Pornography, should it be banned?

[Forgetitnow344]

Modern courtship is basically legalized prostitution, if you think about it. One way or another, we're paying for it.

I hate this mentality. If this is how your sex life works, you're doing it wrong. 100% of the people I've had sex with have happened as a result of mutual attraction and interest. And no, not after a handful of dates where all I've done is tapdance and throw twenties at them all night. Every girl I've ever been interested in has been the kind who would gladly take a man out for dinner and a movie instead of the other way around. In fact, my current girlfriend and I usually have to race from the car to the box office whenever we go to the movies to determine who's paying. Women aren't interested in money, whores are.

IMO, picking a girl up and giving her things until she has sex with you is always going to be just a glorified form of masturbation.

 

[ElPatron]

Your friend is a lunatic.

Ask him if he wants to ban cars that can go over 90mph, alcohol and tobacco while he is at it.

This point has me flabbergasted every time. How do people mix up prostitution and pornography so often?

Because crime. If you have a bunch of girls forced into prostitution, you take their earnings and buy a camera plus lighting. You won't need to pay them, and you can invite friends that probably won't even charge for starring (when you're in a shady mafia you known a LOT of people dumb enough to allow for video evidence of such a thing).

Most of the child pornography in the world is also linked with underage sex slavery.

Your post was like asking "what do drugs have to do with prostitution?", "what does firearms traffic have to do with prostitution?" or "what does corruption have to do with prostitution?".

It's all related.

 

[Private Custard]

I'd say that people that think porn should be banned should remove the sticks from their arseholes........but there's a porno for that too!

Utterly fucking ridiculous idea. Porn exists because people like porn. People star in porn because it pays the bills. Hell, if someone offered me a few grand (£10,000+!), I'd probably do it too!

 

[Soviet Steve]

Firstly your friend is a liar or a fool, and secondly no, of course not.

 

[Blackhammer99]

In many countries, seeing another human naked is far less offensive than violence etc.
I'm not sure why so many people find it so offensive to see pornography, but I think as society matures, this will become far less relevant.

 

[malestrithe]

Porn can't be banned outright. It's protected by the first amendment.

Also, your friend needs to come up with a better lie, op. No study out there exists with a 98 percent certainty of anything. The best you can come up with is 95 percent, but only in the most rigidly applied circumstances.

Now, he may not like porn and think that for all of the stated reasons, and that is his choice. Where he crosses the line into absurd is saying that he is opposed to it, therefore everyone should be as well.

 

[DoPo]

Also, your friend needs to come up with a better lie, op. No study out there exists with a 98 percent certainty of anything. The best you can come up with is 95 percent, but only in the most rigidly applied circumstances.

No, that isn't 98% confidence interval. That's straight 98% statistics. You can conduct a study that results on 98% of people holding a certain opinion with 95% confidence level - those aren't exclusive.

But yes, this study doesn't have a high confidence level.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

Porn shouldn't be banned but it SHOULD be better policed and with possibly less of the icky stuff that is VERY easy to stumble upon on the free sites... er... I mean... um... I don't spend long periods of time on those sites... *shifts eyes* no... never...

 

[Aerosteam]

What the hell are you going to do when you're alone in the house and have complete access to the Internet?

Spoiler: Answer

Go on the Escapist, herpaderp

 

[ElPatron]

snip

A crackdown on illegal firearms would cripple their source of income. It all balances out. Restrictions on firearms don't mean anything because I have seen so many kinds of improvised firearms that sometimes I ask myself how many people are making money from zipguns and "killsticks".

Crackdown on drugs? They will have trouble keeping their prostitutes high.

Prostitution and pornography are very closely tied. Most people just don't realize it because the most watched content usually belongs to big names in the industry that follow the law.

Porn shouldn't be banned but it SHOULD be better policed and with possibly less of the icky stuff that is VERY easy to stumble upon on the free sites... er... I mean... um... I don't spend long periods of time on those sites... *shifts eyes* no... never...

Restricting the pornography is really dumb. We don't need more laws. If a certain kind of porn is breaking a law, then the authorities have to take care of the matter.

Suddenly wasting taxpayer's money surveying the internet is pants-on-head retarded, and some countries already restrict what you can or can't watch.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

snip

A crackdown on illegal firearms would cripple their source of income. It all balances out. Restrictions on firearms don't mean anything because I have seen so many kinds of improvised firearms that sometimes I ask myself how many people are making money from zipguns and "killsticks".

