Now, the controversy lies on several levels. Firstly, there is the initial debate about pornography, sex and ethics. Certainly, times have changed. Earlier in history, people weren't as open about sex as we are now, but why? Why were people so uptight and secretive about a common activity that most people participated in?
Another question to look at is why children are shielded from sex. Obviously, parents (Well, some of them) have the "birds and the bees" conversation, but the awkwardness of talking to your child about sex seems to counteract the purpose of the actual conversation. My parents never gave me the lecture, and I'm sure others leave their kids to find out on their own. But why are some parents overprotective, not willing to let their children near the concept of reproduction? Why are some people against sex ed being taught in schools? (Of course, I have a possible answer for it, but I can't just tell it to you, or else you won't think, and this will all be for naught.)
Now, for the second part, let's look at the definition, or, one of the definitions, of pornography.
Now, I remember a story of a town trying to get a judge to ban the sale of pornography in their area, but they came up to the problem of defining porno. What's the difference between a nude modern woman, and the nude women in ancient masterpieces of art? These paintings and tapestries are considered masterpieces, such as The Birth of Venus. How can one call one dirty without slandering the other?
Well, if you're still reading, kudos to you. I probably wouldn't have bothered reading through that short, pointless post. Anyways, the last controversy that could be stated about porn is the age limit to viewing it. In the U.S., depending on what your local/state legislature is, you have to be 18 or 21 to view sexually explicit content. Is this legal, or fair?
Now, what you all plan on replying to:
- Do you agree with teaching kids about sex? And at what age should this be done?
- Do you think that pornography should be allowed to exist?
- How do you define pornography? Do classical paintings count as porn?
- Can you come up with a definition of pornography that doesn't incorporate the previously stated paintings? (Don't cheat and google up for one, use your head >.> That's why your here. It's all part of the fun.)
- Should there be an age limit to view porn? An explaination would be appreciated, for this one. And, if yes, how rigorously should it be enforced?
- Does erotic literature count as porn? Should it be regulated like its visual counterpart?
- What is your favorite position? (I had to throw a joke in there. Answer if you want to ^^ )
12 comments:
Very impressive, and, I daresay, fairly comprehensive.
I've got no idea why everyone's so uptight about sex, myself. I can't help much there. Same with sex ed being taught in school.
The fundamental difference between art and t3h pr0nz, in my mind, is sexual content and intent. Back in the day, when Venus was painted, it was intended to show a paragon of female beauty, not as a sexual image. She wasn't feeling herself up, and there was no emphasis on...lady parts. More modern nude art, assuming it's clearly intended to exhibit the beauty of the subject, would fall into the same category in my mind. Porn is when the intent of the image is clearly sexual.
Kids should be taught about sex to an extent, to avoid the dangers that result from ignorance. When? I don't know, I never felt as though I was "too young" for anything when I was little.
Sexual pornography should absolutely be allowed to exist. I mean, assuming everyone involved is a consenting adult, what's the problem? As for being of a certain age to view it, I think the system of "click yes to enter" is good--it's effectively meaningless, but it keeps out those not intending to view the pornographic content.
I'm not answering the last one, as I think my name's on this account somewhere.
Sex is always a fun topic.
I personally think that kids should be taught age appropriate sex ed as soon as they enter school. I don't mean that preschoolers should be taught about STDs and stuff, but things like what type of touching is inappropriate, etc. I can understand that parents don't won't to sexualize their children, but really by teaching sex ed they're protecting their children. Pornography should be allowed to exist as long as its production doesn't harm anyone eg. children and actual rape victims. Porn is any type of erotic media with the explicit intent of arousal. Classical paintings don't truly count as porn because they serve the purpose of idolizing the human body and don't have to be arousing. I don't see the point to an age limit if it's not going to be enforced, like when viewing internet porn. But for things like videos and magazines 18 seems appropriate, mostly because you can buy fags to smoke after. jk...
Hm, you anticipated my question of modern nude art. Do you count modern nude pictures in this, too? And while we're on it, how would you react to someone arguing over what the intended subject of the artwork was. Because some men (And, i guess, a few women too) would like to argue that sex in itself is an art, so it may be hard to distinguish whether or not the artwork is "exhibiting the beauty of the subject" if the subject is sex.
Hm, I never thought of the "Click Yes To Enter" method in that light. Thank you for opening my eyes.
@Jaysa - Hm, you remind me of some TV shows, I can't remember which, probably House or something, where there are preschoolers behaving inappropriately.
I don't understand why parents don't want to sexualize their children. Care to explain?
Yes, but that's calling the square a rectangle. The line "and don't have to be arousing" doesn't exlude the ones that are arousing, so how do you distinguish from arousing art and porn? And how do you argue over the intent of media?
It can be enforced, the government has the tech, they just don't use it on porn. Do you agree or disagree?
