Yes, we know.
I'm not comfortable being controversial and my last post was my first real foray into strong opinion and divisive topic. It's making me squirm, and brace myself every time I log onto my computer. Not only that, people are talking to me in PERSON about the blog, and they make good points. Here are some of them that have come up conversationally (since now the topic of porn is taking over my life)
1. What about “Ladies' Porn” a.k.a. Romance and Erotica novels? Are you pissy about those too? (from a near, dear, and unnamed source)
Er. *blush* Ok. Somehow romance writing and erotica just seem less tacky (but I know that makes no sense). In fact, if they work to get the ladies in the mood, I've not heard too many dudes/husbands complaining. But, it's a good point. It just seems more private and less…erm. “In your face” than visual porn. Opinions?
2. Porn is big business. It's driving a depressed economy on a global scale. What would we replace it with?
Yes, yes it is. Porn brings jobs to young, hot, poor ‘actors', videographers, computer people, ‘directors', and believe it or not some writer writes scripts involving pirates, Tinkerbell and Mongolian hordes. What would we replace this cash cow with?
You know what, I got NO IDEA.
3. Your blog implied everyone who watches porn may turn into a violent sex offender.
Citations and debates later, I stand corrected. I will say there's a strong CORRELATION between porn and sexually violent crime- how it got there and which came first is tough to study for obvious reasons.
4. What about REAL problems in society, like drugs, violence, the economy, global warming, the failure of the education system and the rise of the Republicans? Why are you picking on our porn, one of our few “happy places” that doesn't hurt anybody?
There's a lot of what they call “victimless crime” out there, like prostitution and drug use. I contend it's actually not victimless–the victims are all around. They're family members, children, and participants on both sides. What little girl grows up and says, “I want to be a hooker or a porn star when I grow up” or little boy says, “I want to have to pay for sex”?
Really? There are no victims here? As to why I'm picking on porn–it's easier to pick on than some other things that also frighten and irritate me, and are scary. answerless, powerless conundrums: BP starting drilling again (NO!) at the same time as the crazy price of gas (again, NO!)*pulls hair*
Porn is more fun to pick on, honestly.
You don't think this guy's kids, his exes, even these 'goddesses,' aren't paying some kind of price for his choices?
5. Porn is driving the expansion of the Internet! Porn is freedom of speech in a language the world understands. Porn is progress!
Yes, yes, and a most dubious yes. What kind of progress though? That's what I'm worried about! See other blog.
6. Porn can be educational! How else are young people going to learn how to “do it”?
Somehow the human race functioned for millions of years with very little porn and we figured out how to have sex, and pretty darn well too if Shakespeare, Song of Solomon and the Kama Sutra are anything to go by. Yes, it's educational all right, but is it a good education? Do we really know how to have sex and please each other from watching some porn? Doubtful at best, though you'll doubtless see things you might never have thought of on your own. *smiley emoticon*
One commenter who sent their comment on email said it this way:
“The kamasutra, the Greeks, the Chinese and so on had pretty racy stuff to them but ho-hum to us (nowadays). We've become inured to it I think. Wouldn't it be nice to go back to simpler “porn”, but it is not to be. I wonder if people understand the difference between eroticism and porn? Erotic literature, movies, photography etc is a whole nuther issue and lots of fun in my opinion. Most people survive all the negative crap out there, except when they don't survive it.”
Even cats like porn. It must be okay!
7. Porn is not harmful in small doses. Many people can recreationally use porn to enhance their lives and don't become addicted, divorced lonely people with a squirt bottle of lube OR violent sex offenders. (implied: “You're a judgmental prude!”)
To this I say, maybe. People can also smoke a few cigarettes, and some of them don't get addicted and can stop, and it enhances their lives. Some people can drink and not become alcoholics, and some people can smoke a little grass and not get any harder in drug use.
I want to return to the simile I floated in my other blog, that of arsenic.
