the oprah pornfrey show? part 2

Last week I wrote about Oprah’s giggly tribute to the joys of pornography, and I said that it failed the Martian Test. That is, a Martian who just landed on earth and who knew nothing about human sexuality would think that pornography was a normal, if not downright vital, part of relationships.

Fast-forward to yesterday’s show, which dealt with sexual addiction. While it was light years better than last week’s show, I couldn’t help but think of the Martian Test again. Here are a couple of questions I think a curious E.T. might have after watching the two episodes back to back:

In the first episode the actress was a happy multi-millionaire who briefly alluded to ‘lots of terrible things’ that happened to her when she was young, yet asserted that she had ‘no regrets.’ When the happy multi-millionaire was introduced there was silence from the audience. The actress in the second show confessed that promiscuity from age 12 perverted her view of intimacy and that it made her feel like a ‘monster.’ When she said she had been celibate for six months and was no longer acting in porn, there was loud applause.

“Which woman has the healthier attitude about sexuality and relationships?”

“In the first episode, several people who profited from pornography praised its ‘empowering’ benefits to women. Although usage among women was reported, there were no ‘real, actual’ satisfied female porn users interviewed. Yet in the second episode, Dr. Drew Pinsky cautioned against the addictive qualities of porn. Dr. Drew doesn’t make money from porn, but does belong to the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the California Medical Association and the American Society of Internal Medicine. Also in the second episode a married couple spoke about how the husband’s porn addiction led to infidelities with fifty women and almost destroyed their marriage.

“Is pornography harmless entertainment that liberates women or soulless spectacle that destroys intimacy and numbs both performer and viewer?”

Lastly, Oprah prides herself on being America’s trusted confidante, and has played that role for decades. Yet, on top of the mixed messages of these two very different shows came the recent news that she will end her talk show in 2011. Why? Apparently, in part to produce a “sexually charged” television series for pay cable station HBO. To quote the Variety article, it’s about “a woman who leaves her seemingly perfect marriage and children in Santa Monica for the underbelly of L.A., where she indulges her secret fantasies and desires.”

So, to recap: Oprah thinks porn is great when it’s called ‘erotica’ and reviewed for her magazine (except when a Rabbi says it’s dangerous on her radio show, or when Dr. Drew redeems a porn star on her TV show) and nymphomaniacs are more than just damaged people—they’re potential ratings winners for the Harpo brand.

What on earth was I confused about?