Rationalizing one's position with a solid argument is the basis of critical thinking. This essay will examine Catharine MacKinnon's position regarding her arguments against pornography. According to MacKinnon, the connection between pornography and being a moral issue mainly has to do with one key element. Pornography hinders women's progress toward true equality with men. This essay will explain why changing the representation of women and informing consumers of the potential risks is the best possible solution to the problem of pornography. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Catharine MacKinnon is a lawyer, professor, and published author. She is known for works such as Are Women Human, Sexual Harassment of Working Women, Feminism Unmodified and many others. Catharine was an influential figure internationally in creating legislation banning prostitution in Sweden. The Canadian government has also accepted his views on equality and hate speech in its legislation. MacKinnon's article is entitled Pornography, Civil Rights and Speech. The moral tradition associated with his article is virtue ethics. Virtue ethics argues on the basis of lack and excess. The balance between excess and deficiency will lead you to be virtuous. MacKinnon's argument focuses heavily on the dilemma of equality and liberty. She believes that the solution to the problem can be found in the middle, just like virtue ethics. “At the heart of the institutionalization of male domination, pornography cannot be reformed, suppressed or banned. It can only be changed” (Mackinnon 1). MacKinnon argues that the current state of pornography must change to avoid negative ramifications. Mackinnon and his partner Andrea Dworkin describe the current state of pornography as follows. “We define pornography as a practice of sexual discrimination, a violation of women's civil rights, the opposite of sexual equality” (MacKinnon 273-274). With this definition in place, defending pornography is defending the subordination of women to men. She believes that the effective way to change pornography is to present men and women as equals. “It eroticizes hierarchy, it sexualizes inequalities. This makes for domination and submission sex. Inequality is its central dynamic” (MacKinnon 271). This inequality that is so central to the representation of women in pornography leads MacKinnon to argue that it deprives women of their first right to equality. “The fact is also that the assumptions made by First Amendment law about adults are that adults are autonomous, self-defining, freely acting, equal individuals” (MacKinnon 275-276). To conclude MacKinnon's argument, pornography must reach a point where it strikes the sweet spot of equality for women and freedom for men. This will require a change in pornography that allows women to be represented on an equal footing with men. My position on pornography is very similar to MacKinnon's. I don't believe pornography should be banned by the government. Government intervention would create a black market in pornography and jeopardize the safety of women in this sector. A person who disagrees might counter-argue by saying that stopping pornography outweighs the safety of these women. I also believe that the most effective way to change pornography is to change the representation of women so that they are equal 268-278)