Last week, The New York Times published an aritlce about PornHub, a mainstream pornography site that actively promotes and profits off of violence against women. I am staunchly anti-porn, for numberous reasons, and I have written many poems and some songs about my feelings about pornography. Here is one of the poems. Please share it widely. In addition, if you support my art and message, I invite you to become a Patreon member for as little as $3 – giving you access to my original and unpublished songs and poems, as well as providing you free and discounted books and albums, previews of new releases, and other perks for my Patreon members only.
I want to reconstruct sexuality
so that we can experience
the most heightened form
of intimacy
where our erotic connection
emanates from the genuine desires
of our bodies
not the appetite manufactured by society
not the one imposed onto you and me
through books magazines internet and TV
where someone else is determining
what we see
which then becomes who we are
unwittingly
through exposure or consumption
a vicious cycle
of re-creation and imposition
hijacking our imagination
feeding a multi-billion dollar industry
leading to the terrifying question
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE ME
a woman
slogging through this insidious patriarchy
which does everything it can
socially politically economically
to erode my power and integrity
unconcerned with my emotional spiritual or intellectual capacity
the wants needs and authentic self expression of my Being
viewing me instead as a mere body
distorted contorted manipulated coerced tortured
leading me to wonder daily
whether I can walk down the street safely
or whether I am even safe in my own home
with a man in my family
you cannot compartmentalize
the woman in your arms
and the one on the screen
we are intertwined inextricably
your fantasy my reality
your personal choice of what to view
my lack of choice in how I’m seen
why are these images available constantly
have you stopped to consider what that means
I’m not asking you to just connect the dots
to the sex trafficking industry
exploitation and slavery
girls locked in rooms
raped repeatedly
and I’m not asking you to stop using pornography
because it hurts me
I’m asking you to awaken
to the forces that shaped your erotic imagery
created the hunger in your body
I’m asking you to put the porn aside
so you can dive deep inside
deconstruct the tropes
and create from scratch
raw unscripted healthy pure sexuality
emanating from
the eternal blissful connection
between you and me
©2020 by Loolwa Khazzoom. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied without author’s permission.