Crackdown on drugs? They will have trouble keeping their prostitutes high.

Prostitution and pornography are very closely tied. Most people just don't realize it because the most watched content usually belongs to big names in the industry that follow the law.

Porn shouldn't be banned but it SHOULD be better policed and with possibly less of the icky stuff that is VERY easy to stumble upon on the free sites... er... I mean... um... I don't spend long periods of time on those sites... *shifts eyes* no... never...

Restricting the pornography is really dumb. We don't need more laws. If a certain kind of porn is breaking a law, then the authorities have to take care of the matter.

Suddenly wasting taxpayer's money surveying the internet is pants-on-head retarded, and some countries already restrict what you can or can't watch.

I beg to differ! While porn is all well and good there is stuff out there that breaks so many laws that its not even funny and it should be brought down and the people evolved with the creation of such things should be publicly humiliated (I'm aware how that sounds)

The fact that there are videos of people being killed on the internet should be proof enough the internet needs to be better regulated in general...

 

[DrRockor]

- Pornography completely objectifies women

I have seen stuff where men are objectified as well. Doesn't dismiss this but it does go both ways

- It sets unrealistic standards for real sex

Except all that amature stuff where its just 2 people who filmed themselves having sex and uploaded it

- Many sex slaves in the world are linked to pornography

I sincerily doubt this. I'm sure some are but the majority of money is consenting

- 98% of female performers in pornography are unhappy (Apparently from a real study according to him)

If they did they would stop and get a job somewhere else. Porn isn't like prostitution where they have a pimp beating them and stopping them from leaving.

- Lack of pornography would mean a drop in sexual crimes (I think completely the opposite)

I think that it would increase it to be honest. All those people who have rape fantasies might go out and actually do it instead of watching porn of it.

- Stops children getting their hands on porno by accident

Why is this such a bad thing?! They're going to find out about the stuff anyway and if they're male probably consume a large amount. The kids finding daddy's porn collection just means another awkward conversation that will probably happen anyway.

- If pornography was banned, it would mean a drop in human trafficking (again, an opinion I think completely the opposite to)

May increase it actually.

So I dont think his points are very good. I'm not going to say that he's dumb, he's entitled to his views but I think porn fills a gap in the market that some people don't want to admit exists and it being illigal would be pointless.

 

[ElPatron]

I beg to differ! While porn is all well and good there is stuff out there that breaks so many laws that its not even funny and it should be brought down and the people evolved with the creation of such things should be publicly humiliated (I'm aware how that sounds)

The fact that there are videos of people being killed on the internet should be proof enough the internet needs to be better regulated in general...

First, there is NO need to waste even more money in creating agencies to regulate pornographic content.

Second, if that thing you watched was so illegal, then the existence of agencies would lead to your arrest because you watched them accidentally. That's how the world works, GET USED TO IT.

Third, child pornography is distributed trough "innocent" computers. Agencies tracking pornography would lead to the arrest of thousands of innocent people who will live the rest of their lives as a felon. Maybe even you have traces of it that you can't access or even read. But it's all that it takes to throw you in jail.

Fourth, privacy. We are all innocent until proven guilty.

Fifth, the government shouldn't regulate the internet - say goodbye to Wikileaks or white-hat hackers.

Sixth, the media shown the images of Saddam being hanged while I was eating my goddamned dinner. If anyone needs regulation is the media because they hardly have freedom of speech anymore with all the political agendas being pushed by the top dogs in the media.

I have no problem if you wish for a Orwellian government but that's not how I roll.

 

[ShadowStar42]

- Pornography completely objectifies women

This is actually still a matter of debate, similar to the sex industry. From one perspective pornography objectifies women, from the other it empowers women to take control of their own sexuality. While certainly pornography effects the way see women is it really the place of society to tell women that if they want to have sex they have to keep it hidden.

- It sets unrealistic standards for real sex

While this is true, I don't see that it is an actionable problem. Action movies set unrealistic standards for fighting and The Dead Poets Society sets an unreasonable standard for college, we as a society trust our citizens to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

- Many sex slaves in the world are linked to pornography

Which is a great reason to keep a close eye on the porn industry and to crack down on slavery but ending porn isn't a solution to the problem. An example would be like saying that underage people generally buy drinks at gas stations therefor all gas stations should be closed.

