What is ‘ethnoporno’ and how does it affect indigenous Mexican women?

The world of pornography is, without a doubt, one of the most immense on the Internet. According to Alexa Top Sites Ranking, Amazon's web portal that allows you to identify the most visited web pages, the four 'porn' sites that have the most 'page views' are: 'PornHub', 'XVideos', 'YouPorn', and 'Tube8'.

However, beyond the names and fame that these pages may have, the truly amazing thing is the number of people who visit them daily: 25 million. Now, if we give a greater dimension to this figure, it would not hurt to say that, in 30 days, more than 350 million people visit these pages.

That is the relevance of the Internet for the development and propagation of pornographic scenes in the world population.

Ethnicity as a sexual fetish

With all this, it is no secret to anyone that, although pornography is a perfectly established industry, with recognized actors, directors and producers, in the attempt to satisfy the mental problem of many of its consumers, they also opt for strategies outside the law, and in cases such as 'ethnoporno', disrespect the traditions and culture of the 'victims'.

The 'ethnoporno' is nothing other than pornographic videos or images with indigenous women and girls, especially from Mexico, as protagonists. According to Clarín, this is a practice that contributes its grain of sand to discrimination and sexual abuse suffered by women belonging to native tribes located in the state of Chiapas, in the south of the 'Aztec' country.

"From the titles and dress of women, it is obvious that they are indigenous people from the poorest municipalities of Chiapas: Chamula, Zinacantán, Chiapa de Corzo," explained Mexican feminist activist Martha Figueroa, in statements collected by Excelsior, in Mexico.

Now, according to this publication, more than just turning on the net (where it has gained a space in the new 'porn' genres), the videos in which these women are sexually exploited are around like a pirate movie in the main kiosks of large municipalities of Chiapas such as San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

Among the titles that can be found, stand out "Hot Indians"," Indians in the mountains "or" Chamula XXX ", the latter referencing women who are part of the population of Chamula, one of the most numerous indigenous communities in the region.

"The fact that the discs are sold in San Cristóbal, where there is a large foreign population and with money, makes you to think that it is a sexual market where the most vulnerable are cannon fodder for the richest in the state," Figueroa said, implying that this genre, like most of those that exist in porn, respond to fetishistic interests of its consumers.

Also read: 'Revenge porn' victims could win anonymity in UK courts

Technology as a form of abuse

"The 'ethnoporno' is very unfortunate. Indigenous women are the most affected by these crimes and it is a matter of economic inequality, in culture, in access to technology," said activist Olimpia Coral, in an interview with the BBC

Given this, the British media details that the perpetrators in these cases take advantage of the ignorance of the more than 800 women who have been used in the face of new technologies. In this way, the distributors of 'porn' not only abuse them, but can sell their image on virtual platforms without the consent or even knowledge of them.

"Even if she was a sex worker who agreed to be recorded by one of her clients, that doesn't mean she has given them permission to trade with her body infinitely," Coral said.

As for the inclusion of minors, the BBC details that many arrive through devices such as smartphones that pedophiles give them, and then convince them to send photos or videos of their naked bodies.

Finally, minors are wrapped in a snowball that only leads them to uncover more and more their privacy. Thus, they end up offering (or being forced) to please the fetishes of people who see the characteristics of the indigenous ethnicity as a sexual incentive.