Amanda
Dahlgren

Not My Daughter

Like most mothers, when I imagine future career choices for my daughter, hardcore pornography does not even make the list. And yet thousands of young women choose to make a living performing sex acts in front of the camera, which is not something that is easy for me to understand.

As a politically liberal Christian, I grew up being taught that while sex should be reserved for marriage, it is not my place to judge other people’s life choices. As a result, I tend to view pornography with equal parts acceptance, curiosity, repulsion, amusement, and yes, a certain level of condescension for those that perform it. But if I remind myself that each of these women is someone’s beloved daughter, I can confront my tendency to dissociate them from their humanity.

By rephotographing images of sexual penetration