Humans: A Limitless and Undervalued Commodity
Abstract, Outline and Bibliography
Allison Hale
THEO 650
4 May, 2025
Table of Contents
Abstract……...…………………………………………………………………………………….2
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….3
Distorted Image Results in a Devalued Being…………………………………………………….3
The Link between pornography and human trafficking……..……………………………………5
Once images are not enough, what then?........................................................................................6
Is there a difference between porn, prostitution and human trafficking?........................................9
A Choiceless Choice………………………………………………………….…………….……11
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….12
Bibliography……………………….…………………………………………….………………14
1
Abstract:
As bearers of God's image, human beings have suffered exploitation in countless forms.
While the term human trafficking encompasses labor trafficking and organ harvesting, this paper
focuses specifically on sex trafficking and its connection to pornography. Contrary to common
portrayals in modern media—which often depict trafficking as something that happens overseas
or in shipping containers—the reality is that much of it occurs within local neighborhoods.
Pornography, both as an industry and as a cultural force, plays a central role in fueling the
demand for sex trafficking. Through visual and physical exploitation, individuals are
dehumanized, their bodies reduced to commodities—often beginning with exposure through
pornography.
2
Introduction
The nature of society is to view pornography as an isolated struggle that affects only the
person and possibly their partner or family. It is a hidden and secret sin, and few understand or
fear the ramifications that are far reaching. It is considered as existing in a vacuum; however, like
most harmful actions, pornography has far-reaching consequences and societal ramifications that
are difficult to measure and nearly impossible to contain. Once pornography was only found in
magazines hidden away on a newspaper shelf, wrapped in paper and purchased clandestinely in
the corner. Now it creeps into all social media platforms, internet advertisements, cable TV, and
even gaming apps, infiltrating daily life with unprecedented ease. The average age of first
exposure to explicit content has dropped dramatically, leaving children vulnerable and
desensitized before they can even understand consent or dignity.
Access to pornography has become impossible to limit, and what fuels the industry is a
cyclical and horrific need to exploit and degrade not only the image but the person to whom that
image belongs. This paper will demonstrate that the pornography industry has contributed
significantly to the commodification and devaluation of the human body, fostering a cultural
environment that normalizes sexual exploitation. By examining the theological doctrine of the
Imago Dei, this study will demonstrate how pornography and human trafficking are interrelated
phenomena, both rooted in the distortion of human dignity and fueled by the demand for sexual
gratification. The research further contends that this commodification undermines the inherent
worth of the human person as created in the image of God.
Distorted image results in a devalued being.
3
Humans, both male and female were created in God’s image. After the fall of man and as
a result of that sin, the image of God became distorted. 1 This distortion created shame in
nakedness. Once, as created beings, man and woman walked naked without shame and tended
the garden God gave them. They fellowshipped with Him in the cool afternoons. However, their
disobedience and pride revealed their naked state. Taking of the fruit accomplished what the
serpent promised. Their eyes were opened, and they were ashamed of their nakedness. As one
continues further into Genesis there is revealed more deviation from God’s design for human
sexuality, sexual acts go from polygamy to rape, voyeurism and orgies.2 The later generations
after Adam became more perverse and experienced less and less shame for their actions.
Once the image has been distorted the result is a devaluation of the human body. Instead
of being seen as the jewel of creation and an Image bearer of the Creator God, the devalued
human form is seen as a product to be sold and exploited. Humans become commodities.
In the past few years college athletes have fought for the rights to their own image. The
NIL (Name Image and likeness) deals have become huge topics of conversation, and sports
agencies, boosters and brands are now negotiating with 17- and 18-year-olds for millions of
dollars putting price tags on their names and pictures. There is a monetary amount put on one’s
image. For sports agencies the product is the human. For the brand one product, the human, is
helping to promote another product whether it is shoes or life insurance.
Once humans’ images are for sale and can be purchased, distorted, exploited then
discarded, not only is the image in danger but now the person themselves are products to be sold;
worth only the amount of money paid. Pornography is a way that human form and likeness are
being exploited and the human image now has a price on each form. Humans are for sale. That
1 John H. Walton, Genesis, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, n.d.), 131.
2 Steven Bauer, “Genesis on Marriage and Sexuality.”
https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/Genesis_on_Marriage_and_Sexuality.pdf
4
is the lesson one hears from the porn industry. For any price you can buy a sneak peek or the
whole package and everything in between. Pornography was once seen as innocent and private
hobby. They are just pictures after all. Now, the needs are driven by greed, lust and an
insatiable desire for darker and more violent images so that what were once legal pictures are
now oftentimes criminally obtained videos.
