Subject: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Richard Bridge Date: 06 Jun 07 - 05:35 PM It is often said that the largest sex organ is the brain. Would others agree that that is the reason that verbal pornography is more effective than pictorial pornography? Can this theory be tested by considering the types of sexual activity indicated in pornography, and comparing that with the quality of writing - say DH Lawrence or Anais Nin or Pauline Reage at one end, and the writers who infest the internet with their simian scribblings about child sex? Or is it contraindicated by this observation? |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 06 Jun 07 - 06:03 PM "...that that is the reason that verbal pornography is more effective than pictorial pornography?" I wouldn't necessarily agree that it is. I worked in an 'adult' book store for 3 years...(25 years ago)...and people were different. Some bought picture books, and some bought reading matter.....and they ALL varied widely in their interest in various subject matter. But I would agree that the brain IS the most important sexual organ, and general intelligence is 'relevant', though not decisive, in people's responses and orientation The internet is the most significant ....ummmm...'advance'?...in pornography in hundreds of years, because now it can be produced by amateurs and fine-tuned to specific tastes instead of being foisted off by a few 'experts' who imposed their attitudes and tastes on the public. I see that Hugh Hefner still likes bosomy blonds, but not everyone does. (and now, women can find erotic material that suits THEM, produced by other women) |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Big Al Whittle Date: 06 Jun 07 - 06:09 PM I don't think you'd get many subscribers to a porn channel - with just some geezer reading DH Lawrence out loud. I suppose you could always freeze frame the exciting bits where he turned the page over. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 06 Jun 07 - 06:10 PM a further observation... DH Lawrence or Anais Nin or Pauline Reage wrote to create literature, with eroticism as one component, while much writing at the other end of the scale makes little attempt to do anything except titillate. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: JohnInKansas Date: 06 Jun 07 - 06:42 PM It is often said that the largest sex organ is the brain. By people of limited intelligence and a liking for trite sayings they've heard somewhere??? A much better case can be made for "the largest sex organ is the skin." Neither statement says much about which is the organ most important to anything in particular. John |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,Guest - Robert Carlisle Date: 06 Jun 07 - 06:48 PM I think this saying was really invented by women Richard to do their best to persuade men that this was the way they preferred to be approached. I would interested in the femal perspective(s) on this. Robert |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 06 Jun 07 - 07:04 PM Well, it'd be pretty tricky managing without a skin. Or a brain. Just about anything else they could have a stab at finding out something to help you get by for a time. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: pdq Date: 06 Jun 07 - 07:14 PM "You Gotta Have Skin" ~ Alan Sherman (based on "You Gotta Have Heart") You gotta have skin, All you really need is skin Skin's the thing that if you've got it outside It helps keep your insides in It covers your nose, And it's wrapped around your toes And inside it you put lemon meringue And outside, you hang your clothes Skin is what you feel at home in And without it, furthermore Both your liver and abdomen Would keep falling on the floor (And you'd be dressed in your intestine) A Siamese twin Needs an extra set of skin And when the doctor knows that you're feelin' sick Where does he stick his needle in? In the end of your skin |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Jun 07 - 09:48 PM . . . Would others agree that that is the reason that verbal pornography is more effective than pictorial pornography? I agree with Bill D--the basic premise itself is flawed. First you have to find something people agree about regarding pornography and what it is, and then I think you'd have to work hard to prove this statement. What one person might consider pornographic others might not. Case in point: There is a great scene in the film Girl With a Pearl Earring in which Vermeer's wife is appalled and repulsed by a simple portrait of a young woman's face. The composition, the demeanor, the hair style or head garb--she is offended by it, yet anyone today would have to think really hard as to why such a shot would be anything other than attractive and sensible. How we think has evolved over human history, new ideas and ways of seeing and thinking are layered on over the old. Yet the new doesn't reach everyone, and a lot of this is kept entirely private and secret. You have a point, I'm not dismissing it. Verbal "pornography," the material that is outside of accepted social bounds (a definition of pornography), is powerful. I just don't think you can state it is more powerful without citing some high-calibre studies or persuasive thinkers in the subject. Look at these definitions I found on the Internet:
