Thoughts on pornography...?

I realize that pornography has been around since the beginning of mankind. In fact, it is probably one of the earliest forms of art...Look at the Venus of Willendorf, so ancient, with her exaggerated sexual features, and speculated that it was held fondly by ancient ancestors. Then, the art on walls of Roman baths depicting various sexual positions.

At the same time, I must confess I find pornography degrading to both women...and men!
I would like to hear other opinions!
Patty

(Edited to add trigger icon)

I actually enjoy "soft core" pornography most, which i guess is defined as not as graphic and i find, quite beautiful.
The irony is it's harder to find than thehard core type.

i don't understand about "soft" porn? what is the difference in the two?

i think pornography is degrading to women and men. i've seen some Victorian photographs and such.

i've never watched a porn movie....i had Yahoo years ago and a friend and i kept getting porn in our e.mails. Yahoo was big in porn, i found out then.....

there is a lot of controversy over the distinction between 'pornography' and 'art'. one of the distinctions that makes the most sense to me (at first glance anyway) is based on the intentions of the 'artist' and the intentions of the 'viewer'.

if the work is made with the intention of producing a sexual response in viewers (to be used as a masterbation aid, for example) or if someone views it with the intention of getting a sexual response from it (using it as a masterbation aid, for example) then i guess i'd call it porn.

i don't like pornography because i think it is degrading to the people involved in it. i know that some people say they freely choose to be involved in it - but then look at the rates of sexual and physical abuse in the people who choose to be involved.

i also don't like pornography because i think it encourages people to view others as objects.

i think when someone says soft porn to me its like watching a movie that they have tender sex in...it has alittle more displayed obiviously than any normal movie but its an actual movie with a man and woman making love(thats the kind i like)...not banging each other....

as for porn ...its the raunchy pictures of like men whipping women ....or women kissing (more than kissing alot of the time) women...that is degrading to me....see especially for porn seen by men ..they have big egos ....so its plays into that...the pictures of men always show their penises like so large (we know it cant possibly be real!!!) and women with like DDD breasts ....its ridiculous....and nasty...it turned something beautiful into something disgusting...its probably the thing that turned minds into thinking sex was gross ....

MY HUSBAND KNOWS I HATE PORN AND TRIES HIDING IT. EVERY TIME I FIND IT I THROW IT STRAIGHT IN THE BIN. HE DOESN'T NEED PORN HE HAS ME - THAT'S HOW I LOOK AT IT.

JINNY WOUND UP

I don't particularly like porn either but when I was much younger I was married to a man that loved it so I watched it with him sometimes. I have a good man now that will not look at it thank goodness.

It is something to stay away from...children can discover stuff easily...

I was exposed to hard core magazines when I was eight (found my dad's stuff) and shortly there after cable in the US was just unrolling..."Select TV" a premium channel (not sure if they survived or became one of the other companies)...any way when my parents lost their house we consilidated and rented a condo...The second TV was in my room...That's right...Porn piped into my bedroom before I was ten...

Knowing I have kids needless to say...I don't have anything in print, we don't have cable, and we have very stringent policy regaring the internet...now that I have it at home (started 2 weeks ago) I'm going back to Netmop...

For those of you have b/f or husband Netmop or children it is great (no I'm not affiliated with them). Basically for $5.00 US per month they maintain a database of sites known and also key words...Anytime a request is made it checks their database before allowing the site...It cannot be removed from the operating system without contacting them and giving them them the password...It has a tracking area...anytime a site is blocked it will put a big "X" next to it...It can also send you an email when a site as been blocked ...

Anyway...I think you get the idea that in no shape or form should it enter a house with kids...and men and women both need to stay away from it...rate "R" movies are bad enough now days...

I believe it is degrading to men and women in many ways...exploited the most of course are women and young girls...

I know it is a very dangerous spark for me...I just want to reiterate that it should not be entering the home not just for kids sakes, also, for the relationship sake...it removes so much intamcy from a relationship...

So that I don't sound like a hypocrite...I struggle avoiding this filth after 25 years...as a matter of fact as I'm disgusted by what it has done to me...as soon as this posts...I'm installing netmop before I let my self down again...

That's a very insightful and honest post from you, Direction.
I commend you highly for caring so much for your children and what they are exposed to in today's culture!

You probably remember that Ted Bundy, just before his execution, talked about how he had been affected by pornography. I still wonder if this was not just another ploy of his, knowing he was going to die, making excuses for his horrific actions, but it was probably the truth.

To me, pornography has nothng to do with love or intimacy, but more to do with abuse.

Patty

Seeker said "To me, pornography has nothing to do with love or intimacy, but more to do with abuse"

Agreed more to do with abuse of women...I would like to add that it does rip the intimacy from a relationship...I know first hand...

Anyway Netmop is installed again...as I now have connectivity at home...With the fee it can be used up to three computers...If anyone has questions on the installation or set up process I can help...

It is hands down the best protection in this case from myself and my family...even I can't uncheck the boxes for anything that would be considered in appropriate...you can add also extra filters if you want...

If you ever run into a site that is inappropriate you can send it to netmop...they generally added to their list pretty quickly as I have also submitted stuff before...

Sorry seeker if this is a bit off topic...as you can see I am very angered by such early exposure to this filth.