The link between pornography and human trafficking.
There is a direct and undeniable link between pornography and human trafficking.
Pornography not only fuels the demand for sexual exploitation—it often overlaps with it. One
fuels the other. One IS the other. In many cases, what appears to be consensual adult content
masks coercion, abuse, or trafficking. In this way, pornography and human trafficking are not
merely connected; they are often two faces of the same exploitation. “The fact of the matter is
that sex trafficking in porn is a much bigger issue than most people realize. According to cases
reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, pornography was the 3rd-most common
form of sex trafficking, after escort services and illicit massage businesses.”3 There is often a
misunderstanding of pornography in thinking that it is voluntary and consensual. Most often
society believes porn “stars” get paid well and enjoy the work and feel empowered. The
percentage of that is actually quite small compared to the more exploitative and criminal amount
of pornography available. “Trafficked individuals are often exploited in more than one way.
Some traffickers take pornographic photos of victimsLas a means of control, threatening to shame
them by exposing the photos to their families. Traffickers then sell the content by uploading it to
porn sites while simultaneously exploiting the victims through prostitution.”4 Pornography
3 Polaris. (2020). 2019 data report: The U.S. national human trafficking hotline. Retrieved from
https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Polaris-2019-US-National-Human-Trafficking-Hotline-Data-
Report.pdf
4 The Exodus Road, “Porn and Human Trafficking: The Facts You Need to Know,” https://theexodusroad.com/porn-
and-human-trafficking-the-facts-you-need-to-know/
5
consumers either do not know the difference or possibly they do not care. Because pornography
distills and distributes images for sexual gratification, it normalizes transactional gratification.
The psychological effects of pornography addiction or any addiction for that matter has on the
brain requires larger doses for the same satisfaction. In the case of lecherous images, consumers
require more images and then more violent and extreme images to provide the same amount of
dopamine release that they received before. Many times the images become more violent, taboo,
or deviant to provide the same gratification.5 This fuels more abusive images and rape fantasy
porn where most of the content is coerced, involuntary, or CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material).
The phrase “child pornography” is no longer being unitized as much, based on the report from
Lantern Rescue. Child pornography indicates normalization and acceptance of pornography.
Instead CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) is the more accurate term indicating that it is
criminal, and automatically considered human trafficking.
Once images are not enough, what then?
“In addition, those addicted to pornography eventually lose satisfaction with just
watching sexual encounters and seek encounters with trafficked persons. The Family Policy
Alliance reports that an estimated 40 to 80 percent of consumers of child pornography abuse and
molest a child.”6
The distinction between pornography and human trafficking is increasingly difficult to
draw—if one exists at all. The Asservo Project shares stories backed by research and data that
pornography consumers are fueling sex trafficking and sex trafficking is continuing to produce
pornography. In other words, this is a cycle where one relies on the other. It is an industry that
5 William T. O'Donohue and James H. Geer, “The Habituation of Sexual Arousal,” Archives of Sexual Behavior 14,
no. 3 (1985): 233–246, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01542106
6 Sisters Against Trafficking, Human Trafficking & Pornography Awareness, September 2021,
https://alliancetoendhumantrafficking.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-USCSAHT-HT-Human-Trafficking-
and-Pornography.pdf.
6
fuels the other industry.7 “The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that
each year at least 100,000 children are the human products meeting the demand of the sex
trafficking industry in the U.S. alone. Around the world, more than one million children are
subjected to human trafficking for sex or porn. The industry is estimated to bring in $9.5 billion
annually.”8
One study notes just in one tourist town that as pornographic theatres rose, brothels and
sex clubs rose exponentially.9 One simply cannot separate the one from the other, nor from the
third. The slippery slope from porn to strip clubs to hiring prostituted women is subtle. As
described in his book, Something Shifted: Navigating the Path from Shame to Grace, Peter
Osterbauer describes the justification that is made easy when thinking about the women he
looked at as “lost souls.”10 I high number of “Johns” report that before they ever purchased sex,
they had consumed pornography. They mention the path that begins with addiction then
escalation and finally ends in acting out the deviant sexual fantasies they had viewed in
pornography.11This brings one to the point to where they might consider prostitutes as victims of
trafficking, however, one must look at how the person came to be prostituted. Was there a
grooming technique or recruitment involved? Is there a choice or pressure or a vulnerability
being exploited?
