"You think that people are manipulated by corporations into feeling desires that they wouldn't otherwise feel."
It's not that. It's that commercial culture articulates desire in a particular way. I mean, we all get hungry, but commercial culture tells us that nothing less than giant macs, giant fries, and giant crap will suage that hunger. We all get horny, and commercial culture tells us basically that sex is a product to be bought and sold. Prostitution is NOT a "natural" expression of sexuality. I'll argue this to my dying breath.
When I was a teenager, the "sexy" women I wanted to grow up and be like were Anna Magnani and Rita Hayworth; these women were partially commercial creations, but they did not basically define themselves as whores, as women whose worth was determined by how much they could fetch on the market. When I catch videos on MTV that's pretty much all I see. Do I let my ten year old daughter watch MTV? Sure, for an hour a week, when we go to Grandma's house who has all the channels in the world. I do so on the principle that stuff is greatly enhanced by complete prohibition...so she gets to watch a little bit.
Joanna