- 98% of female performers in pornography are unhappy (Apparently from a real study according to him)

1) That sounds like a fake number.
2) I'm pretty sure that a high percentage of sanitation workers are unhappy with their jobs.
3) Would women who are in porn be more happy if they did not have the money porn brings into their lives.

- Lack of pornography would mean a drop in sexual crimes (I think completely the opposite)

I can't say that your friend is wrong in this, but neither can he say that he's right. There's really just no studies showing a definitive correlation or lack thereof. That being said a similar argument (with similar facts backing it) could be made about video games and violence.

- Stops children getting their hands on porno by accident

True, but chopping kids hands off would have the same effect. Or to make a more reasonable argument, his argument leads to us banning everything that a child might get a hold of that we don't want them to. Guns, prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sharp things etc. etc. ...

- If pornography was banned, it would mean a drop in human trafficking (again, an opinion I think completely the opposite to)

Here your friend is probably right, I understand what your argument probably is (well if no one can get porn then more people will hire sex slaves), but there is a VERY large population who consumes porn and a very small population that would even consider purchasing a slave or knowingly associate with someone who did. Presumably sex trafficking would reduce somewhat due to the fact that the pornographers, no longer having as reliable financial incentive, would stop importing them. That being said there are easier and more reliable ways to reduce sex trafficking than by gutting an entire industry.

Anyway, these are the arguments that I would use with your friend.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

I know you said you disagree with these arguments, so this isn't directed at you per se, this is just a convenient way of summing up my opinion.

- Pornography completely objectifies women

This is obviously not inherently true. For one thing, it's possible to make a porno that DOESN'T objectify women, and for another thing, it's possible to make NON-pornographic content that DOES objectify women. This argument is utter nonsense.

- It sets unrealistic standards for real sex

So what? Batman movies set unrealistic standards for vigilante justice. Doesn't mean we should ban those too.

- Many sex slaves in the world are linked to pornography

That doesn't mean that banning porn would stop sex trafficking.

- 98% of female performers in pornography are unhappy (Apparently from a real study according to him)

Well, YEAH. Did it really take a study to figure that out? But that's irrelevant for two reasons: (1) It's still totally voluntary, no one can be legally forced to be in porn, and (2) If someone is in a situation where the only way to make money is to be a porno, then the problem that needs to be solved isn't porn, it's the poverty that got them there in the first place. Get rid of porn, and all you're doing is depriving this hypothetical person of a legal way to make money. The obvious problem with this is that once you've banned porn, THEY STILL NEED THAT MONEY.

- Lack of pornography would mean a drop in sexual crimes (I think completely the opposite)

Totally impossible to prove, and as you said, the opposite theory is just as valid.

- Stops children getting their hands on porno by accident

(A) No it doesn't, it only makes it less likely (B)If a kid gets his hands on something that he's too young to see, it's the fault of the parents, not the product, and (C) Kids have been sneaking peeks at Playboys for decades. We have n't declined into Armageddon yet.

- If pornography was banned, it would mean a drop in human trafficking (again, an opinion I think completely the opposite to)

Kind of redundant, as this was already stated in two previous points. I have already torn them apart, so I guess I'm done here.

Your friend is an idiot. If you haven't already told him yourself, you should read what people are saying here and tell him. Or just show him this topic. He sounds incredibly ignorant, especially for the "Kids might look at this stuff that's meant for adults, so we should just BAN it to solve the problem" mentality.

Modern courtship is basically legalized prostitution, if you think about it. One way or another, we're paying for it.

I think a better statement might be that prostitution is just a very simplified version of modern courtship, not the other way around. Obviously there's a give-and-take in any kind of relationship.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

I beg to differ! While porn is all well and good there is stuff out there that breaks so many laws that its not even funny and it should be brought down and the people evolved with the creation of such things should be publicly humiliated (I'm aware how that sounds)

The fact that there are videos of people being killed on the internet should be proof enough the internet needs to be better regulated in general...

First, there is NO need to waste even more money in creating agencies to regulate pornographic content.

Second, if that thing you watched was so illegal, then the existence of agencies would lead to your arrest because you watched them accidentally. That's how the world works, GET USED TO IT.