Arsenic has a “beneficial” beauty effect in small doses, it was used by Victorian women in a paste with chalk to enhance their skin. It was used for 2400 years in Chinese medicine, and was also used to treat syphilis until the discovery of penicillin. It's the length of time used, the strength of the formula, the amount, that make it toxic.
These early medical pioneers may or may not have paid the ultimate price, (a citation would be good here but I'm too lazy) but nowadays no one uses arsenic for health benefits. There will be a time when we as a human collective look at this phase of our history and go, “What were we thinking?” with a collective head-slap.
At least I hope so.
This topic has been very stimulating to explore, and it's just that exploration, getting people thinking and talking, that helps us grow and change. Weigh in on any and all of the points, and who knows you might get me to cede a point or two!
I have no complaints about your feelings about porn in general; of course we’re all entitled to our own opinion and personally I don’t feel strongly about the subject either way; I would however advise you against falling into the trap of quoting statistical correlations as evidence for your conclusions.
You say “there’s a strong correlation between porn and sexually violent crime.” Of course that may well be true, but that isn’t evidence in any way to support a connection between users of porn and sexually violent offenders. Think about it. There’s an even stronger correlation between people who drive cars, and hit-and-run attacks, (in that all hit-and-runs are committed by drivers of cars,) but nobody would seriously suggest that you’re likely to commit a hit-and-run, just because you drive a car.
The truth is that the people who commit sexually violent crimes are likely to have some kind of interest in porn so a correlation can be demonstrated; It does not necessarily follow though that users of porn are, by definition, more likely to be sexually violent offenders.
Remember the old rule of thumb: “Lies, damn lies and statistics!”
yes this point was tackled in my first overstatement in the other blog. I obviously need some citations for this one! *darting eyes*
Excellent blog, Toby. Love your comments. You are way more polite than I could ever be with respect to answering some of those questions, especially #2 and #4.
My 2 cents: Firstly, I believe wholeheartedly in the First Amendment. Censorship is up to us individually, and not the government. However, when it comes to certain things, law enforcement has an obligation to step in. For instance – During the course of several of my investigations, in the past, we found connections to both legalized and illegal pornography. Note: our investigation dealt with something totally different, usually related to violence or trafficking in narcotics or both. Pornography DOES feed into other crimes; narcotics (not personal users, but deadly traffickers); money laundering; child pornography (have seen this connection a lot); mob affiliation (90% of the time).
Yes, some pornography is legal, but by supporting it, we are supporting other crimes. And I’m NOT talking about Playboy, Penthouse or Hustler here. I could go on, but I don’t want to create a comment blog within Toby’s better blog.
thanks so much for weighing in from the law enforcement perspective. I was SO hoping you would! thanks again!
According to the retrospective research I linked, only 16% (if I remember correctly) of pedophile sex offenders even USE porn. At all. A percentage within that 16% don’t even use child porn. So, that’s not even a correlation, in the case of sex offenders. As to whether porn hurts people in other ways, I think that would be even more difficult to express in a study.
I have seen cases where porn helped fuel a fire already in place, like the case of Leslie Faber. (pseudonym given to protect the identity of the victim. she was a developmentally delayed young woman raped by some of the boys in her town) However it was a very small part. Poor parenting, a sports above all culture, and encouragement to group think had much more to do with it.
I think that porn is a pretty varied thing, too, and porn of different kinds has different effects on people and has the potential to exploit/benefit different people and communities. For example, one of the biggest kink sites on the internet is very careful about including before and after interviews with their models. They also make their process transparent, taking the cameras behind the scenes, and they pay well. It might come down to being a discerning consumer of porn, for most people. People who are going to offend will do so with or without porn, though porn may influence a fantasy already in place.
As to being controversial, I only recently stopped shaking every time I said something I knew might generate argument. I still hate getting those anonymous comments. You know the ones. UR STOOPID AND I HATE U. It shouldn’t bother me, but it really really does. All I can say is that it’s a skill you learn with practice, and you ward against those people by having consistent integrity.
thanks for honing my wits and helping me develop that.
