lecture 11 comments
As many have found, there wasn’t really too much to analyze when it came to blogging about lecture 11. I did find it interesting, however, that there really are some people in the world who will do just about anything to make alot of money. For example, the bit that Dr. Halavais talked about which included Seth Warshavsky and Beth Mansfield just goes to show that these people are ruthless and only care about themselves. I was surprised to find out that Seth had been a sponsor for all of that porn-related material and was even more surprised when I found out that he went even further as to have a website about people being killed or tortured. Why are there such sick people in the world??
Another thing that I also wanted to elaborate on was the amount of money that people in the porn industry are making or have made. Four million dollars a year for a site?? Or how about making $80,000 a month creating your own website featuring strippers? If, as a society we look down on the whole porn industry, then why are these people making so much, or better yet, keeping so much of our money? I think that its time that people stop obessing over so little fantasy and start living their lives in reality, so as to not keep fueling the pornographic fire.
Comstockery and Privacy
Its kind of strange to think about, but what else do we, as Americans citizens, have as protection from one another from the U.S. government?
In lecture 10, the history of pornography and privacy was explained in great detail, examplifying how the start of pornography was something that did not come about easily. For starters, Gresham’s law about society is something that I think is very valid because if one were to analyze our society today and the affect that pornography has had on it, they would see that this was something that had a large effect over everyone, changing the ways that people thought, and not always for the better. However in order to get to where we are today, there were many, no doubtedly, road bumps that the porn industry had to get through.
I thought that it was interesting how Dr. Halavais brought the history of pornography and included the story of Andrew Comstock and how against the sending of pornographic materials in the mail he was. When protecting a country from something that was considered to be unethical to culture, was he right when he passed his act which prohibited the sending of pornographic materials in the mail? He was definately denying people of some form of their personal freedom by doing this and it’s surprising to think that he still got away with it. I also thought that it was funny how much he threatened porn directors to the point of them taking their own lives in fear of Mr. Comstock and his threats. But there is a good point that Dr. Halavais brings up in this lecture, and that is the issue of how birthcontrol is legally not allowed to be sent in the mail. That is, it is illegal for a clinic to send something that signals the fact that the reciever is getting a form of birth control/ information about it in the mail. I definately support this law, however it is puzzling to think of how much birth control is advertised on tv and in magazines but was never sent to people privately. This would have probably been a most effective way to advirtise to people, however I think that clinics are dowing fine with the anonymous ads and the random amounts of people who walk through their doors every day.
I guess the Comstock act is still kind of enforced in today’s society without us really knowing it. Do we really need this much protection from one another that we have to alter how something is being sent to us in the mail? Who even goes through their neighbor’s mail anyways? Isn’t that a Federal crime in itself??
Sexual Revolution
What exactly was the effect that the Sexual Revolution had on society as a whole? While some of us praise the hippies and their love for being free, others are now starting to feel the consequences that this freedom has brought, especially women. As discussed in Lecture 5, the revolution was bound to come about after the rapid increase of new technology started to spread throughout the country and the world. It all began with the publications of erotic books and then moved on to the camera, phone, and finally to the internet. This all may have seemed like a good idea at the time, however I believe that some people are now regretting this improvement because of the constant degradation towards women.
Another thing that has been a negative result from the sexual revolution is the fact that people now have sex just to have it. Its sad to read about kids that are engaging in intercourse at the ages of ten and thirteen and even worse to hear about those that are going to clinics to get viagra because they can’t supposedly “last long”. Having sex with someone is the closest you can physically get to them and this aspect should not be disregarded because someone is trying to imitate something they saw in a porno. Why exactly do people have to try “kinky” positions and add more partners and “toys” to their sex life just to “spice things up?” Can’t we just enjoy the person that we are with and not have to constantly be searching for something better?
I can understand why some people turn to porno as a last resort, but I think that it is unfair, especially to women, when one’s partner is unsatisfied because they have not accomplished all the positions/acts that they have seen in some stupid video. To think that at the time women were happy to gain their freedom from society’s terrorizing judgments, but are now regretting it, is something that is sad and needs to change soon. Otherwise we will become a society that has more interaction with a machine than with another human being.
Technology certainly is amazing.
The US should be ashamed….
I couldn’t believe how upset I became after reading the Hughes article, “The Internet and Sex Industries: Partners in Global Sexual Exploitation”. I guess I never realized, or didn’t want to know, about how disgusting people are because of some stupid fantasy that they want to fulfill at another’s expense. It’s sad to think about the lives that sex-traffickers are taking away from young children, all for money and pleasure. I cannot even imagine all of the help that these kids will need once they have hopefully escaped the hell that they are living.
The article pointed out how the internet has created an entire new industry of pornography inside and outside of the US. It’s almost painful to read the line “the United States is also the main home of the Internet Pornography industry” when we are a country that always seems to pride itself on helping out other countries that are in need(18). Bringing women and girls into prostitution, who only want to go to the U.S. in order to better their lives but are tricked, is a business that is not only disgusting and needs to stop, but is also a pitiful way for someone to live their life to make money. I think of these people who are only benefiting themselves from this and I feel like they have no conscience whatsoever and need to find a real job. Another point of the article that bothered me a lot was when Hughes mentioned the online search engine “Snap” which credited itself on not having pornographic material on it’s sites, but then later turned around and admitted that it decided to open it’s engine pornography saying that “everyone else is doing it, so they had too also” (26). Just when I thought I had found a bit of relief from my reality check, everything gets turned around and changes all because some company feels the need to make more millions. I guess I should have been more aware of what was happening, however like many other conservative suburbian kids i just figured what I didnt know won’t hurt me. Thankfully this class has opened my eyes to the world and I now feel like I should probably do my part to help these kids get out of the mess they’re in and live the lives they deserve, and were meant, to have.
Hello world!
Hey guys. Sorry my blog hasn’t been up until now, but I’ve been really busy with crazy amounts of school work and confusing professors! Anyways, my name is Kate but some people call me kips so I’ll stick to that nickname for this class. I’m a freshman here at the University and plan on majoring in Communications, specifically broadcasting. I decided to take this course because it, of course, sounded interesting and I wanted to see what other people’s opinions about the porn industry are, as well as share some of mine. I have never had a blog before nor have I had an online class, so I’ll apologize ahead of time if I mess something up. Computers are also not my fancy so it may take me awhile to get use to the idea of having to blog and talk to people on an almost-daily basis. Anywho, I’m excited to be taking this class and having discussions about a topic that was never really talked about in public (atleast not where I come from). Hope everyone enjoys this class as much as I will, and I’m sure I’ll catch up with you guys later. Peacies.
