From: bob1@cos.COM (Bob Blackshaw)
Subject: Re: Someone Convince Me
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Organization: Corporation for Open Systems
Date: 26 Jan 93 00:02:41 GMT

In <1993Jan23.155518.27659@wam.umd.edu> rsrodger@wam.umd.EDU (Yamanari) writes:

>[Let's keep the rancor down to a dull roar, shall we?  --CTM]

>	Wrong.  The whole porn thread is INTRINSICALLY legalistic in
>	nature.  The eventual goal of people who are "against porn" is
>	almost always to have porn made illegal or a lot less
>	available.  Yes, there are some--in the minority--that
>	consider this wrongminded censorship and still consider porn
>	"bad"--but they are insignificant next to the number of those
>	who would like to see porn (defined by male interest, as to
>	license female-porn [romance novels]) banned.

As one who contributed - and got quite a lot of e-mail - I would
like to clear something up. When I posted that *I* saw little
value in pornography, I was criticized for being pro-censorship.

I responding to this e-mail, pointing out that I had not used the
word censorship once in my post, the answer I received was to the
effect that - the laws speak of community values, ergo by stating
that I found no value, I was adding to the pro-censorship side, and
should not say such things (rather a form of censorship in itself,
IMHO).

As one who grew up in a home where I was not denied access to the
family library, nor was my reading material questioned ( I only
assume that my parents believed that if I did not understand the
content, I would rapidly lose interest. Also, I imagine that they
had some confidence in their training and my judgement). And due
to certain physical problems, I started reading at an early age.

Certainly, this may have been a gamble on my parents part, but I
don't know of any ill effects that resulted. Given my own up-
bringing, it would be exceedingly presumptuous of me to set
myself up as judge and regulator of other people's reading
material.

An earlier post wondered whether both pornography and rape were
symptomatic of repression of sex, rather than repression *and*
pornography leading to rape (hope I got that right). I do find
that North America has some weird ideas about sex and they are
getting even weirder. From not even mentioning sex (other than
obliquely in order to sell products) we now have it rubbed in
our noses by the talk shows. A promo for one show that I saw
this morning had the host asking a woman what brought her to
orgasm. I suppose that next year we can expect a demonstration. :-/

Don't get me wrong, I like sex, I believe that what goes on
between two consenting adults in private is their affair. But
if it comes to the point where what goes on is shown on prime
time, then I still believe we are screwed up on the subject.
Sex, like breathing, is part of living. When was the last
time you saw a magazine, talk show, etc. devoted to 'How to
breathe'.

One closing comment. Despite what some rapists have claimed
regarding pornography after capture, I am not quite convinced.
To me rape is a crime of violence, and sex used this way is
a way of violating a woman to maximum effect (from the rapist's
view). The after effects (commented on in another post) stem in
many respects from 'the woman as property' concept that is still
at large. Excessive regard for virginity is a hang-over from the
Victorian era. Any more than we would blame a woman for breaking
a leg because she was hit by a car that jumped the sidewalk, why
we (well some do still) blame her for being attacked is quite
beyond my reasoning. What should matter between a man and a woman
is here and now, and hope for the future. Who or what came before
and what terrible accident may befall in the future has no
relation to our feelings for each other, simply because those
feelings are based on 'us' (whoever your 'us' may be).

After the year of disasters we have experienced in 1992, from
hurricanes, floods, etc. I would think that there is enough
misery to go round, without jumping up and down on each other
over something as inane as pornography, but chacune a son gout.

Bob.

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