I find x rated movies to be worst of all for me.....boring...........same for topless clubs, after a few minutes that gets boring too. I guess im a if i cant touch it, its boring kind of guy.

There are all kinds of preferences and tastes out there so if people over 18 like it and its consensual if acted upon who am i to condemn them. If its bad for you or you dont like it dont watch. There are people out there that do like it, this doesnt make them bad people. Its just not your taste or maybe good for you.

As far as men having big egos, you will find in life that many women have egos just as big or even bigger. Generalizations really hold no water on the individual level.

A funny story on pornography.....

I was married about 20 years ago for a brief period (1.5 years). My ex-husband apparently had some issues because he never had sex with me, but would constantly rent pornography. I would just go to bed and leave him to his movies.

One night I decided to watch what he put in. The movie was called Bat Dude and Throbbin and the movie opens with Throbbin laying in bed sleeping - Bat Dude flys in the window and,.....well you know.

Well - the ex didn't know he rented a gay movie! It was hysterical - he hit stop so fast. I said no way buddy turn that back on - you rented it, now we are going to watch part of it. We watched a few seconds and then I had him turn it off.

I told him "you like porno so much, now you have to go back and return the movie - so they are all going to know what you like".

It was rather funny just to see the look on his face. We were divorced shortly after

Tranquility

This struck a chord with me.........

I think just because porn has been around for centuries doesn't make it right or acceptable-- look at slavery-- it's been around just as long......(not that you were implying that seeker1950)

It's abuse towards women and I think it's degrading to both genders. It devalues women and it reveals the evil in men, their arrogance to control, objectify and use another human for their selfish pleasure. I feel any man that partakes in it is contributing to the abuse and objectifying of women. Women that partake in it are showing the low self-worth they were brought up with- or mimicking the abuse they experienced when young and frail.(IMO)

In my view and experience-- the end result-- is a NO win situation.

It's hard for me to believe that many humans still partake in such degrading media(was hoping our intelligence would surpass such shallow ways), especially those that claim to be "spiritual"..... but that's a whole other problem.....

I'd like to know if so many people think it's so acceptable-- how would they feel if mens private part was on TV for all to see and magazines to lust over and their daughters "got off" on looking at it all. And became "addicted" to seeing it over and over and sought out places while married to see other men's parts so they could "get off" and have their pleasure. I bet men wouldn't like that-- if they were not on the receiving end of that pleasure...... porn use is for the arrogant, self-absorbed abusive human.(IMO)

It makes me angry and sad to be in a society that turns a blind eye to such degradation and abuse.

***on a side note*** I'm not a prude though, I do believe in sharing many various sexual expressions with a loving partner!! *****

mandy

Actually mandy there are strip clubs for women to go to where men dance, Chippendales etc. and some of the bacherlorette parties get quite wild from what i hear. And lets not forgett the magazines out there for women with men in them.

I find the statement"reveals the evil in men" to be quite telling. Do you really think that men are more evil than women? I have met quite a few arrogant women in my lifetime also.

I find all this men bashing and attributing all of the worst of human nature to just men to get quite tedious.

IM sorry you have gotten hurt by men now or int he past but to attribute those characteristics to all men or most men is a gross generalization.

Pornography is not my thing, but i worked in a store that sold it (a long time ago). You would be surprised at the cross section of society who seem to enjoy it. You would also laugh at the secret ways people tried to buy it!

I think it reveals the "evil" equally in women and men...

Heyjoe,

How many women rape men compared to men raping women -- due to watching porn? Tell me which is more evil?

How many men murder and are in jail compared to women? How many pedophile women are there compared to pedophile men?

I don't believe that men in general ARE evil-- I just believe that some abuse the power in which the culture has given them-- NOT all-- but some!

I do believe that porn is evil and that men partaking in it are acting evil! That's my opinion!

I never said women are without faults-- I'm just replying to the original poster's question-- "thoughts on porn"..... and since 85% of porn is geared towards men and their "pleasure", my reply is such that it takes that into account.

It's statistics. I challenge you to find as many sites of porn for women's pleasure and strip clubs as there are for men. We(women) don't, as a whole-- objectify other humans as much as men do.... that's statistics.

I hold certain- deserving types of men, in high esteem and I am NOT trying to bash a whole gender! I'm sorry if my words made you feel defensive-- I admit I'm not very good at expressing myself in the way I mean to.

mandy

I dont feel defensive at all. I feel that when people impose their religious or personal beliefs on others that that is a dangerous road to go down. Having been the victim of religious fanaticism a few times and having seen others victimized, i dont believe that that is the road that the United States should be going down. Actually statements like men partaking in porn are evil scare me more than the guy sitting in his livingroom watching it.

Joe brought up an interesting point about women going to clubs like Chippendales. I have always suspected that women don't REALLY enjoy this kind of thing, but do it to compete with men who go to the clubs for men.
Yes, I have seen how women behave in these clubs with male strippers/dancers, etc., and they do get raunchy and I'm embarrassed for them. They seem to be
"enjoying" themselves, don't they?! I must be missing some element that would make this fun...I'd never enjoy it!
Patty

i know im going to get blasted for this so after i post im heading to the root celler, but being 50 years old i have noticed that women have in the last few decades been determined to acquire the worst habits of men, such as being crass, being overly aggressive, smoking cigars and im really gonna get it for this...tattoos.