A
female
 ,
anonymous
writes:For me, it is not that porn is available that is the issue. It is not being able to leave my local freesheet in the bathroom anymore (it contains ads for sheds, second hand wellies and baby rabbits) because it also contains a whole load of pornographic adverts in the back now. One of them for example invites men to call a partcular women who will “use any hole” for him. My local newspaper complains about how Brighton (England) is becoming a centre for the sex trade and the number of women and children trafficked in for that trade, the huge increases in violence against women in our area etc. It also has cheery articles about lap dancing clubs being centres for people to watch “nude ballet”, whilst taking and printing paid-for adverts for prostitutes (prostitution is illegal in this country). What really worries me is the pervading vision in the media of women as really mostly sex objects that is stronger than ever before. I know women’s bodies are sexy, I am not a prude. I also draw naked people so I am totally at ease with real nudity and the power and beauty of the human form. But, M and S cakes give you orgasms apparently according to the sound of the voiceover on them. You can’t watch historical programmes without them being configured around sex. It makes me laugh that in these mediums you never see an erect penis, the director must be a man! Full frontal male is not on the agenda, but you can go to the supermarket and buy a newspaper with two naked girls tits-together on the front. I now have digital tv which advertises sexy text contacts and there is a porn channel which you can pay to view. I object to having these poked in (scuse the pun!) to my home.If a bloke wants to have a foray into some porn OK, but please I wish the industry would leave me alone in my home haven having to actually protect my kids from the onslaught rather maybe accept that they would probably be curious and inventively peek at some stage. I don’t know what other people think, but have you noticed how few female role models there are who use their talent and brains to succeed? They get away with it if they have a large chest or admit to once being a stripper. There ain’t many normal looking women who shine out are there but there are plenty of ugly blokes who do.I blame this over-sexualisation for it and the porno world has a lot to thank for it.Not right.
View related questions:
orgasm, porn, prostitute, stripper, text, violent Reply to this Article
Share |
You can add your comments or thoughts to this article A
female
reader, Susan Strict +, writes (26 May 2008):
 Much to my suprise, the more I think about this the more I find myself agreeing with it.
Don't get me wrong. I think "porn" - or, at least, erotica - is perfectly acceptable and something for adults to enjoy rather than to ban or to be ashamed of.
But sex is fundamentally a private matter. It is part of the bond that holds partnerships together. It is the pinnacle of human pleasure. What pleases me and my partner is personal, and to have nudity, sexual advertisements, advice on what will and what won't make me orgasm, all thrust at me when what I'm looking for is to buy a second-hand dining room table or a pack of crumpets for tea, is disconcerting to say the least. If I want erotica, titillation, sex ideas or advice - or even sexual services - then I know where to find it. It doesn't take a great effort to search it out, and that's good. What I don't want and don't need is to have it thrust under my nose at all hours of the day when I would prefer to be concentrating on something else.
There are times and places for pornography. The celebration of the human body and its sexuality may well be wonderful. I simply don't want to come across it when I'm pushing the shopping trolley around the Co-Op.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (23 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionActually there is...I have just signed up to an organisation called OBJECT and I am starting to lobby MPs along with others who are like-minded. Apparently Harriet Harman is about to take up the issue of sex ads in mainstream press now. Ha!
...............................
A
reader, anonymous, writes (23 May 2008): "Sex Burgers" (LOL)... I like that one. Seems me and you are looking at the same world, and I don't like it, don't like it one bit. I just can't see anything we can do about it.
...............................
A
reader, anonymous, writes (23 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionI so agree. I also celebrate sexuuality and I don't have any hang-ups about it or what other people want to do. I do hate the way that sex-women are increasingly being portrayed as perfect, plastic fast-food sex burgers but with no brain that is such a con and a lie. It makes me cringe and I don't want my children to pick up these messages in fact I would thank whoever is responsible to sod off out of my home.
You can live life floating above these things, but as soon as you start to notice and scratch beneath the surface you see this nasty sub-culture creeping into our everyday lives. I didn't ask for it and I resent having to fight against it.
Being personal, to me there is nothing more joyful than finding my gorgeous and sexy man next to me. I love his smell, his look, his imperfections, his feel, everything. I would never want to share him and he would never want to share me. I feel so lucky. I wish this for more people and
I want my children to have the same so I hope this fashion of cheapening sex and being so very easily bored (Yawn)and in need of sex-burgers (!) burns itself out very very quickly. A carefully prepared gourmet sex meal at home -that is real body and soul nourishment. The other stuff is addictive and makes people less able to be satisfied with themselves or other people.
...............................
A
reader, anonymous, writes (22 May 2008): I celebrate sex and sexuality in all it's forms and long for normalization of sex in our society. But at the moment we don't have sexuality, we're looking at a society based on crude hardcore porn. Whether it's famous celebs and their body image problems, naked women cluttering up my newspaper or advertisements for chocolate or shampoo... A Society with healthy sexual beliefs, should celebrate women's bodies in all it's forms.
