Pornography: Good or Bad

[Rapunzel]

Again - Vishenka - I hope I clarified my post!!! I was talking to the idea of watching porn and expecting a husband NOT to be thinking about other women while with his wife. Your post just made me start thinking about that issue - not directed at you!

But....

Just to confuse you I'll throw in some winking

[Rapunzel]

No, I see your point that it is a symptom of underlying problems - I agree with that on one level.

But, I also think it can cause a lot of problems by itself.

Honestly, I think that promoting the treatment of people as objects is a problem in and of itself.

Yes, you could probably run for office.

[Rapunzel]

[quote=*Lily*]

This is exactly how people get into child pornography.

People are not born pedophiles. They are avid pornography watchers/viewers who become numb to progressively more distorted pornography - until the "normal" stuff just doesn't "do it" for them anymore. And, they move downward and downward. And, some end up in uber-violent pornography and some - in child porn. :disappointed:

Do you have any reference for this or is this your personal opinion? Just curious, that's all.[/quote:7b3a4]

No references other than the pedophiles I knew growing up (suprisingly I knew a large number of sick-os who harmed a good chunk of my friends). The way these people often tried to "break in" my friends was by showing them "normal" porn and graduating them to weirder and sicker stuff - until they were more desensitized to actually physically engaging in behavior with an adult. I honestly had way too many friends growing up who had step-fathers, biological fathers (shudder), and others (mom's boyfriend for one) who were just awful.

[Rapunzel]

Does anyone here honestly believe people can be born pedophiles? I know that NAMBLA just sees pedophilia as another acceptable form of human sexuality. But, I see that as an excuse to legitimize their members' abuse of children in an attempt to gain legal access to more child victims.

[Rapunzel]

Yeah, I type fast....

Wow, grey is a hard color to wear! I actually look awful in grey, black AND white. Look terrible in navy as well. Now, chocolate brown? That's my color....

[Rapunzel]

You know, I just remembered that the first time I had a friend tell me of sexual abuse by an adult was when I was in first grade. Her mom's boyfriend began by showing her pornography (which she described to me in first grader terms at school).... :disappointed:

The world is a sick place sometimes....

Does anyone here honestly believe people can be born pedophiles? I know that NAMBLA just sees pedophilia as another acceptable form of human sexuality. But, I see that as an excuse to legitimize their members' abuse of children in an attempt to gain legal access to more child victims.

My layman's guess is that most pedophiles are people who suffered some sort of abuse as a child, and therefore think that sex w/children is okay - even right. (excuse me while I vomit). You almost always hear that pedophiles were abused as children. I think it probably emotionally stunts most of them (those who did not receive support and help), and they are emotionally left at that young age and wanting the company of their "peers" while growing into adults w/adult urges.

NAMBLA is sick. Simply sick.

Of course I've heard about pedophiles showing their victims "regular" porn and easing down the hideous road -- but I think that is more to desensitize them and to take away any sense of normal. I do not think that *most* pedophiles started w/adult porn and worked their way to that kind of vileness. Nothing about liking to look at women with huge breasts translates to wanting to look at pictures of children.

Nothing about liking to look at women with huge breasts translates to wanting to look at pictures of children.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It completely grosses me out to even type this but I think that this could digress into wanting to look at breasts of teen girls. . .and then younger and younger.

I don't know if someone is born a pedophile, but I don't think that your average Joe who picks up a penthouse forum is one step closer to diddling little kids.

I'm sure the chances are pretty high that average Joe will not become a pedophile but I would say that he is one step closer to becoming one. Sure, there may be 974 steps between picking up the penthouse forum and actually doing something but he's closer than he was without picking it up.

BTW, I think the peckers of each and every pedophile in this world should be whacked off with a sharp blade. No anesthesia either.

[DCJenn]

You can whack off all the peckers you want and it won't change the desire nor will it stop the creativity in how you can abuse.

As for whether you're born a pedophile or learn it- I think it's both. I think that lecherous old dudes who date women 50 years younger are socially appropriate pedophiles. Had the lecherous old dude been molested as a child- then he's probably more likely to take his innate desire for younger people and go to the age where he can power over them.

Remember, above all else- abuse is rarely about sex and mostly about power and control.

and I've had to work with an MR pedophile and we ended up having to place him back in the locked ward of a mental institution.

Jenn

[DrWahoo]

I think even with out pornography shows like Law and Order: Special Victims Unit give people ideas. And on a sidenote the "conditioning" method of pedophiles sounds exactly like what was mentioned in the Michael Jackson case a few years ago.

[houseelf]

Wow, you guys are tapping into all of my unsettled internal debates today! (Does anyone want to start the universal preschool and school choice debate...I think you'd have my unresolved political issues covered!)

Porn is a HARD topic for me. I've read scores of feminist opinions on it and still haven't come up with a conclusive stance on it. Before visiting Amsterdamn, my "understanding" of porn was limited to my college brother's stack of Playboys hidden behind his bed. If Playboy and the ilk is what we're talking about, even though I totally believe this represents "fantasy" rather than "sex", I'm o.k. with it. Yes, I do think there is some objectification going on. Still, I think there is a place in a free society to revere, ridicule, fantasize, and perhaps even objectify sex. DH subscribes to Playboy with my full support. We both throw out any free DVDs that come with the subscription because that just strikes us as "too much".

When I lived thirty minutes outside of Amsterdamn, my whole view of porn changed. There is some seriously damaging crap out there which evidences human pain and causes even more. Amsterdamn was an eye opener to me.

The problem I have with discussions about banning porn is defining it. (Much more erudite individuals have underscored this belief: "I know porn when I see it") In a similar vein, I know what bothers me when I see it. I think that a universal ban, or hell ANY ban other than that of excusion from minors and some basic safety issues, would have a potential slippery slope effect. Women are killed in certain areas of the world for offenses of adultery and/or unchaste actions. I'm afraid of giving the government and/or masses to much power to regulate.

Is this making any sense? I could write about this for hours because the issue is so complex to me.

Kelly

[houseelf]

Wow, I can shut down a thread.

Carry on people, regardless of my poorly written manifesto.

Kelly

[Sheherezade]

We should use you instead of locking, Kelly!

[rainbabies]

kill joy.