From: seid@popov.EE.CORNELL.EDU (Steve Seidman)
Subject: Personal Experience w/Porn ("feelings" included)
Organization: Trivializers R Us
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 02:17:06 GMT

Here's a brief synthesis of a few experiences with pornography:
Disclaimer:  This is *not* a hackneyed post that goes something like:

	I like porn, and I'm such a neaaat guy.  

However, despite the absence of foul language, "adult" situations
are portrayed in a frank manner. 
=================================================================
As a boy of 8, all us kids came across a Playboy and ran
into some bushes and yucked it up a bit.  I didn't get a
rise out of it, but the other kids *already* had a harsh
and crude attitude.  I don't think the porn in anyway
started it, but once the porn was displayed it immediately
caused the kids to bring their attitudes openly to the surface.
One kid started to get scared and almost started crying because
when he was 7 he tryed to have intercourse with his 6 year
old cousin and was now worried she would get cancer.
Everyone laughed at him, but then we forgot about it and quickly busied
ourselves devouring the pictures.  To this day, I don't 
completely understand why sexually immature kids found
this stimulating, but I but I have my suspicions.  I supect, however
that the porn serves as a mirror for such forces in our culture.

After I was 17 or so, I started to see the enjoyment of looking
at pictures in Playboy....but never looked at anything to
the "left" of Penthouse.  I saw these as pictures of
something desirable; I knew that the words accompying the pictures
along with the "playmate biographies" were a caricature.

By this time, my attitude was also hardened.  I knew that I would
have to have sex to prove myself.  Fortunately, there were no
opportunities, so I was saved from myself.  I know where I got
these attitudes, and it was definitely unrelated to porn.
Maybe there were indirect societal influences from the porn
industry but I really do think that porn was very peripheral.

In college I read Harvey Cox's "Secular City" and came to
understand the "Playboy Philosophy" (or the "cult of the boy"
as Cox called it).  The idea is that the Playboy has the nice toys,
and a nice girl as the proper weekend accesory.  I don't doubt
that Hefner made a career out of promoting this image through
his magazine and empire of clubs.

	In my 20's I walked into a hard core porn store.
This was my first exposure to another dimension of porn.
Before this, I hadn't even conceived of anything more than
Playboy (a magazine that I have always enjoyed, even though
I have long since divorced myself from the Playboy attitude)
Well, this store catered to the sadist crowd. I happend
to glance at one picture and made the mistake of identifying
with the woman for just one moment (she was all that was
in the picuture).  I almost threw up!!!! (for real! no joke!)
but caught myself in the nick of time.  It was one of 
these bondage photos, kneeling subject, body fluids on
the face.  On second glance I noticed that the photography
sort of contrived the setup to make it look like the subject
was in a state of ecstasy (and some pain too).  The smile
on the face was *no* consolation!  I waited in the corner
like a dunce while my colleague finished his purchases.

I suppose that it is possible that this sort of pornography
could have grave consequences on an unbalenced mind.  I
guess that's one of the prices we have to pay to be free.
I support the rights of those who wish to print and access
this kind of literature, but I wonder what sort of responsibilities
are incurred with those rights.

I can't help but think that in a healthier society even
the rauchiest of porn wouldn't have a bad effect, and
might even  get laughed off the market.

The real problem is not with the porn itself.  If anything
the porn is a symptom of a root problem.  What I
can't understand is that it is typical of radicals
to always say:"can't treat this problem without curing
the root of the problem." eg."can't stop crime until
we cure poverty." This has been often a failed policy,
but in porno there *is* a root problem....and all the
radicals want to do is take civil legal action against
the symptom.  They're just a bunch of reactionary prudes
masqerading as progressives.

....For example  ;-)
-----------------------------------------------------
Dworkin is always running around:

 Porno boo boo this; patriarchy boo boo that; intercourse
 boo boo the other thing!

--------------------end of example---------------------

The root problem is that no one is educated properly or systematically
in sexuality and ethics.  Naturally porno comes in to
fill this social vacuum.  And it is everyone's responsibility
to fill that social vacuum.  That's the main reason that I
sent out that info sheet about a place to get *good* pornography.
Some of this porn (they call it erotica) can be educational.  It isn't
degrading or anything like that, and may serve to dilute the *bad*
pornography.  Secondly the existence of *good* porn serves to 
demonstrate that porn is not necesarily the root or all evil
(sexism in this case).  That's why I *always* try to point out
the good stuff whenever possible ;-)

There's also the issue of children's education.  I'll leave it
up to someone else to pick up that thread.....

I will say that I have never seen an example of educating
young adults in some of the emotional complexities of the
sex thing.  All I've ever come across is the public school
message:"No No No....but here's some condoms just in case..."
And I suspect that many parents give this same superficial
message, with minor modifications.

Steve Seidman
seid@ee.cornell.edu





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