“Pimps are typically paid for the sexual use of the real people who are bought and sold to
engage in the sex acts for money that are what most pornography is made of. The pornographers
7 The Asservo Project, “Pornography and Human Trafficking,” The Asservo Project, accessed April 28, 2025,
https://www.theasservoproject.org/pornography-and-human-trafficking.
8 Linda Smith and Cindy Coloma, Renting Lacy: A Story of America’s Prostituted Children (Vancouver, WA: Shared
Hope International, 2013), Kindle edition.
9 Amalia Cabezas, Economies of Desire (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2009). 566
10 Peter J Osterbauer M.D., Something Shifted: Navigating the Path from Shame to Grace (Maitland, FL:Xulon
Press, 2016) Kindle Edition.
11 Amy Joy, Human Trafficking 101: Stories, Stats, and Solutions (Independently Published; 2018), 85.
7
then are paid to repimp these people in the pornography itself, producing sexual pleasure for the
consumers and immense profits for the pornographers, which both seek to repeat. From the
standpoint of the person used to make the materials, the image of the person is still that person”12
Mickey Royal, a former pimp describes grooming in graphic and very offensive detail.
He describes the process of preparing women to be prostituted by him, the pimp, as animals.
“Humans play the game sometimes unwillingly, but animals have no problem following the rules
in which they were created. Animals have no problem with the food chain. A gazelle has only
one purpose in life and that is to feed cheetahs and lions. The gazelle has no problem with this
arrangement. Dogs kill cats; cats kill mice. You’ll never see a herd of lions running from a
single zebra. Animals follow the laws in which they were created. The game is the structure
itself.”13 Indeed, once again, one can see the devaluation of the human to mere animals for the
purpose of exploitation and abuse. Mickey further describes how to turn a woman into a
prostitute, or, as he puts it, “…to turn a bitch into a ho…is an intricate process of psychological
destruction and emotional construction.”14 If the language is shocking, understand the world that
exists beneath the surface of what most people consider normal life. The majority of Americans
cannot imagine what goes on within their own city limits erroneously assuming it mainly occurs
across seas and over borders. To be confronted with the harsh reality that people like author,
Royal, exists is a difficult reality. What is even more distressing is knowing that his industry
depends on and thrives and utilizes pornography to function. Royal describes the pimp as the
God in the prostituted woman’s world. He is all she needs. He demonstrates that once humanity
is taken away from a woman, she is no longer independent. She depends entirely on her god for
12 Catharine A. MacKinnon, “Pornography as Trafficking,” https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1241&context=mjil.
https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1241&context=mjil&utm
13 Mickey Royal, The Pimp Game: Instructional Guide (New Edition), 2019. 11.
14 Ibid., 20.
8
her sustenance, her worth, or plans and purpose. This is how far someone can go once their
image is so distorted and twisted. The woman no longer has an identity outside her pimp. She is
now made in his image, what he wants her to be. Mickey Royal, the pimp, calls this process
knocking. It is the emotional and physical and sexual torture that devalues the victim to the point
where they feel worthless. In sex trafficking when the victims are broken down, they are
desensitized so they can withstand sexual abuse over and over. For prostituted women, they are
broken down then built back up only to be dependent on the pimp. They will withstand any
abuse in order to please their controller.15 “The legal definition gets technical, but sex trafficking
is a type ofLhumanLtrafficking, and human trafficking is exactly what it sounds like: buying or
selling humans. It’s the purest form of objectification—the literal commoditization of a human
being.”16
Is there a difference between porn, prostitution and human trafficking?
To be clear, there are no obvious lines of demarcation between pornography, prostitution
and human trafficking. These issues are not linear nor are they segregated. They are
interconnected in ways that are both surprising and heartbreaking. Pornography is used to groom
formerly innocent women and children into sexual deviancy for the purpose of selling those
human beings over and over. Pornographic images many times are obtained in criminal ways
and are used to fuel further trafficking demand. Prostituted women are subjected to rape and
pornography to desensitize them to better “serve” their clients. This type of conditioning is
called product preparation.17 This overlap can be visualized like an air traffic controller’s radar
screen—where the paths of trafficking victims, prostituted women, and pornography intersect,
15Royal, The Pimp Game, 56.
