Art and the Body/Art and Identity

Art and the Body/ Art and Identity
Is pornography an empowering art form that benefits the feminist cause/ artist community?
Does the phrase “sex sells” have some relevance to this form of work and if so how?
The article written by Henry Louis Gates Jr. “Does Race Exist?” was something I had to read while getting my undergraduate degree in anthropology. The excerpt from the text’ “Racial categories are arbitrarily applied to distinguish groups that have wildly different cultures, belief systems and economic interests” and later in the text another passage “with the assertion of identity comes the risk of being ghettoized fit together perfectly. After studying this paper and allowing it to really sink in over the last few years (through the aging process) I can see more clearly the meaning behind this work. By allowing ourselves to be categorized we lose pieces of our inner personal freedom. Our identities can be constructed and deconstruct by the labels in which we apply to ourselves, groups we associate with, and labels or categories being asserted upon us by other forces.
The term “Victim Art” was discussed in the Identity chapter. I understand the concept behind the term but my question is why? It seems to be a petty action in the renaming. The term “Victim” seems to imply that the artist is pulling at different strings, perhaps ones attached to pity were as the term “Identity Art” suggests a more explorative or introspective view on the world. Is the art of lesser quality? Is its message less clear? Is it less successful under the two different terms or should it not matter?
I should be better versed in my Historical knowledge so forgive me if this question sounds particularly silly. Was feminist movement the launching point for other Civil rights movements or was all of this social change occurring at the same time influencing each other? I suppose my ultimate question was what started the revolutionary thinking that spurred on the social paradigm shift?