I’m glad I’ve been of help.
Also guys. Anecdotal evidence does not count beyond your personal experiences. That isn’t to invalidate it, and it may very well speak to a larger trend, but we can’t know that until we’re able to study a larger sample with scientific methods. We also as humans have a big tendency to draw causal links that aren’t there. (how many times have you heard someone say something like, I saw a black man the other day who is on welfare, but he was driving a tricked out Rolls! That must mean all black people steal welfare!) A lot of times when we’re immersed in an investigation or a case it’s an emotional situation, no matter how well honed our skill at distancing ourselves, and that can and will distort our perceptions.
Oops. I left a comment on the first post before I realized this was a more recent followup. If you’re looking for empirical evidence, Patrick Carnes has gathered quite a bit. Here is a list of his publications, including peer-reviewed articles published in journals:
http://www.sexhelp.com/about_writing.cfm
This article specifically addresses Internet pornography, addiction, and negative repercussions: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a713845504~tab=citations
Oh bless you Angela for these GREAT resources!
Sadly, it would seem one can’t read that article without paying for it, so given that I can’t really speak to its validity or lack thereof.
Sorry about that. My husband is a therapist with a subscription, and it didn’t prompt me to login, so I didn’t realize it was a pay-to-read site.
However, I doubt you’ll find many scholarly or peer-reviewed articles available for free online. If you’re truly interested in what research has been done, it’ll probably require a trip to the good old-fashioned library 😉
I find them fairly frequently, though I miss my psychinfo sub.
Thoughtful comment and well reasoned.
If that was directed at me (hard to tell how the comments cascade, sometimes) then thank you. 🙂
I have a few responses to add 🙂
1. There’s a difference between visual stimulation and stimulation from written words. Visual stimulation is much more closely linked to arousal and addiction (at least in men). Check out this article. Arousal is not a bad thing. Addiction is.
2. You know what else was big business? Slavery. Using economics to support a moral or ethical issue is specious. Just because something makes money doesn’t make it safe or right or even a good idea.
3. I agree, not everyone who views porn will become a violent sex offender. But everyone who views porn has the potential to become addicted, and every form of addiction has the capacity to ruin your life. Otherwise, addiction treatment wouldn’t be necessary.
4. Not much to add here. Toby said it well 🙂 And just because society faces other problems doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye to any one of them.
5. The Internet wasn’t created for porn; it was created for the military. The largest websites aren’t porn sites, they’re social networking sites. I don’t see any proof that porn is driving the expansion of the Internet, or that the Internet would suffer if porn suddenly disappeared.
6. Porn is educational? Bwahahaha! Tab A, meet slot B. (Or potentially slot C or D). I recently has “the talk” with my 10 year old. I managed to explain it and he managed to understand it without porn. Amazing.
7. Really? Prove it. I’ve seen a lot of studies to the contrary, but none supporting the idea that the majority of people (or even a healthy minority) can use porn and not have negative repercussions.
A great, sourced article on the negative impacts of porn, with links to further studies and reading: http://www.winmentalhealth.com/pornography_effects.php
I don’t want to be overly difficult, but that site is certainly not as unbiased as it could be. I also find the idea that many psychological disorders can be overcome by natural means potentially quite dangerous, and that org holds that up as one of their core principles. They also suggest getting involved in spiritual activities. Not bad in and of itself, but it does make me wonder about where they’re coming from. I notice they’ve also made it pretty hard to figure out who they are and where they get their funding. If you could direct me to anything like that, I’ll go check it out. It’s a pretty cluttered website, the way I have to have my browser set up.
Let me be up front that I don’t personally support or know the clinic who hosted that article. It was simply one of many accredited treatment centers I found through Google, and it had open articles with citations and links. My answers below were found on their website by exploring.
