Porn means “Television programs, magazines, books, etc. that are regarded as emphasizing the sensuous or sensational aspects of a nonsexual subject and stimulating a compulsive interest in their audience” 2
We can conclude that Poverty Porn means every media portrayal that is used to emphasize lacking possession and gaining compulsive pity from the viewer. This portrayal mainly accentuates extreme poverty conditions in the community. The media may disguise it as a charity project; while actually, it is used as a source of entertainment.
Poverty porn often happens in ways we don’t realize. For example, various pictures of Kwashiorkor children in Africa, slum children tourism in India and Jakarta, or famine war victims in conflict areas. Or even in social media, we see people sharing pictures of poor people, asking for donations, television segments monetizing street children to gain sympathy, and even poverty depicted in photography contests. There is no quantitative data on how often poverty porn happens, however it’s so common until it started to be an acceptable norm.
The romanticization of poverty was first introduced in 1980 and became popular in first world countries. It highlights the absence of luxuries that can easily be obtained in a privileged society, thus creating the feeling of fulfillment and superiority. Some may even translate poverty porn as exotic entertainment and objectification. Even if the people later give donations, it’s not given to aid the people, rather gain satisfaction to become a superior hero in the poor’s life. 3,4
The feeling of superiority also shows how the photos are taken. The state of poverty is a delicate matter to be shown to the public since the poverty condition shows a person’s vulnerable stage of life. Most of the documentations are taken without consent, and to take their photos without consent meaning neglecting their decency, autonomy, and their right as a human. Some even targeted a certain population as their porn object. For example, western media often targeted black and indigenous people and dramatized their condition. The objectification of the people as a source of entertainment is degrading their rights and dignity. No human is justified to be a source of entertainment without their consent. 3
The media also used to accentuate the sorrow and hardship of poor people. Media portrayal exploits their incapability and sad feelings, rather than asking what these people actually need in their life. Some media even use scripted scenes to increase the dramatic factor to the documents. The poor people can also play with one another, laugh and joke with their friends. However, the media never show this to our population, in order to accentuate how sad their lives are. All of these problems are needed to create portrayal as extreme as possible, in order to gain even more satisfaction toward poverty as part of the entertainment segment.
As youths, we need to be critical of the right violations happening in our community. If we found media portrayals that use more as a medium of entertainment rather than raising awareness and helping certain communities, we can actively campaign against the portrayal or educate the general population about the harm of poverty porn.
Canceling poverty porn doesn’t mean that we’re not advocating the rights of vulnerable people. We can still offer our contribution through donation or volunteering, but we do it purely to benefit the vulnerable. Do not offer donation only to certain minority classes, but rather see in whichever community needs attention. Thoroughly assess the needs of the people, so our actions will be aligned with their needs. Do not forget to respect the people as an equal coherent with their rights. Respect their consent, and do not violate customs or traditions that may exist inside the community. Becoming poor does not equal to being miserable. In many ways, try to see them in their joy. In the end, life is not always gloomy.
Every human is equal, in all their strength and weakness. Humanitarian effort is never about us, our emotional fulfillment nor entertainment. Instead, it’s about how we offer our ability to the people, solely for their best interests and needs.
REFERENCES
1. Merriam Webster Dictionary
2. Oxford Dictionary
3. Dortonne N. The Dangers of Poverty Porn [Internet]. CNN. 2019 [cited 2020 Aug 13]. Available from: www.cnn.cim/2016/12/08/health/poverty-porn-danger-feat/index.html
4. Poverty Porn [Internet]. Wikipedia. 2020 [cited 2020 Aug 13]. Available from: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_porn
CURIOUS by
Silvi Angelia May Purba
CIMSliography
1. 2019- now HRT SCORP-CIMSA
2. 2019-2020 Program Coordinator for Environmental Sustainability CIMSA Indonesia
3. 2020 COVID-19 Response Team CIMSA Indonesia
4. 2019 Community Development Coordinator CIMSA UNRI
5. 2018-2019 Member of MCA Team CIMSA Indonesia