By Zach Hosseini

Porno. Doesn’t it seem like it’s everywhere? Isn’t it perfectly acceptable? Pornography is mass produced from the hardcore kind, spewing out from hills in various valleys in California to the softer, gentler variety which MTV loves to lend. Porno lives in a vacuum: socially protected through our individual freedoms, but also deliciously taboo.

Some couples use pornography to “spur arousal before a sensuous encounter,” to add spice to an oft-times bland dish. That is one explanation a priest gave me when I was at my Catholic high school. His contention against porno was that sexual charade created a surreal and unattainable fantasy. Granted, porno arouses and excites its frequenters, but it slowly numbs them into thinking this was acceptable. Looking past religious jargon, and understanding this through a strictly secular point of view, porno is unplugging its watchers from reality.

Sex is big business, too. Prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, right? It came before Jesus, banks and baseball. But there seems something very unique about the porn business. It grabs people where they are unsafe and most insecure; right between the eyes and right between the legs. What many teenagers are so unsure about is a gold mine for those salivating to exploit it. We are all wandering furiously for something that will both excite our sexual entirety and mind-numb us entirely.

By and by, porno is targeted at men. Our taste for things macho, dominant, plentiful and well, easy, is a common thread throughout male livelihood. Capitalizing on our perceived Neanderthal-like qualities is insulting. When Britney and her snake-clad mid-drift aren’t enough, two Russian lesbians are sent down from central casting. When they get old, add 50 kissing, horny-looking coeds per order of “whoever” to perform alongside them.

I’m not claiming to be above the brainwashing. But betwixt the breaks, or should I say the cracks and cleavage, I can’t help but feel it’s impeding my sex from getting out from under its chauvinist rock. No, a man’s poor view of a woman cannot be pegged on porn, but how can a dogmatic stimulation that teaches female subordination not accelerate the perception?

All warriors who fight for equality should take up this fight against exploitation. I can’t remember the last time there was a rally against MTV for taking advantage of me (a man), or you. I won’t hold my breath. But where’s the widespread rage against the sly business people that prey on the girls (and in certain, less frequent cases, boys) who don’t know what they’re getting into? These are girls who end up on the doorsteps of the exploiters by no fault of their own. Howard Stern knows whether or not you were abused, had sex at 14, or were molested by your father and his friends.

There’s the abuser, the victim (porn star), the exploiter (adult entertainment businessperson) and the consumer (you and me). I don’t want to be a part of that relationship. Every dollar spent, every curious click on your mouse, every snippet brought to you by your preferred downloading program, is a passive acceptance to the business and a quiet nod to exploiters.

There’s no need for revolt, burnt effigies or fierce refrain. I’m no holy vessel. I’m just asking for an examination into a multi-billion dollar trade which hides ever-so-cleverly behind our intrinsic Puritan blushing and indignant self-righteous freedom protection.

And a note to those who maintain they can’t be exploited; you read the headline and made it this far didn’t you?

Name, major, year?