As with Al-Anon and many other addiction treatment sites, the one I listed above does have a spiritual basis. In fact, all of the addiction treatment programs I’m familiar with use the 12 steps, which have a relationship with God or a higher power at their core. I don’t think that negates their validity, but that’s my opinion.
I also believe that many psychological disorders can be overcome by natural means. You are welcome to disagree, of course. The articles I saw on that site for disorders with a proven link to biological factors, such a schizophrenia, discussed drug therapies. In my husband’s practice, he always tries non-drug-related therapy first. That in itself isn’t a reason to doubt their expertise, I don’t think. It’s a personal preference of each therapist or organization.
As for bias, I’m not sure what you mean by that. It is obviously biased toward getting people with porn addictions help, but they are a treatment facility. You’ll likely find articles slanted against alcohol abuse on alcohol treatment sites too.
They are a non-profit organization in New Jersey, as stated in the left sidebar on each page. Their funding sources are listed on their About page.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the links/directions.
I certainly agree that there are non drug related therapies that are valid and have proven effective. They seem, however, to advocate NO medication, and that is a position I can’t support. As far as twelve step based programs, AA rather infamously has never released numbers on their success stories (unless that has changed, but I don’t think so) and what have I heard suggests that those who come through the program having managed their addiction successfully amounts to no more people than those who quit on their own/with other support systems. Now that said, AA did wonders for my Dad, but that doesn’t make it a supported, effective therapy. It was the appropriate frame work for him at the time, and I respect that, but I am wary of any org that won’t release their numbers. Of course you will find literature that supports any given org’s cause, which is why we must be all the more discerning. As a person of faith, I am aware that faith often has nothing to do with science, logic, or reason. But for me, science is our best common language, especially when dealing with people who are very diverse.
They discuss drug therapy options in depth on their site. I’m not sure where you’re getting the impression they don’t. Regardless, it hardly seems like an important issue. This is one treatment facility out of dozens in the US. If you don’t like their approach, it would be simple to find one whose approach you do like.
I’m sorry, I’m sure you have a purpose in your comments, but I’m having difficulty discerning it. I’ve never met any therapist with any amount of experience who condoned or defended Internet pornography addiction. Are you a therapist? If so, where do you work and what are your credentials? I’d be interested to know what treatment facilities consider porn not harmful.
Also, I’m curious why you are debating this issue on an author’s site. Yes, Toby is a therapist, but she’s not offering therapy or therapeutic advice through her fiction blog. Perhaps, if you truly feel strongly about this issue, there’s a more appropriate venue for this discussion? Among people who would better be able to address your concerns? Most of us are writers, after all, not therapists or treatment providers. I’m happy to discuss what I consider an important topic, but really, veering into the individual qualifications of a specific facility in New Jersey or the relative benefits of AA for your father seems unnecessary and pedantic.
This (and the eralier post) has been a fascinating discussion – including many of the well structured comments. I guess one question remains (for me anyway). Where does erotica become pornography?
When does erotica become pornography. Hm.
For me, this has always been a matter of degree, and tastefulness. I found this definition on Dictionary.com:
erotica:
literary or artistic works having an erotic theme; especially, books treating of sexual love in a sensuous or voluptuous manner. The word erotica typically applies to works in which the sexual element is regarded as part of the larger aesthetic aspect. It is usually distinguished from pornography, which can also have literary merit but which is usually understood to have sexual arousal as its main purpose.
por·nog·ra·phy
[pawr-nog-ruh-fee]
–noun
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, especially those having little or no artistic merit.
So that helps. Still I imagine one person’s pornography could easily be another’s erotica, and vice versa.
Where erotica becomes porn is a shifting line in the sand – everyone’s tastes are different, what is erotic to one person is pornography to another. What are pleasurable sexual practices to some are considered by others to be perverse and even immoral. If it’s safe, if it’s sane, if it’s consensual – then it’s none of my business. If I don’t enjoy I’m free to not watch/read/participate, but if others do find it erotic, good for them. People spend far too much time worrying about and judging other people instead of paying attention to themselves and understanding their own wants/needs/desires.