From something called "coolnurse.com": From a definition standpoint, pornography is anything that is created to cause sexual excitement or arousal. Most of us think of: erotic imagery that is considered obscene and offensive. (I find this one problematic in that is uses the word "erotic" as if it is interchangeable with "pornography" in the definition of "pornography." The one that actually makes the most sense is this one:
"Pornography" is a negatively weighted term. I would argue that "Erotic" is not negatively weighted (at least, not nearly as much.) I will conclude with a remark from a gay friend. His favorite gay bar in New York City has a porn sale every so often, when the customers pull out DVDs and VCR tapes and such that they don't want and they do a sidewalk sale (only in New York!). They are trading out the old for new material. His observation: "Pornography is the thing that kept a lot of gay men sane and alive during the AIDS crisis of the last 25 years." In that context, I have to say I think it is a good thing. SRS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Rapparee Date: 06 Jun 07 - 09:59 PM A bunch of us, all library school grad students, "invaded" an adult bookstore once. We just walked in to see what was what and possibly learn something about this aspect of the publishing biz. Three men and three women walked in the front door and about a dozen men fled out the back. The guy at the register didn't like us, since we'd scared away all his paying customers. As far as I've been able to tell, and I admit that my experience is limited, the only customers of these stores are men. Know where you can find the largest collection of pornography in the world? Books, magazines, films, videos, the works? Nope, it's not the Vatican and it's not the Library of Congress or the British Museum -- it's at the library of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, Bloominton, Indiana. Right there in the heart of the good old Midwest. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bee Date: 06 Jun 07 - 10:47 PM I suspect pornography and erotica are very individual. Certainly there is an obvious male directed mainstream (that is, there is more of it than of other kinds of porn) of straight forward visual heterosexual excess. But outside of that there is infinite variety, and the vast majority of it is visual, not verbal. So it seems unlikely that your premise is at all correct. Some studies have suggested that women react more to literary erotica than to images, but the studies are older, and may reflect women of the time (seventies, eighties) being more timid about looking for pornography at all, and also may reflect the fact that most visual porn available would have been directed to males. There's very little 'cuddling' in that kind of porn. ;-) |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,meself Date: 06 Jun 07 - 11:15 PM No, I've noticed that. Not many long walks on the beach either. Also, very little discussion of what ELSE is needed to make relationships work. Nor are there many scenes of blissful couples shopping together ... |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Jun 07 - 12:31 AM Calvin Klein jeans is accused occasionally of crossing the line, but I don't think so. That was French. This 1978 ad is for Chinese publications, or at least, it appeared in a Chinese Daily newspaper. SRS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Paco Rabanne Date: 07 Jun 07 - 03:28 AM D H Lawrence!!! What decade is this? |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: skipy Date: 07 Jun 07 - 04:46 AM 19 weeks & 1 day to Erotica 2007! Skipy |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Georgiansilver Date: 07 Jun 07 - 05:15 AM The brain being the central control for all the senses would suggest that it is the 'responsible' sexual organ...HOWEVER...where does that fit in with the theory that some women have about men having two brains...... only one of them being able to function at a time? |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bee Date: 07 Jun 07 - 07:51 AM Georgiansilver, it ain't two brains - it's the rush of blood away from the brain, thus starving it with sometimes unfortunate results. ;-D |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Georgiansilver Date: 07 Jun 07 - 08:09 AM ROFLOL |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Donuel Date: 07 Jun 07 - 09:00 AM Chimp behavior research showed that male chimps traded the equivalent of money, food credits, for videos of female chimp behinds. I wonder if humans would do that or if we are too intelligent. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,meself Date: 07 Jun 07 - 09:11 AM I don't know ... chimp behinds - male or female - don't do much for me ... (That proves it - finally: I'm more intelligent than a chimp.) |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 07 Jun 07 - 09:35 AM I don't think Vermeer's wife is to be taken as being shocked because she see the picture as pornographic, but rather because of the implication she reads into it about the relationship between her husband and the model. Not unreasonably in the context. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Liz the Squeak Date: 07 Jun 07 - 11:53 AM I don't know if it's just me but pictures do nothing for me. A good raunchy book on the other hand can get me all hot under the collar. But what does it most of all is the other person actually taking time to ask me what I like, what I would like him to do and treating me as if I were an active and participating person, rather than a recepticle for the end product. LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Liz the Squeak Date: 07 Jun 07 - 12:00 PM Oh, my IQ is 137. LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST, Topsie Date: 07 Jun 07 - 12:23 PM Woman's Hour this morning had an item on Hildegard of Bingen, with an interesting quotation of her account of the part the female brain plays in orgasm. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Liz the Squeak Date: 07 Jun 07 - 12:30 PM Oooh.. I love Hildegarde, I must remember to listen again tomorrow. Hildegarde was an amazing woman... in an age when women were goods and chatels, she told the Pope off! LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Jun 07 - 12:34 PM McGrath, I think it was a subtle departure from the accepted art of the day that she responded to. It was made clear to the adults in the family that the portrait for the patron was financially important, but she wasn't convinced. But for my point, I wasn't considering that she was seeing the evidence of a relationship or not, but that her "way of seeing" translated into "pornography" in her mind. For some people, it doesn't take much for them to decide it is pornographic. (At least, the publicly expressed opinion, regardless of what the private consumption might entail--but I stray into the domain of religious figures and politicians if I head in this direction). SRS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Richard Bridge Date: 07 Jun 07 - 01:34 PM Is the skin an organ? Is it art or pornography? I spy the definition of folk music coming round again. I am surprised that it does not seem to be taken as read that the latitude that verbal material permits to the imagination (in place of the dictation effected by pictorial material) is a more effective means of sexual titillation in those who have minds and imaginations. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 07 Jun 07 - 01:53 PM It is just not that simple, Richard. Sure, it is OFTEN the case that imaginative minds are drawn to creative writings where the mind can supply the images needed from inside, but it is also often the case that imaginative minds create or seek well-done images....photos, videos, drawings..etc. Intelligence is one factor...mood, habit, influences..etc...also affect what someone chooses, and even quite intelligent folks may differ widely in what they choose for specific situations.....much like a gourmét might have a meal at McDonalds when struck by a need for salt & fat...*grin* There is little in life that is harder to predict than sexual preferences, as we often develop them privately, with little guidance. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,meself Date: 07 Jun 07 - 02:09 PM " ... it is also often the case that imaginative minds create or seek well-done images....photos, videos, drawings..etc." - the latitude that visual material permits to the imagination (in place of the dictation effected by verbal material) being a more effective means of sexual titillation in those who have minds and imaginations. (By the way, who exactly are those who do NOT have "minds and imagination"?) |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Alan Day Date: 07 Jun 07 - 02:10 PM A lovely face, A lovely personality, a posture,a woman running her fingers through her hair, a smile , a certain look or glance, it can make your day.Pornographers have got it all wrong,ladies for most of the time are far more erotic clothed than not. Al |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Ebbie Date: 07 Jun 07 - 02:27 PM Traveling down Alan Day's path (any relation to you, Bill?) I read somewhere that the Japanese teach that a half clothed body in the sex act is more erotic than the fully nude one. I conjecture that it is the contrast between cloth and skin. Any ideas on this? |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 07 Jun 07 - 03:18 PM Well it's common enough for people to describe all kind of thing as "obscene" - for example the money that the fat cats in business pay themselves, or the war in Iraq, or the number of people killed on the roads. We shouldn't jump to the conclusion that they are classifying them as "pornography. The way we use language, and always have used language is more complicated than that. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 07 Jun 07 - 06:37 PM "...who exactly are those who do NOT have "minds and imagination"?" Well...I can verify that some are seriously lacking in that department. 3 years in an adult bookstore opened my eyes to how sadly narrow some folks minds are/were. Some needed garish, explicit (read:'crude') pictures and short declarative sentences in stories. Others had complex, imaginative tastes. Ebbie...no relation that I know of...*grin*....and yes to " I conjecture that it is the contrast between cloth and skin.", in many ways clothing, lighting, partial exposure...etc...can 'mean' more than total nudity....although nudity can be an art form in itself, and doesn't have to presume eroticism. I remember when I was a graduate teaching assistant in college in the 60s, and dress styles were changing for the young women. Full length pantyhose were a new item, and garter belts were still common. It was a revelation to me that a carelessly arranged skirt was not nearly so...ummm...'interesting' when the girl was wearing these new full-length hose. I decided it was that 'seeing' the top of nylons held by a garter was some sort of accomplishment...a goal...whatever. I even saw a cartoon where one character said to another..."I prefer mini-skirts to those slitted skirts. I don't have to be so alert!" So, sure partial draping, exotic fabrics, 'planned' partial exposure all are intended to attract and retain attention. Most women learn this early, I think. The degree and type of exposure has changed, but leaving something to the imagination is still a standard ploy. Mardi Gras in New Orleans has a recent theme where young women will 'flash' to collect extra beads, and streaking is still a common game at some schools, I gather. And being technically 'forbidden' is what makes it exciting. If total nudity were legal & common, it would be less interesting. This is such a complex part of life...I wish it were not so hard to discuss it all. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Severn Date: 07 Jun 07 - 07:08 PM What is the result when you combine Pornography and Intelligence? In some cases, a stroke of genius. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 07 Jun 07 - 11:16 PM Severn! Go to your room....no, on 2nd thought, I'm not sure you could be trusted there.... ;>) |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,meself Date: 07 Jun 07 - 11:24 PM "I wish it were not so hard to discuss it all." You don't seem to be having much trouble so far! |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 07 Jun 07 - 11:30 PM ???...I'm not sure how to take that. I have, in fact, avoided saying a lot that was on my mind, as I'm not sure Mudcat is the place for some aspects of a dissection of pornography. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,meself Date: 07 Jun 07 - 11:46 PM How to take it? Not too seriously; I'm just trying to amuse the groundlings. Just that the post in question is one of the longest ones on the thread, so far ... nothing wrong with that, though! |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: JennyO Date: 08 Jun 07 - 12:05 AM By the way, who exactly are those who do NOT have "minds and imagination"? The name "Shane" springs to mind... :-) |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 08 Jun 07 - 12:09 AM Gee Liz, I dunno how you can get up in the morning with an IQ that low... :-P |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,JTT Date: 08 Jun 07 - 01:49 AM For a brief happy moment I thought the title of the thread meant someone had made the connection between being as thick as a kish of brogues (AmTrans: dumb as a sack of rocks) and liking pornography. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Richard Bridge Date: 08 Jun 07 - 03:28 AM Those without minds or imagination? Sun readers? Star readers? Sport readers? |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: InOBU Date: 08 Jun 07 - 08:03 AM Depends on your age ... as the human male gets older, the largest sex organ is the elbow ... we sit in the pub drinking away our grief until we get notion to wander home and announce the mating call, "Honey! I'm home!" just before the floor rushes up at your face. good grief lor |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 08 Jun 07 - 10:50 AM "...we sit in the pub..." WE? You are maybe Siamese twins, Lorcan? *grin*...I get to a pub perhaps 5-6 times a year. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,Bardan Date: 08 Jun 07 - 10:57 AM Without getting into specifics, I noticed a while back that I can read an erotic story about something I wouldn't normally find erotic and the author's excitement was transmitted so that it became erotic. I wouldn't react at all to photos or videos of the same acts. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Mr Happy Date: 08 Jun 07 - 11:45 AM ' .......... Laura felt his hot breath on her cheek as he ripped the thin silk from.............. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 08 Jun 07 - 01:24 PM ...the cushion cover. She tickled him under the chin, and he purred loudly. "Who's a hungry moggy?" she said. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Liz the Squeak Date: 08 Jun 07 - 01:33 PM 'Not me' he thought as he turned and licked his own bollocks. Fooles - I have to, otherwise he of the 136 IQ wouldn't know which side to get out. LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Alan Day Date: 08 Jun 07 - 06:18 PM Thanks for a good laugh Liz. Al |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,Bardan Date: 08 Jun 07 - 06:47 PM I wasn't thinking of sex with cats particularly. (Although it adds a whole new dimension to the term 'sex kitten') |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: GUEST,meself Date: 08 Jun 07 - 06:55 PM Pausing, he looked suddenly thoughtful. He was in fact resuming his interior monologue. "That is to say," he elaborated, in silence, "I'm not particularly hungry, at the moment - after all, it's only been twenty minutes since that delightful dish of - whatever it was. As for being a 'moggy', however - I may or may not be. You see, I have only recently arrived from the colonies, and haven't the foggiest notion as to what a 'moggy' may or may not be. I will, for the present, refrain from responding either in the negative or the positive to that aspect of the query." Satisfied to leave the matter thus, he resumed his former activity. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Nick Date: 08 Jun 07 - 07:54 PM I started an erotic fiction site some years ago. Mostly just to see if I could. Porn was out there when the internet came along and it seemed interesting to try and see if you could dabble in it. No pictures - no hardcore stuff; in my view anyway. It still exists and though I haven't updated it for years it has somewhere between 600-1000 visitors a day still (at it's height it was a lot more; it's probably had several million visitors over time). Which is bizarre or a testament to the quality of the writing LOL. (I also can't get rid of it because it's a part of my history...) It was fronted up with a female persona and I used to get as much contact from women as men. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: katlaughing Date: 08 Jun 07 - 08:09 PM Betty Dobson's website features many of her efforts to enlighten people on how to be erotic and not ashamed by what some may turn pornographic. She is an incredible woman. Another very interesting site to explore is Alt. Sex Stories Text Repository. There are members there who have been writing stories on there for years and have quite a few followers, eager for their next instalments. Both are interesting sites, imo, and have some relation to this discussion. As to stories...I posted this one back in '01 in the 100 word story challenge thread: Silently, unbidden he joined her on the bed, brushing softly against her back, coming round to whisper in her ear, making promises. Promises of never parting; lying in a green meadow; soft winds lightly scented with roses; and the soothing splash of a rill. A summer's day spent together in eternity. Turning, she stroked him, languidly, murmuring lovesongs in his ear. He gazed at her with sea green eyes. His low voice caressed her in return, filling her with warmth, contentment, undying love. As soon as he'd purred her to sleep he began his nightly bathing ritual: right paw first... |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 08 Jun 07 - 09:15 PM "otherwise he of the 136 IQ wouldn't know which side to get out." Well he might end up climbing over you.... which is sorta on track for how thread thread is turning out.... |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 08 Jun 07 - 09:22 PM The sky was dark, the moon was high All alone - just she and I. Her hair was soft and eyes were blue I knew just what she wanted to do. Her skin so soft, her legs so fine I ran my fingers down her spine. I didn't know how, but I tried my best I started by placing my hands on her breast. I remember my fear, my fast beating heart But slowly she spread her legs apart. And when I did it, I felt no shame All at once the white stuff came. At last it's finished, it's all over now My first time ever at milking a cow..... .... a truly moo-ving story.... |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Liz the Squeak Date: 09 Jun 07 - 04:25 AM Fooles - he doesn't have the equipment... or at least the safety ropes. LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Richard Bridge Date: 09 Jun 07 - 09:41 AM There is some truly appalling writing at ASSTR! And a little quite good writing. Annie Sprinkles came (if that is