who want to "Considerably strengthen plans to make it a criminal offence to possess violent pornography or any images, in any media, which advocate, or risk causing, violent, and/or sexual, assaults on children or women," here, have a link and sign, sign sign.
Just a suggestion :)
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16 comments:
If that petition is to hold any credit, a couple of things need to be made clear.
1. Does violent pornography advocate or instill a tendency to violence towards it viewers?
2. When does regular pornography transcend to violent pornography?
3. I'm afraid most online petitions don't hold much credit on changing anything else but minorities oppinions. It's worth it though, if 1 is true.
Personally, I have a hard time holding any kind of media responsible for peoples actions.
My oppinions is, as always, subject to change if anyone can convince me otherwise with facts or logical reason.
No matter what, i applaud you for standing up for what may be wrong in the world.
Initiative is mandatory,
Martin.
Your comment, and its questions, could lead to a very long post or comment in reply.
In short, to your first question at least, I will quote from my English Language coursework (it's persuasive writing y'see, and I'm doing an anti-porn Radfem speech):
"[research has shown that] “the relationship between particularly sexually violent images in the media and subsequent aggression...is much stronger statistically than the relationship between smoking and lung cancer." Andrea Dworkin noted in “Letters from a War Zone” that the numbers of throat-rapes increased after the release of “Deep Throat”. Although pornography ruins relationships, and is increasingly cited in divorces. Although rapes and murders are sometimes copied from scenes in pornography. Although pornography is viewed before some sexual assaults, or rapes, or murders to steel the nerves of the perpetrators, to “rev” him up.
It is still “just a bit of fun”"
However, this particular post is not to convince people to sign it, but to let other anti-porn [fems] know that there is a petition to sign, if they so choose to.
P.S. I don't believe that pornography is the sole cause of violence, but it is a contributory factor, and hopefully one which can be moderated.
Phew, this could be a potentially long discussion.
"the relationship between particularly sexually violent images in the media and subsequent aggression...is much stronger statistically than the relationship between smoking and lung cancer"
I find this resarch-statement very ambigious. Do you know where I can find more resarch on this matter?
And rather not Andrea Dworkins resarch. While I usually don't admit this, I'm not very fond of her. But if there's nothing else out there, I guess I would have to swallow my pride. :)
*Lights a cigarette, and looks for lung cancer statistics*,
Martin.
"Truth springs from argument amongst friends."
- David Hume
I personally found "the relationship between particularly sexually violent images in the media and subsequent aggression...is much stronger statistically than the relationship between smoking and lung cancer" quote from oneangrygirl.net
The researcher was Edward Donnerstein, who after a brief google search, appears to be a pyschologist from the University of Wisconsin.
You can check him out for yourself if you like.
Thank you for that.
*Extinguishes his cigarette*
"Smoking causes about thirty per cent of all cancer deaths"
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/basic01.html
This sounds pretty reasonable. I agree with Donnerstein.
To say that feelings in the media does'nt instill some feelings in the viewer, would be rather stupid.
Of course you feel aggression when watching violence, as you feel sad when you watch the movie Titanic.
But to argue that violence in the media advocate violence elsewhere still seems a little far-fetched to me.
You could essentially argue, using this frame of logic, that watching Titanic over and over agin would make you generally depressed.
While I think this IS the case, I do not think it is a fact one should be concerned about - as I certainly would'nt believe that the feelings instilled are that strong. Rather, a pretty weak depression perhaps.
However, as you know, everyone is entitled to their oppinions, and even though i believe that the influence on the viewer is minimal, it's still something that we should keep an eye on. :)
And thank you for allowing me to assert my oppinions on this matter.
And as we know:
“A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything.”
- Turkish saying.
It's cool :)
People have a right to post their opinions on my blog, so long as they're not just insulting me or other posters. And so long as they don't cross lines.
It's always a plus to have diversity of opinion, because I believe it helps people to grow, and for their own ideas to develop.
But, like I said earlier, this particular post was for already-convinced anti porn fems, just to notify them of a petition they might like to sign.
:)
Amy, one should'nt believe that diversity of oppinions helps a person to grow.
One should KNOW this, and live only by that rule. :)
"To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance".
- Buddha
Now I will grab a cup of coffee, and read some violent literature.
Sleep tight,
Martin
"Andrea Dworkin"
Right there you should've stopped. Feminist writers are horrendeuos sources, as most of the time it's hard to distinguish their personal basis and actual facts.
You must also realize that rapists are usually antisocial or psychopathic. The hardwiring in their brain, in that little less than 1% of the population, is not designed to show mercy, compassion, or empathy. They don't view pornography for personal pleasure.
If you're talking about truly violent porn, such as actual rape, child molestation, etc. Yes, those are illegal already, so there's no issue. If you're talking about the mock or the scripted "rape", I've seen much worse.
Well, that's your opinion, and fair enough.
But it's not as if I was telling you to sign it, or even trying to convince anyone to sign.
The link between violence and any media messages is highly debated, and as such is never fully conclusive. There are many different theories (or models), some of which I am currently studying in Sociology.
"But it's not as if I was telling you to sign it, or even trying to convince anyone to sign."
But by posting it and linking to it, you aim to reach a wider audience to sign it. Else you wouldn't have linked it, now would you?
The intended audience is noted in the title - anti-porn fems.
Posting the link ensures the message gets around to as many anti-porn fems as possible, t'is all.
I believe psychology to be a necessity.
However, I have a hard time drawing conclusions from psychologist terms, because I rarely find them concrete - and always just ambigious enough to draw these diversities. This is very important.
If a theory, however, is represented with a firm logical background, and the majority of people find this theory believeable and truthful - I would deem it okay to base conclusions upon them, and take them into consideration concerning law.
We must always remain critical towards new thinking, and if new initiatives or new experiments is to be tried out - it should be with as little consequence as possible to the rest of the society.
In other words: If the majority of psychologists say that violent porn ADVOCATE (Important word) violent tendencies among it's viewers, then I will definetly agree that the law should restrict it.
I do still find this a bit hard to believe though, but thus far, I can only base it on my own experiences.
Let that aside, I know that you don't want to convince anyone - and i love you for letting people come up with their own oppinions as usual. Let me assure you also, that this is by no means an attack on your belief system. No belief is truly right anyway.
In other words: I may be just as wrong as anyone else.
By the way, I would really like to hear your oppinion regarding sexuality among young women. I've been waiting patiently since you promised. :)
Hugs,
Martin.
I have answered your comment, and also changed the lay-out of my blog.
http://trueequalitypsychology.blogspot.com
I will probably be challenging you a lot with my assertions in the future of the blogosphere, but I do hope you will keep reading. :)
My posts will mostly include motivational texts, some very challenging and partly revolutionary insights into our own psychology, but most of all: My love for coffee!
I am also looking very much forward to the next blog entry of yours as I said earlier.
I'm very exited about this!
- Martin.
As a woman, I really like my porn, why would you want to ban it? Has anything good ever come of banning something because of the whims of a minority?
I'm reminded of the prohibition, why would my fellow women be so against the art of pornography?
"My love for coffee!" I can't think of a better subject to blog about LOL :P
why would my fellow women be so against the art of pornography?
Nicole,there are plenty of reasons why there are women (and even men) who are against pornography. Just read any feminist anti-porn theory for some. You don't have to agree with it, of course, and I don't suppose you will, but we're all individuals with our own opinions.
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