Is Pornography Immoral?

Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Question of the Week

Is pornography immoral?

Last week, I wrote an article arguing that the University of Wisconsin should not have fired Joe Gow, the longtime chancellor of its La Crosse campus, for making pornography with his wife.

I took no position on the morality of pornography.

Rather, I pointed out that Americans are divided about porn––a 2023 Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans believe it is wrong, while 39 percent believe that it is morally acceptable––and argued that diverse societies are better off agreeing that one is judged at work only for what one does at work than constantly arguing about which off-the-clock behaviors are bad enough to justify termination.

Today, I want to solicit your