They're going to learn about it eventually, so why not start out young to prevent ppl from getting knocked up/knocking up. personally, my kids are going to know the word penis by the time they can speak, no wee wee or pee pee. Some people consider porn an art form, and its not like it hurts anyone. Even if its not allowed to exist, its going to happen anyway. its like saying "nobody can ever have children ever again because what you need to do to make one is pornography" Pornography is defined as the disclosure of people's private areas. Sex and foreplay are just added on, and is what causes most of the controversy on this topic. classical art is most definetly NOT pornography. being an artist myself, i have made nude drawings, and i do not at all consider them pornography. My definition of pornography is bluntly Sex. Age limits... are a touchy subject. 18 seems to be the common limit, but with kids being exposed to sex at young ages like 12 and 13, it twists around some things. even if it is rigorously prevented, people are going to find it somehow, or do what most parents are trying to prevent: having their kids make porn themselves. erotic literature... theres already plenty of it... so whats the point of even trying to ban/restrict it. it doesnt even have pictures (as stated) so whats the harm? with jokes like "thats what she said", all literature is becoming "pornographic" anyway. Clearly missionary and doggy style are the best.
Haha, I love your comment.
Well, some people say that it's up to the parents to teach their children how to reproduce. As for me, God/Instinct taught me how it worked (No, literally, one night i woke up and figured out how my sexual organs worked).
You have two conflicting definitions of pornography, so I'll go with the second one, "Bluntly sex". The first one incorporates my question to J. Jazz, about modern nude pictures, as porn, while the second one doesn't.
Lol, I don't like missionary as much, but my favorites are doggy style and cowgirl/reverse cowgirl
cowgirl is gross. just saying. it doesnt feel good at all. regarding the conflicting definitions, i was answering 2 separate questions.
general definition: "Pornography is defined as the disclosure of people's private areas"
my definition: "bluntly sex"
personally, i like my definition better, although it doesnt cover the range of the general definition.
also, regarding modern nudity, if its considered an art form, then what makes it different from classical art? art is well... art.
Hm, well, I have yet to actually put it to the test. Theoretically, it looks good. Just saying :P
Ah, okay. By the general definition, classical art is pornography :)
Oh my god, it's a late reply... O_O
Classical art sure as hell is NOT pornography.
I think what draws the line is intention.
We had a similar discussion in Henderson's class when we were talking about Prep... He asked if a book can be sexually explicit and still be considered literature. Everyone agreed that since the writer uses the descriptions of sex as details to build on the characters and the plot, it still is literature. The writer's intentions were to allow the reader to understand the story, not to get the reader horny (and if whoever reads it does get horny anyways, good for them, because they get to be horny AND learn more meaningful things from a book).
So it's only considered pornography if the person who created it's sole intention was to arouse others (or scare them away with vulgar things).
By the way, you guys are so inconsiderate. Doggy style is supposed to hurt like a bitch for girls.
The best position (I don't know what it's called) is when the two people are facing each other and the girl is reading Naruto while the guy is screwing her. Does that ring a bell? -_-;;
Lol @ appleassassin (Brian?) & Gib (though at times, TMI...) And I frankly have no idea what your sex-slang is referring to, and NO I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW.
Aha, perfect example of exactly what this topic's debating.
The only issue in regards to intent, though, is how can you tell what the writer/artist's intention is? Say, for example, you're easily aroused. Does that make an otherwise innocent nude portrait porn? It's very much a subjective classification.
I think our current generation's lack of exposure to sex is really a result of the parents' being raised to shun sex. Previous generations have also romanticized sex as a very personal, private thing (though we all know that's not true), so I s'pose it's something like, discussing it would sully the holiness/sacredness/whatever of the experience.
Education is definitely key in prevention. Obviously, simply ignoring the existence of sex isn't cutting it anymore.
Just to offer a different perspective, though--
My parents never had 'The Talk' with me, or anything. Sex isn't a particularly taboo topic in my household (my mom even encouraged me to get the HPV shot because, in her words, "you will be the most sexually active in your late-teens-early-twenties." Scarred me for life, it did.), but I still shy away from it myself. I honestly don't think I'll be having sex for another long (LONG, more likely than not) while. So, while I don't represent all cases, the withholding of information from me has worked pretty well for me, don't you think?
In regards to pornography-- the clicky-button idea with explicitly clear information on the page is a good idea. "WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENTER A PORNOGRAPHIC SITE." I think it should still have an age limit though-- around 14 sounds good to me. I think early exposure to porn would be counterproductive.
Penis is a technical word. It really doesn't have sexual implications, I think (actually, it's more in-your-face than implied), so I don't see why you wouldn't tell it to your kids.
I can't say where I stand on erotic literature-- it really depends on how much of a plot the book has. If it's just scene after scene of sexsexsex, then it's porn, no doubt. If there are detailed sex scenes thrown in, I really don't know.
I... don't have a favorite sex position... Rather, let's not breach the topic at all... .__.uuu
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