A question on the morality of pornography

I have a question regarding a moral issue.

As a human being, I am intrinsically drawn to sex as it is indeed the most natural driving force behind our survival as a species. Nevertheless, as I live in a repressed society where one’s sexuality is not allowed to be given expression in public, I must acknowledge that I often direct my attention to the internet for sexual gratification. Like most people, I have my own personal fantasies which I am too embarrased to share with others lest they decide I am “weird” or “crazy”. Admittedly though, I take great pleasure in such private endeavours because they are one of the few moments in my life where I feel totally free to be myself.

Nonetheless, I cannot also help wonder whether my hedonistic ways are at the expense of another’s suffering, since often times, if one dares to gaze into the other’s eyes in a more empathic manner, one cannot help sensing that the other is not necessarily acting in accordance with their own will.

At this point, let me clarify that I am not intending to refer to any pornographic material which involves children because, to me, there is no doubt that this is an injustice of the highest kind. The pictures and films which I am discussing are all consensual, at least in the eyes of the legal system, since they involve the agreement of one or more adults who supposedly consent to the act.

I use the word ‘supposedly’ because I occasionally remind myself that these people from whom I derive my libidinal stimulation are not imaginary, as my fantasy would like to suggest, but rather real living beings like I, each with their own talents and vulnerabilities. It is the latter fact which worries me the most for it opens the possibility that the people whose momentary yet recorded (and thus forever objectified) existence I am enjoying may be motivated by a deeply wounded psyche whose injuries were inflicted in childhood.

If this is the case (which probability would have it is, since suffering is an indisputable dimension of the human condition), I ask myself: how can I justify my so-called simple pleasure at the metaphorical or literal expense of another’s complex life?