the right word) close to redefining pornography and obscenity as a performance art form. In case you wonder how I know, she was (I am proud to say, challenging subject for a young girl) the subject of my daughter's degree thesis... |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 09 Jun 07 - 11:06 AM "Annie Sprinkles"...LOL...now there's a name from the past! It was once said of Annie that she'd do anything....as long as it hadn't been done before. She was hardly an example of elegance, but she approached her profession with a rare honesty, and if I remember correctly, her family knew all about her career. hey...you want erotic imagry? e.e. cummings! she being Brand -new;and you know consequently a little stiff i was careful of her and(having thoroughly oiled the universal joint tested my gas felt of her radiator made sure her springs were O. K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her up,slipped the clutch(and then somehow got into reverse she kicked what the hell)next minute i was back in neutral tried and again slo-wly;bare,ly nudg. ing(my lev-er Right- oh and her gears being in A 1 shape passed from low through second-in-to-high like greasedlightning)just as we turned the corner of Divinity avenue i touched the accelerator and give her the juice,good (it was the first ride and believe i we was happy to see how nice she acted right up to the last minute coming back down by the Public Gardens i slammed on the internalexpanding & externalcontracting brakes Bothatonce and brought allofher tremB -ling to a:dead. stand- ;Still) |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Richard Bridge Date: 10 Jun 07 - 10:07 AM Yes. It was in a film, wasn't it? It seems the good catters are too old or too tame or too embarrassed to display interest in pornography. Don't worry, Andrea Dworkin is not looking (I hope). |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Captain Ginger Date: 10 Jun 07 - 12:17 PM My problem with everyday pornography is twofold - in most of its manifestations it seems to be degrading and exploitative towards women and therefore devoid of actual erotic charge, and it also seems to be remarkably tasteless. It's as though pornographers pitch everything at an aesthetic that makes the red-top tabloids seem sophisticated. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Bill D Date: 10 Jun 07 - 01:01 PM Richard Bridge..it may be that folks simply don't wish to comment much on their 'personal' interests in a forum where their friends are and where their real identities are known....and I can't say I blame them. It is fairly easy to debate politics or religion, even though tempers rise...but do you want everyone knowing about the goat, the nun, the leather whips and the trampoline full of grape jello? (old family joke) Captain Ginger... what has changed in the last 40 years, with the invention of Polaroid images, video cameras, computers and digital images...and the the WWW/internet....is that "everyday pornography" seems to have a much wider range, because anyone can create it: text or images....though there will obviously always be the "remarkably tasteless" area....just as McDonald's will always florish, even with good restaurants near. I sometimes visit a forum where no topic is off-limit, and I see posts referring/directing folks to sites where 'almost' any form of porn is available...and I have on occasion seen some explicit, though artistic & elegant, divergences from the 'usual'. As for exploitation of women: that is a tricky one. It seems that many women, once the choice is theirs, cooperate willingly in situations where they WILL be 'exploited'...like the public flashing at Mardi Gras and Spring Break.....and worse. I have no idea how to judge where the line is between free exercise of personal whims and coercion...though I can identify clear examples at both ends of the spectrum. What IS clear is that the world is changing....for better or worse....and that with technology being what it is, pornography will never be hard to obtain, as it was when I was a curious 17 year old. All we can do is seek to limit explicit 'public' displays that are not appropriate for kids. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:35 PM Interesting thing I have noticed over the years. Pictures on the covers of magazines, images of women in 'rock videos' etc have gradually veered towards what I as a youngster knew as 'soft porn'. To the extent that those images of women that are supposed to be 'sexy and enticing' are just boring mostly. And mostly all in the attempt to make money. Sad, really. |
Subject: RE: BS: Pornography and intelligence From: Richard Bridge Date: 11 Jun 07 - 02:26 AM As I said above, "pornography" (or erotica) is IMHO often more effective in written form than pictorial, and while it may in a sense be exploitative of women, no woman has necessarily been exploited (if permitting photographs of yourself in the requisite form is exploitation) in the creation. |