Now, to qualify, I write erotica – explicit male/male erotica, to be precise. I write it because I find it arousing, I write what I like to read 😉 Some people love it, some think it should go further . . . and some think it’s disgusting pornography. Every one of those opinions is valid – for the person making it, that is. It doesn’t make it valid for everyone, or anyone else. If you don’t like something don’t watch it/read it/buy it – but please, don’t make my decisions for me and, I promise, I won’t make yours for you!
Well said, and articulately too!
Thanks for weighing in with a thoughtful and reasoned comment!
Be warned. Parts of the following comment are explicit, but in my opinion needed.
I’d actually like to know where Tiger Gray gets those statistics. I would also like to throw this one out there. Do you consider viewing, downloading, video taping a sex act with children, or naked children posing in a sexual manner, porn? Also, what do you think the definition of a pedophile is?
Child predators (pedophiles) that target children (ages 6 mos to puberty), to include those predators who commit sexual acts against children in schools, churches and other locations other than the Internet, are almost always, and I’m talking 99% of the time, involved in taping, photographing, uploading and sharing their acts with other pedophiles. Oops, I apologize, but that information is only based on my experience, and the experience of countless co-workers, our arrests, evidence and debriefings. Don’t take my word for it, though, go to the sources and do some research then post percentages.
Yes, I do get a flustered when it comes to child pornography and pedophilia, especially with statements like, “As to whether porn hurts people in other ways, I think that would be even more difficult to express in a study.” You don’t make a statement like right after another statement about pedophiles. Again, what is porn? Maybe a photograph of a six month old baby being anally penetrated by a sixty year old man’s penis? (One of countless cases) I believe there is a very innocent victim there being seriously hurt. As I stated in my previous comment, I’m not talking about the Playhboy, Hustler variety of porn. Tiger Gray, if that is what you’re talking about then please let us know.
Here are a few leads:
Department of Justice, Donna Rice’s great Non Profit Enough Is Enough and The Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The following information is based on studies.
From The Center For Missing and Exploited Children:
Too long to post. Here’s the link: http://www.yellodyno.com/pdf/OJJDP_Child_Molesters_Behavioral_Analysis.pdf
From Enough is Enough:
“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children revealed, in a June 2005 study, that 40% of arrested child pornography possessors had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography.”
“Child pornography is one of the fastest growing businesses online, and the content is becoming much worse. In 2008, Internet Watch Foundation found 1,536 individual child abuse domains. (Internet Watch Foundation. Annual Report, 2008).
Of all known child abuse domains, 58 percent are housed in the United States (Internet Watch Foundation. Annual Report, 2008).
The fastest growing demand in commercial websites for child abuse is for images depicting the worst type of abuse, including penetrative sexual activity involving children and adults and sadism or penetration by an animal (Internet Watch Foundation. Annual Report, 2008).
In a study of arrested child pornography possessors, 40 percent had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography. Of those arrested between 2000 and 2001, 83 percent had images involving children between the ages 6 and 12; 39 percent had images of children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings fro the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study.” Enough is Enough
Thanks for this thoughtful and researched addition, it’s shocking info but good to know.
Casejackets:
I apologize if this response is a little scattered, but you’ve caught me at the part of the day where my energy is low.
1.) I linked a couple of things that had citations etc.
2.) I am not suggesting pedophiles do not consume pornography. I am suggesting it does not cause their crimes. It doesn’t even seem to correlate across the board, considering there are many offenders who don’t use porn at all. Internet porn is a tricky business, since a site might be very popular, but HOW that popularity is measured isn’t always obvious. If one arrests members of a child porn site primarily, well then of course it will seem as though almost all pedophiles use that particular type of pornography.
