues that any choice a woman makes as a free expression of her autonomy is empowering. Other, more discerning feminists acknowledge that choices do not occur in a vacuum and what women choose is largely influenced by societal conditioning, environment, upbringing and circumstance.

Porn and sex work has only become increasingly more violent, hardcore and degrading. It has normalized things like strangulation during sex, disproportionately on young women. It was blamed for young women seeking labiaplasty at record breaking rates, despite the potential risks and their anatomy being completely normal. There's a thriving industry that normalizes making porn performers look like underage children in order to appeal to perverts. And that's not even getting into the measured attitudes towards women held by many consumers of porn and prostitution or the rampant and known drug use in the industry.

Yet there is a contingent of people who will see all of these outcomes and claim with a straight face that it's empowering and undeserving of critical analysis. Anyone who is trying to tell you not to use your brain (misusing the term kink shaming to refer to what the porn industry is normalizing instead of individual choices) or not to care about what you are purchasing (no ethical consumption under capitalism) has a vested interest in being complicit and wants everyone else to be just as undiscerning in their choices.

Sex worker rights are human rights. I want them to be safe. But I'm not going to look at an industry that largely degrades women and say it's empowering just because some women do it willingly or in a much less profitable case, without degrading or dangerous acts.