Holy shit. Ya know, I really wasn't gonna weigh in on this, but after reading some of these polemics, I feel suddenly compelled to respond. Not least, because the views being expressed so clearly epitomize this country's [and our puritanical culture's] schizophrenic attitude toward sex.
First of all, what's the foundation for this assumption that pornograhpy is evil? What exactly is evil about it? Pornography is nothing more than any artistic material, either graphical or printed, that's created specifically with the intent of producing sexual arousal [usually for the purpose of a masturbatory aid]. Where's the sin? Where's the evil? Do we as human beings despise ourselves so much, that we see a simple expression of our most fundamental desire as sinful? Does the evil lie in the way the pornography industry exploits performers? No one is holding a gun to these people's heads. They make a conscious choice, as adults, to do something which gives them the opportunity to earn [in most cases] much more money than they otherwise could. Does the industry profit by their lack of education and opportunity? Yes. But so does the fucking U.S. military. So do a million other corporate entities around the world. Our whole economy is based on profiting from the limited opportunities of the third world [see neo-colonialism]. And yet the people who perform in pornography are accused of producing "nothing of value to society", because all they do is fuck on film. Whereas lawyers, business executives, journalists, and politicians [who all spend a fair portion of their spare time stroking to porn], are all making the world a better place in their daily efforts to maintain a way of life in America that ensures that millions of dark skinned people around the world will continue to get paid 3 cents and hour.
Damn, sign me up to be a "responsible" member of society!
I'm really stunned at the average man or woman's capacity to pass judgement on an industry which THEY themselves make one of the most lucrative businesses in America! And no, for the record, I DON'T feel shame or regret when I jackoff to porn. I DON'T think it's unhealthy. And I go out of my way to share pornography with my friends. [it's why they all call me a pervert]. But ya know what? They always take it! They always take it, and I always tell them.. "Enjoy it!" Don't be ashamed of being human... of feeling lust or desire... and wanting to satisfy it in a way that hurts NO ONE! [despite the insane rantings of Catherine McKinnon].
Although the internet has allowed greater access to porn than ever before, pornography itself is not some modern plague that just descended on us with the birth of Gerard Damiano. People have been producing images of sex before recorded history. All those "fertility idols" that were so common in ancient cultures, were nothing more than Gorak's stack of prehistoric Hustlers. This is who we are! We enjoy sex. But we also enjoy sexual fantasy. Indulging our most primitive desire to have power or control over another person. Sometimes people can't make the distinction between reality and fantasy, and in their quest to satisfy those desires, other people get hurt. It's a sad fact of life. But the majority of people are perfectly able to make that distinction. And pornography is what allows them to indulge their deepest, darkest fantasies in a safe and healthy way. And I, for one, think that IS a service that society needs.

"The only unnatural sex act is that which you cannot perform."
Alfred C. Kinsey

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its laws had made unlawful."
Oscar Wilde

"I love me some titties!"
Me