Personally I believe it's a calculated conspiracy by the government (economy) the media and business to keep us quiet and spending money. But I'm a little flaky that way.
Sex sells anything, and on an emotional level gets in the way of rational thinking and the decision making process. I think we need to work on producing people that use the brains they were given to practice sex happily and wisely. The current forms of "pornography" are a reflection of the consumer and celebrity led society that has produced it. What we have is all that's on offer.
...............................
A
reader, anonymous, writes (22 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThe law is complicated. The act of one consenting adult paying another for sex is NOT actually illegal and a woman who works on her own, in her own house and charges people for sex isn't breaking the law.
Brothels are illegal - that's a room where more than one woman works - even if they work on different days or at different times. A massage parlour is normally a classier name for a brothel.
It's also illegal to live off immoral earnings - that could include pimps, massage parlour managers, and receptionists.
It's illegal to advertise for sexual services - though not to advertise massage or escort services like those in the papers and on the internet. It's also quite likely that people renting a house and using it as a brothel are committing planning and tenancy offences. At a street level it's illegal to solicit for trade, and curb-crawling is illegal.
...............................
A
reader, anonymous, writes (22 May 2008): Correction, as far as I know, prostitution is not illegal in the UK. Selling your body is not the crime, but soliciting for business, running a brothel, working in a brothel, not paying taxes... these are usually the crimes for which Prostitutes are jailed.
Sex at Lap dancing clubs can be easily dealt with under current legislation of public nusiance or gross indecency. The fault, to me lies with the refusal of the police to clamp down hard and clean these clubs up so everyone (men and women) can use them.
...............................
A
reader, anonymous, writes (22 May 2008): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionI agree with what you say about free choice to actually buy in or not and I take that as read. I guess what concerns me is the over-normalisation of the sex industry into every day life. I really hope for respect for my sex. That is my objection to these adverts coming into the mainstream too much. If establishments like the BBC seem to be saying it is OK, then people pick up that message.
I don’t object to the existence of pornography somewhere in the background of life choices, I am simply alarmed that it is helping promote a one-sided image of what women should be like through saturation. I don’t think that this way or portraying our sex is of any value to us when it is so overwhelming, in fact it seems to take away from other values which I hold much more dear. Like intelligence being more important than looks for example.
Young girls are under enormous pressure to be good at sex and promote themselves like that. You see it on this website with some of the questions asked. That is what happens through normalising porn too much into every day life. Now they not only have to be thin enough, plus have large enough boobs, plus have perfect teeth etc etc . They also have to be handmaidens sexually.
Many young girls even aspire to be like lapdancers - when that whole industry is extremely questionable. If you don’t believe me take a look at a website by an organisation called OBJECT. They put an article into the Guardian newspaper on 19 March by a former lapdancer which says that the lapdancer herself would now regard a partner visiting one of those clubs as an infidelity. They do actually engage in sexual encounters all the time in fact are encouraged to do so. Read it if you don’t believe me! This attitude to sex is developing under everyone’s noses.
Of course some people choose to sell their bodies for sex and some buy, it has always been the case. You also get actresses like Billie Piper jumping on the bandwagon, making it seem a glam choice ad it makes me worry for all the young people out there trying to make a life and understand where to pitch their place in it. I would love to know how many ex prostitutes, lapdancers etc make it on to happy family lives with kids later.
My instinct tells me that it must be very hard to trust men after even consenting to having that as a career. After all, they must see “happily married” men a lot and have sex with them. So when their turn comes around how could they deal with this? I think there are a lot of people and organisations making out that this stuff is normal and natural etc, but it is a con and it is going to cause a lot of mental distress and unhappiness in future years when the true cost is paid by individuals.
I would like to repeat, so you don’t get me wrong. I am a mature person and able to understand that people make their choices and I know that pornography will always be around. I am OK with that but not with this excess and not with having to actually hide things to protect children. Neither if I had a daughter would I want her to be facing this enormous pressure to be sexual.
...............................
A
female
reader, vampyreholic +, writes (21 May 2008):
I agree that there is a lot of pornographic material available in this day and age. I too am also incredibly annoyed by these text to date adverts in the middle of programmes, particularly on channels such as Dave and Men And Motors. However, as far as porn channels on Sky TV etc go, it is our choice as to whether or not we watch these things. The channels are not located in the mainstream channels, in fact they are routed right at the end of the channel listings around where all the Box Office channels are. You can't accidently stumble upon some hardcore porn movie on the Playboy Channel, because you have to pay in order to view it anyway. I would be more inclined to be concerned about how freely viewable pornographic material is availble on the internt. I myself have used a search engine in the past to look for a website on a particular subject and found it to be an actual porn site. It is everywhere on the internet and has even been known to be on the BBC website.
We're not really an over sexualised nation, it's just no one is afraid to talk about it anymore. Sex shouldn't be something to be ashamed of or to want less of. It should be a wonderful thing that takes place between 2 people. It is natural and shouldn't be hidden away from. But the simple answer is, if you don't want to view it, change the channel, put the magazine down don't view the website.
...............................
|