3.) My comments about anecdotal evidence are not meant to invalidate anyone’s individual experiences. Trust me, I know how easy it is to get emotional about something, even when we’re trained to have distance. I just think it’s important to try and untangle the two, what we see and what that means for the world at large. We should always question.
4.) I am not sure where you got the idea that I was in some condoning images of a small child being violated by an adult. It is not my intention to apologize for/condone child pornography where a real life victim is being harmed. (whether written child pornography hurts or harms is a whole other facet of the discussion) I would never say such a thing, since it is well documented that such acts harm the emotional/mental development of the victims.
5.) Adult consumption of pornography, made by other adults, is a different argument. Especially then I have a hard time finding any reasonably unbiased studies that suggest porn hurts otherwise healthy adult relationships.
“Especially then I have a hard time finding any reasonably unbiased studies that suggest porn hurts otherwise healthy adult relationships.”
I’ve provided several links to Patrick Carnes’s publications. He has performed numerous studies, some double-blind, evaluating the damage pornography causes on relationships. He is an internationally respected Ph.D. and clinical director, with numerous peer-reviewed professional articles. I’m not sure how much more unbiased you can get.
If you don’t want to read his work, that’s fine. But please don’t discount the mass of work he and his coworkers have produced, simply because it isn’t available for free online.
If it isn’t free, I can’t assess it, is the problem. When it’s possible for me to check it out, I will, but I simply don’t have the resources to acquire those things at that time and can’t therefore determine his bias, if any. (just because an author is published does not mean he is not biased, and I am of the habit of following the trail of citations before passing judgement on a work)
Also once comments become overly personal/rude, I tend to drop out of online discussions. So per your comment to me above this one, that is what I will be doing now.
I’m certainly not trying to be rude, just frank 🙂
I love a discussion where people with different viewpoints can discuss them, share links and information, and use that information to enhance the conversation. I dislike discussions, however, where someone comments with an agenda and disregards or discounts anything that contradicts that agenda. That smells of trolling, regardless of how politely it is phrased.
You expressed concern about bias and argued for empirical data over anecdotal evidence. I think that’s perfectly fair. However, while several commenters have provided such, you have not. That hardly seems fair or balanced to me, nor does it contribute to a positive and unbiased discussion.
For future discussions, perhaps you would find it beneficial to review this resource on how to participate in debates effectively? Good luck in future conversations, and I wish you well!
Tiger Gray:
Will read more carefully next time. I appreciate your civility. I would like to respond to some of your points, but I want to first mention that even viewing a sexually explicit picture of a child on the Internet is a crime. The sentence one might get depends on many factors that I can’t get into.
My responses –
#2. In almost every case, when a pedophile is viewing porn, it is of underage children, which is of course, a crime. Pedophiles by nature, are not (usually) aroused by adult porn. Most pedophiles begin by viewing images, then it progresses, like a disease. Need more. When I was assigned to The Career Criminal Unit, it was interesting to how certain criminals progressed in their crimes. A certain juvenile might start by breaking into a car, then snatching a purse, then using a BB gun, then a real armed robbery. There is the need for an adrenalin rush associated with this type of criminal. Likewise, the pedophile moves to another level of his act for the same reason. Like the rape of an adult, it is not necessarily sexual.
#3 I agree, but if that experience is based on the knowledge of a bigger picture, and tools that one might have at their disposal, then it can be the world at large.
#4 Don’t know enough about that subject, but it makes sense.
I definitely agree with the importance of keeping distance, but I also believe that what makes someone very good at what they do, and care about what they do, is passion. You cannot have real passion for something without getting emotional about it.
#4 I apologize for reading too much into it.
#5
I very much agree there’s a ramping up process in crime. In fact I wish I could get people to understand that. I think it would help prevent a lot of loss and horror. (yes, it matters that Ed Kemper killed his grandparents. You don’t do that kind of thing, generally, and decide it just isn’t for you. Yet that was taken from his record, since he was under eighteen at the time, and he was free to kill college students with no indicator as to his history)
I just think porn is a side effect and not a cause, and I base that on anecdotal evidence as well; in all the biographies/autobiographies/case histories I have read by/about FBI profilers, none of them thought the offenders they profiled were motivated by porn.