16 Fight the New Drug, “How Porn Can Fuel Sex Trafficking,” https://fightthenewdrug.org/how-porn-can-fuel-sex-
trafficking/
17 Smith and Coloma, Renting Lacy, loc. 380.
9
overlap, and blur into one another. Many women who are trafficked first had pornographic
material filmed of them, smiling and engaging. Portrayed as sweet and innocent. This does not
fit the ideal image most people seem to have of trafficking victims. Hollywood films have
confused so many into thinking of shipping containers and filthy conditions, not perceived
comfort, or seductive techniques.18
Another point of clarification that needs to be made here is that human trafficking is not
primarily across borders as films and television make one believe. There are an estimated
100,000 domestic child trafficking victims in the United States, however, the US government
spends most of its anti-trafficking budget either on the 18,000 children crossing the boarders into
the US, or on American citizens, primarily men, who travel to other countries for sex tourism, all
the while essentially ignoring the problem of children being sold to the next door neighbor.19
When examining the Jeffrey Epstein case, the girls he and Ghislaine Maxwell exploited were
high school students from a nearby school to their property in Florida, New York and Los
Angeles. This is a well-known case that exposed grooming techniques using coercion, and fraud
for the purposes of sex trafficking within the United States, indeed, many times within a five-
mile radius.
There are many supporters for the case to legalize and monitor prostitution in order to
empower the women who have “chosen” this line of “work.” To that, one should say, absolutely
and unequivocally no. This only serves to strengthen the devaluation and commodification of
the human body. Any society that would legislate the exploitation of the human body is already
on a downward and historically backward path. Many prostituted women defend this position by
denying that it is indeed exploitation. This is either because they cannot self-identify as victims
18 Janice G. Raymond, Not a Choice, Not a Job (Brooklyn, NY: Spinifex Press, 2013), 22.
19 Smith and Coloma, Renting Lacy, loc. 746.
10
because of their emotional state. They also might fear retaliation or are coming from background
of sexual abuse and violence. They have removed themselves emotionally from that violence
and see it as part of the job.20 Raymond states that “some of the same issues that we are now
debating in the prostitution context were historically debated in the race slavery context. Most
contentious was the issue of abolitionism versus regulationism. The historical debate over race
slavery included proposals to administer it as a business and make it better for those who were
enslaved.”21 One simply cannot regulate and monitor slavery; one must abolish it. For one to
seek to monitor it is to give in to the notion that there are humans in this world, primarily women
and children that are of less worth and less human than their male “protectors” and that is just
another style of pimp.
A Choiceless Choice
Those who argue for a global sex industry give prostituted persons, a “choiceless choice.”
“Paying someone to have sex with you when your motivation is to get enough money to survive
or to buy the next bag of groceries or drugs is not a voluntary intercourse. It’s a transaction
based on her disadvantages and his power of purchase.” When introducing this subject one must
always ask and answer the question, is it a choice? When there is only one path to survival,
choice becomes bondage.
Conclusion
What, then, is the answer to this problem? Most Christians when confronted with the
horrors of human trafficking want a solution, legislation, governmental interventions. Very few
20 Raymond, Not a Choice, Not a Job, 102.
21 Ibid., 439.
11
would want to acknowledge the truth that hits so much closer to home. It is, as it always has
been a question of economics. When there are no longer any buyers, there is no need for the
product. The ugly reality of human trafficking, prostitution and pornography is that if all male
consumers stopped consumption, the industry would die. This is an industry overwhelmingly
dominated and commercialized toward the male population.22 That is the sad truth that should
inform the Church to stop hiding behind closed doors to protect the men. Stop looking at
pornography as an acceptable way to blow off steam. The Church should teach and develop men
and women to protect and guard their own hearts to keep them from evil. There is a pathway to
recovery from pornography, but neither sin nor evil transform nor renew in the dark and in
isolation. Shame filled preaching will not transform lives addicted to pornography, but rather it
will send the consumer into darker shame. Instead, the Church must offer grace filled recovery
options with the plea that human images are imprinted with God’s design and purpose.
In a world increasingly shaped by commodification and detachment, the dehumanization
of the human body through pornography and sex trafficking stands in direct opposition to the
truth that every person is made in the image of God. What begins as a cultural curiosity or
private habit has devastating consequences—not just for individuals, but for entire systems that
thrive on exploitation. The pornography industry doesn’t exist in isolation; it is both a contributor
to and a beneficiary of sex trafficking, where human beings—especially women and children—
are reduced to products for consumption. This cycle of objectification and abuse must be
confronted not only legally and politically, but theologically and morally. To affirm the Imago
Dei is to affirm that no person is for sale. As long as any human is commodified, the divine
image is desecrated. Our response must be one of awareness, compassion, and righteous
22 Raymond. Not a Choice, Not a Job, 62.
12
resistance. Only by restoring the dignity of every human life can we begin to dismantle the
systems that profit from their destruction.
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13
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14
