2 Girls 1 Cup 1 Jail Sentence?

"2 Girls 1 Cup"--most people have seen it, and almost everyone has heard of it. Why has one of the most offensive and exteme examples of porn in the industry become a household name...and why are people going to jail? "2 Girls 1 Cup" originated as a one-minute trailer for the Brazilian "scat fetsish" porn film Hungry B****s. The scatophilic film (sexual pleasure from defacation) features two girls exchanging feces and vomit between their mouths while kissing. This is one of the most popular "shock videos" of all time, which is exactly why it became popular-because of its unbelievably offensive and disturbing content. Videos of people watching "2 Girls 1 Cup" for the first time were found all over YouTube following its viral wave in 2007 and 2008. 

It became cool to see how long one could last watching this video--an activity George Clooney compared to a "rodeo." Because a video of this kind became so widely watched throughout the U.S, it is important to think about its impact. Studies have proven that increased sexually explicit content exposure can lead to lower personal sexual satisfaction (Peter). If people that view extreme and fetishistic porn such as "2 Girls 1 Cup" as normal and mainstream, will they begin to think that this behavior is normal as well? My answer is no. "2 Girls 1 Cup" became popular because it is VILE and shocking--the vast majority of viewers probably find this revulsive and unlike their own sexual encounters. 

Here's my next question: should videos like "2 Girls 1 Cup" be illegal to produce? My answer is again no.

Ira Isaacs is a porn producer that made films similar to "2 Girls 1 Cup" that feature scat porn. This earned him four years of jail time because it violated existing obscenity laws set forth by George W. Bush's "Obscenity Prosecution Task Force" that was created in 2005. The OPTF, which has a conservative religious base,  says that this type of content is illegal and punishable by law. There is no evidence that suggests that the women in the film were forced against their will to create this movie--so if people find sexual gratification from this, then why is it illegal to produce these movies? As long as no outside parties are harmed (such as animals, dead bodies, etc.), then these women should be allowed to engage in the defacating activities, and Isaacs should be allowed to film it. Just because there are a small, small minority of people that enjoy consuming this media does not make it wrong. Is it disgusting to watch? Of course. But so is watching people eat pig brains on Fear Factor, which is arguably more morally wrong than scat porn. As long as no other parties are harmed and no one is forced against his/her will....poop all you want, as long as I don't have to watch. 

Peter, J. & Valkenburg, P. M. (2009). Adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit Internet material and sexual satisfaction: A longitudinal study. Human Communication Research, 35(2), 171-194.