Hi All,
Reading about sex and pornography is not something i really expected to do at uni but i found this article intriguing. In fact i'm sure we all enjoyed reading this article (?) The reason i say that is because in a classroom setting (and in many social circles) the topic of porn is tabu!! Am i right? And i believe that we certainly (as humans) have the desire to be risky and understand something we may otherwise know nothing about.
This article outlines the demographic of who, where, how, and why internet porn is being accessed and who is making it.
WHO: the general consenses is that porn is made for the middle aged heterosexual male who holds fantasies of sexually active and available women. However, during research for this article it is found that porn on the net can be somewhat liberating for those who have varied tastes in sexual preferences. During the 70s and 80s porn was found in magazines and on video and generally contained images of a limited female body type. Now that porn is on the net and is 70% of it is amateur porn it seems to 'cater' for a wider audience. Now, those who share particular 'fetishes' can share them and find like-minded folk.
A large part of this article talks about the fact that people can now make their own porn and experience exhibitionist attributes at first hand. "The internet has allowed a remarkable blurring of the categories of 'publisher', 'distributer', 'performer' and 'consumer'". The article explores the desire to voluntarily immerse oneself in 'interactive pornography' and states that with this avenue women especially are increasingly more comfortable to perform sexual acts that they had previously only ever fantasied about... ie: group sex, lesbian sex, oral etc.
WHERE: The question of porn invading the home through the internet is raised. In the past access to porn was available through magazines and video's bought from adult shops but now that many households have internet access porn becomes part of the private sphere. This has its up sides and its downsides. Firstly, of course there is more comfort in the private sphere... who would not rather using the simple click of a mouse to access porn rather than entering an adult shop and all its stigma attached? Unfortunately though, feminists argue that porn 'is a perverse outsider forcing its way into suburban homes'.
I close with this quote from the article: " Undoubtedly, the internet facilitates anonymous sexual experimentation. Whether it is seen as a positive or a negative factor will depend on your point of view".
Please feel welcome to start up some conversations about this article and your thoughts on it as i will be regularly checking the blog this week.
Thanks.
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4 comments:
What I think makes this topic interesting is actually the question of whether the internet is really the cause or reason for all of the different forms of porn that are available and emerging online. I was thinking about this during the lecture today as well. I mean, yes, the internet has made spreading of pornographic contents easier, it has given people the "chance" (good or not is to be discussed) to upload their own amateur porn and of course it without a doubt unfortunately helps pedophiles to network and spread child pornography a lot easier than before.
Still, I personally think that also without the internet pornography has always been a profitable business and it always will be. It always has been and always will be expolitative, and most of the time it is driven by patriarchical ideas and demands. However, I doubt that the internet as helped porn to be more "diversified", there have always been ways to find porn that suits your own preference, kinky as it may be. As I said, the internet has made access easier...but maybe it also simply has made it more obvious and more present. Porn now is no longer hidden in a gloomy adult store, it is only one klick away. I think this is worth discussing...
Nowadays I'm pretty sure that most of society knows what pornography is. You don't have to watch it to know what it contains or portrays. I strongly agree that the ethical elements behind pornography has changed vastly over the years. As what Alice.C stated that pornography has become too accessible to any world wide web users on the net.
The advance technology of the internet allows different forms of pornographic materials to expand and portray widely in many different areas. For example, the world wide web support video formats of pornographic materials which is easily accessible to anyone.
It is frightening to know that pornographic viewers are getting younger these days. Younger age children are being exposed to sexually explicit materials. For example, the media portrays many sexual scenes. Present day models are also exposing more "flesh". Modern day couples around us have become more open in their display of affection. Through these subtle influences cause children to go wayward and tempting them to explore pornographic materials. Underage viewers can also fake an identity to access restricted websites.
Then again, it is hard and almost impossible to prevent these underage viewers from entering restricted sites. Thus, I personally feel that there are more important crimes and matters for police to attend to, than to track down illegal pornographic viewers.
The question still remains, whether accessible pornographic materials are legal and ethical for the society of today.
I think the internet has indeed speed up the knowledge of pornography. As compared to the past where computer is non-existence, pornography comes in the form of magazines and videos in which parents are more likely to be able to control their children from being able to get hold of these media. With internet however, parents are losing their hold over their children with regards to what can be accessed and what cannot be accessed. One may argue that parents can block those unhealthy sites but again, in today's modern world, children are getting more clever in their technology skills and they are still able to access pornographic sites elsewhere.
However, there might be a good side to the easy accessibility of pornography. I believe that teenagers have the desire to watch pornography because they are curious about the taboo of pornography and why they are not able to access it. Since they are in the rebellion stage, they will try all ways and means to get hold of pornography materials to satisfy their curiosity. Now that the internet has made porn more obvious and as Katharinanollau has stated, 'no longer hidden in a gloomy adult store', some teenagers might find that porn is not as intriguing as before and thus will cut down on finding out what porn is.
I agree with all your comments. All I have to add is that while in the west, the amount of porn or rather the acceptanc of porn has increased, in the eastern countries it seems to be a different story. Pornography is still very much a secret topic which is not discussed out in the open. Do you think victims are more susceptible to exploitation in societies where it is open or where it operates under cover?
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