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Capax -> RE: Porn (2/28/2010 9:32:49 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: DarlingSavage
quote:
Personally I think without porn there would be more shit..when some males wouldn't be able to relieve their stress....they would do weird things to females.
I don't know that I agree with this. If you're talking about rape, real rape, I've been taught that it's an act of violence and IMO, has nothing to do with sex, or porn, for that matter. If a male is that sick that he wants to rape someone, I don't think watching some porn is going to stop him. However, there are some that would say that porn encourages rape.
I agree with DarlingSavage that for someone who has fantasies of doing something non-consensual and harmful (as opposed to consensually harmful or consensually non-consenual), porn isn't the main factor. Watching porn might seem like a way to channel that desire, but neither rape nor porn works that way. For example, convicted chronic pedophiles tend to watch increasingly more child porn leading up to what gets them convicted. That doesn't mean child porn causes pedophilia (nor does it mean child porn is okay in any way shape or form, but that's another discussion).
The idea that a sexual outlet, be it porn or prostitutes, can reduce sexually harmful behaviour is based on a really antiquated idea of male sexuality. Let me give you a brief rundown:
Basically, Freud argued that men are innately active and thus sexually dominant, whereas women are innately passive. In his view, the sex drive is so powerful in men that it must be repressed and chanelled into activities for the betterment of society (e.g. industry) or else society will dissolve into chaos. If it is repressed too strongly, however, it results in women who are "neurotic" and men who are sexually agressive and violent, and this may lead to criminality, rape, or murder. Likewise, Kingsley Davis in the 1960s argued that the best way to repress male sex drive is in the institution of the nuclear family. If it cannot be totally repressed that way, he argued, the functional solution is prostitution. Or, a modern argument might say, porn. Davis also implied that the only men who would need to do this are the ugly, the unwanted, and soliders.
Needless to say, there are huge problems with both arguments. Biological determinism is a big one. They assume that all men are biologically built to be violent or agressive if they don't get laid. They also assume all women are biologically built to lie back and take it only when necessary to let the man "channel" his sex drive, and for the exceptions, there is either something psychologically wrong with them (Freud) or they're an ideal outlet for men to relieve themselves in order to protect "pure" women from being raped (Davis).
My point? Porn does not make rape less likely, because it does not actually channel anything. As with the pedophile example above, if someone has a particularly violent and illegal fantasy the sort of porn that caters to that isn't going to land in their lap by accident, and it isn't going to stop them, but the ideas it contains are not new to those individuals.
That aside, the assumption that porn somehow restrains male sexuality is pretty offensive to men. Men are not instrinsically built to rape people! Perhaps it seems that way, what with 99% of rapes being committed by men, but it would be oversimplifying the problem to suggest these individuals watched too little (or too much) porn.
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ORIGINAL: jujubeeMB
What people on the anti side have to say is that the harm porn does is give vanilla guys the impression that sex consists of fucking a girl doggie style and and then having her suck you off until you come on her face. Having slept with my share of vanilla guys who didn't have kink to explain why they expected me to be their sexual entertainment for the evening (with zero reciprocation) I have to agree somewhat with the anti side.
This is a good example of how the effects of porn vary according to the watcher, IMO. For example, someone who has never had a sexual relationship, or mostly has sexual relations of the kind quoted above, may base unrealistic expectations of what to expect or impressions of what is sexy from things they see in porn.
What's worse is when no one bothers to correct them, and when porn that defies the stereotypes is so difficult to find.
quote:
ORIGINAL: DarlingSavage
I think, ultimately, the problem with porn isn't the actual fact of it, in and of itself, but more of a problem with society's negative view towards sex, more specifically, towards women who are sexually liberated, sexually expressive, and comfortable with their own sexuality. I believe this attitude stemmed from the proliferation of christianity across the world and the onslaught of patriarchy.
The fact of porn, as in the fact of some sort of media existing that makes us able to see and/or hear a person or people engaging in sexual activity, is not a problem. Porn that features women (and men for that matter) who are sexually liberated, sexually expressive, and comfortable with their sexuality as well as being in porn meant for a mass audience is not instrinsically a problem.
The problem is a lot of porn is not very clearly any of those things.
The problem is the kind of porn that is exploitative or harmful, and whenever that sort of porn is preferred over that which is not. Not all people have this preference, but some do, and that perpetuates negative stereotypes against women and men, as well as perpetuating the horrible way women in the sex industry are often treated (which may be tied to drug problems, self-esteem, etc).
The sex trade on and off screen is also a generally very dangerous place for marginalized women, and there is always that risk you take by not knowing the back story. I try to avoid porn that comes from countries known for their sex tourism industry and people trafficking. Ukraine, Russia, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka, etc.
There is such thing as women-friendly porn, and there is such thing as what I would call good, liberated porn. I think a lot of good examples of this can be found in amateur porn, if you're patient enough to find it. There are also organizations like good for her which cater to good porn. The most important thing is to be conscious and consciencious about what it is you're watching and the effect it has on how you perceive things in real life.
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