Well, I was going to step in to talk about the erotica vs. porn argument, but Sessha articulated it beautifully. So, um, what she said.
I will publicly admit that I have experience with the Penthouse and video versions of porn. I use them. I have my favorites and return to them, rather than explore others in an increasing tolerance fashion. I also have an addictive personality for some things (Twitter, online games, chocolate), but not others (alcohol, cigarettes, work). 🙂 My opinion is not based in research, but in personal experiences (and I am a former therapist, now psychology professor)–this could become a chicken or an egg debate, but I think it’s more that there is something underlying in the individuals for whom porn becomes a problem. It might be very much like the person with schizophrenia who experiments with a number of drugs prior to experiencing the first psychotic break, and then wonders if “the drugs caused it.” To date, there is no evidence I’ve come across to suggest that the chronic use of drugs will cause schizophrenia (though there is an amphetamine-induced psychosis, which looks different, symptom-wise). While a full break might not occur until the late teens, there are some mild symptoms which may be present long before–and in the cases of many of my former patients, was the reason they used.
As Toby said in the prior post, there’s a conditioned response with porn, but that’s not the only driving force. It’s rewarding. Arousal and orgasm are reinforcing in and of themselves, so if you can get there a little quicker looking at videos or reading stories, than why not? Yes, there is a danger of anything that makes us feel good becoming addicting. It’s completely natural to want to feel good and avoid the bad (sexual frustration).
Here’s a question we haven’t really talked about: what about masturbation? Are the feelings toward that similar to porn?
Oh. The Happy Button. That’s what I call it. And, erm, it’s happy. That’s all.
And I have to add this (I swear, I didn’t know before two minutes ago): May is National Masturbation Month! http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2009/04/one_hand_clapping_dept_may_is.php
I asked a writing professor what erotica was. It seems the agents who rep ya also rep erotica. The entire class was offended. Commerical books have racy scenes and classics through in some controversial moments. I’m surprised at people’s passionate opposition to the phrase. Perhaps if we changed the term to, sensitivica.
I have nothing against porn, as long as those who work within this industry do it because they have fun doing it. Some actually do. But it should be more restricted. The porn all over the internet really gets on my nerves. If someone wants to watch it at home, then make sure adults only. Every child or teenager can watch it for free on several sites and get the wrong end of the stick.
Education? If this wasn’t such a sad comment, I would have laughed. Yes VERY educational. Porn discriminates women and their feelings. Sex should be based on love, or at least be pleasurable for both. The women who get rammed in porns don’t have fun, apart from very few.
If teenagers have to learn how to ‘do it’ through porn, then we are probably raising generations of rapists.
Well Stella, that’s probably too strong but it is some of what I’m concerned about (more described in the first blog) that conditioning that can happen for people. I think young boys are particularly vulnerable to getting unrealistic ideas about sex if porn is their main exposure to the subject.
I just wanted to drop in and say I totally agree with you on this. Frankly, porn disgusts me.
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
You’re far from alone!
One more negative about porn, Tobes—the more you watch the less you do, generally speaking. Same like with spectator sports—the bigger pro sports become, the less people directly participate. With a new or minor sport (curling?) there’s an initial up-tic in play, but with the more popular sports the tendency is that viewership is inversely related to participation.
Likewise, I believe, with sex. Voyeurs are probably not great lovers. When I speak of sex I mean the whole gamut not merely the act of sexual congress itself but companionship, children, and family-hood. Can’t prove the relationship, of course, but the statistical trends tend to reinforce my argument.
Dai
Now THAT is one I haven’t heard before. Spectator sport, couch potatoes. . . LOL!
Watch out or someone will ask you for citations for that “statistical trends” point!