Third, child pornography is distributed trough "innocent" computers. Agencies tracking pornography would lead to the arrest of thousands of innocent people who will live the rest of their lives as a felon. Maybe even you have traces of it that you can't access or even read. But it's all that it takes to throw you in jail.

Fourth, privacy. We are all innocent until proven guilty.

Fifth, the government shouldn't regulate the internet - say goodbye to Wikileaks or white-hat hackers.

Sixth, the media shown the images of Saddam being hanged while I was eating my goddamned dinner. If anyone needs regulation is the media because they hardly have freedom of speech anymore with all the political agendas being pushed by the top dogs in the media.

I have no problem if you wish for a Orwellian government but that's not how I roll.

You misunderstand, my man, I don't mind porn (not a huge fan) but I think regulation wouldn't go amiss. I get where you are coming from with most your points but I think you can agree that something should be done about the VERY illegal content (which for the record I don't view).

I get privacy and I totally agree with you there and what I want is something very hard to achieve, I know)

Thirdly I only mean s**t that is already illegal should be tracked and stopped.

Y'dig?

 

[ElPatron]

Thirdly I only mean s**t that is already illegal should be tracked and stopped.

Y'dig?

But that is already being done. Most websites don't want illegal stuff hosted or they get in trouble. So most of what you see is perfectly legal.

Creating agencies/changing existing agencies to hunt down porn would not be productive (yeah, paying people to watch porn - yeah right, my taxes at work) and would only give the governments a reason to restrict the internet.

Also, I don't think that images of people dying are illegal. I don't care, I know that there is a high chance that my hard drive has illegal content and I am almost sure that at least half of the people reading this thread have enough evidence on their PC to be arrested.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

- Pornography completely objectifies women

Who choose to put themselves in that situation of their own free will

- It sets unrealistic standards for real sex

Why would you ban something because of that?

- Many sex slaves in the world are linked to pornography

Should have asked for his source. Not to mention that banning it would require a world wide ban in order to effect alleged illegal sex slave rings, which would just mean they'd fine different ways of exploiting the women.

- 98% of female performers in pornography are unhappy (Apparently from a real study according to him)

Your friend is full of shit. It's safe to assume that over half of the porn out on the internet is from amateur couples doing it because they get off on filming it.

And professional porn stars? I'd say a good 1/3 of them have a twitter account, and looking through some of their tweets lets you know they very much love their job. Are some women forced into it through a lack of any other means of making money? I'm sure there is, but what your friend says is completely untrue.

- Lack of pornography would mean a drop in sexual crimes (I think completely the opposite)

There's no way to possibly tell. I'd assume it would just make some people more sexually frustrated, but that's my unbacked opinion.

- Stops children getting their hands on porno by accident

Should we ban alcohol and tobacco for the sake of the children? It's the world we live in today. In most countries that aren't the US or UK, nudity is allowed into everyday TV, and kids become accustomed to it much quicker, and learn that it's not that big of a deal. the way we try to force kids nowadays to pretend to have never seen a boob till they're 18 is a little ridiculous.

- If pornography was banned, it would mean a drop in human trafficking (again, an opinion I think completely the opposite to)

And once again, you're probably right on that one. Just no. It just means that they wouldn't be filming it.

 

[burningdragoon]

Each of those points are either wrong (or at least needs a citation) or not even close to a good reason for banning something... or both. Plenty of list-based break downs already, so I'll just skip to the silliest.

It sets unrealistic standards for real sex
He's right. And Romantic Comedies set unrealistic standards for relationships. Action movies set unrealistic standards for how many bullets a person can take to the face. Comedies set unrealistic standards for how funny people should be. Anime sets unrealistic standards for how giant fucking robotsthat's robots that are fucking giant, not giant robots built for fucking should work. etc, etc.

- It sets unrealistic standards for real sex

So what? Batman movies set unrealistic standards for vigilante justice. Doesn't mean we should ban those too.

bahaha, this is probably my favorite response here.

 

[Powereaver]

nah it shouldnt be banned, id say even without pornography something else will pop up without it and tbh the 98% of women in the industry might be unhappy but a lot of the time in that case they sign themselves up to it due to desperation for money or funds.. i was suprised to hear it was a lot of uni students and such getting into the sex industry out of desperation for money. so yea i dont think it should be banned