My View on Pornography
The whole webcam phenomenon is disturbing
Today, in our society, a person is categorized by what they wear, what music they listen to and what social group they are a part of. we are largely influenced by Hollywood, TV shows and the internet. The internet is a large part of our life through MySpace, Facebook, and AIM. All these are what we spend a lot of time doing since it's how we socialize with friends. Movies have the common ratings of G, PG, PG-13, and R but it seems to me that these ratings really don't have much meaning anymore. I see movies rated PG with swearing and movies that are rated PG-13 with very sensual and mature sex scenes and movies that are rated R that step over the line into something closer to soft porn. You might as well rate them XXX. Sex is a huge thing in this decade. Sex sells, that's what I hear from people.
Porn is a MAJOR industry and you find it has crept into everything; books, magazines, the TV, the internet and most movies aimed at teens. You type in anything on Google and you will probably see at least one listing for a porn site. What if a child, no older than 11 is on the computer and sees one of these sites? You can count on the opportunity for them to see Porn. It is a destructive little problem that left unchecked and unexposed will destroy any dignity and respect that a person has earned throughout their life. Marriages are ruined because of it, young men are corrupted with the images and thoughts that all these porn sites have to offer and relationships are skewed because of the images they have seen of how they are supposed to look and how they are supposed to act. Porn is full of these perfectly fake women who sell their faces and bodies on camera. And the whole webcam phenomenon is disturbing. There is no way to take back what they send out over the internet and these girls will learn the hard way what it's like to ruin your reputation and sacrifice your future for a lapse in judgment.
What about all of the wonderfully real young women in the world? When a girl goes out on her first date, she shouldn't need to worry about whether the guy will think of her as a plaything. She should be able to expect that the guy will respect her. What about a wife who loves her husband and finds that she can't trust him because he has chosen to go to some strip club instead of a business meeting, or is spending money on a porn site or renting porn on television. What about a mother, who worries about her young children and what they might watch on the TV, or what they might see on the internet? It seems that boys and young men envision young women as pieces of flesh that they can see for 35.50 a month on the computer.
I think it's wrong that we have succumbed to such hypocrisy. I see politicians, celebrities, athletes, and spokesmen and women on the TV talking about better meals for kids and healthier diets. That's great but they over-look the importance of feeding the minds of our children with a healthy diet of age appropriate programming! Their minds are being tainted by sex and pornography and we comfort ourselves with the delusion that we are just supporting freedom of speech. Who will support the children's rights to wholesome images and healthy examples of adults? If we can't even protect children from the selfish and disgusting desires of people's twisted minds, how can we protect them from, rape, drugs, fighting, suicide, depression, and STDs? We, teenagers and children, are being encouraged to dress skanky, do drugs, have sex and not stay in school. All the shows on TV encourage this; all the porn cites on the internet encourage this. How can an adult tell us on TV to stay in school, not do drugs, not drink and drive, and then promote a show that preaches the opposite? Adults should know that they teach a little with what they say, more by what they do and most by who they are.
Adults, especially political figures must be an example to us, so that they can lead by example to others. If an adult is brought to a school to tell the kids to say no to drugs when they themselves had a DUI just last week, the kids will hear only their hypocrisy from the first moment that person speaks. The message will not be heard because they have already spoken by how they really live. When girls are told by Celebrities that have been in porn movies or have done nude pictures online about safe sex and about respect, we just laugh in their face. When guys are walking around with PlayBoy magazine or Maxim, how can we believe that they would ever respect us? How can we respect ourselves if we let ourselves be compared to these plastic imitations? Our society is creating an atmosphere and environment that leaves nothing to the imagination and puts everything at risk in the cultivating and nurturing of really healthy relationships. Just as it is important for young women to have respect for themselves and know that they are respected by the men in their lives, men need to pull back from the seducing force of porn and live in the real world pursuing a relationship with a real woman. I want to feel like I can trust men, that I can feel comfortable around them, that they see me as a whole person and not just body parts.
When I watch snippets of so many of the TV shows, I think all men are bastards because of how they treat women. They don't say what they mean, they lie, they cheat, they steal and they treat women as if they are disposable. I know that not all the shows are like this but many are. Why do you think the porn industry is so successful? It feeds off the weaknesses of men who can't help themselves. It's sad to me. I would much rather see images of men being courageous and wise and generous and strong on the shows today.
We are so concerned about feeding other countries, keeping kids healthy, curing Cancer, but we have overlooked and ignored something that has buried itself in our society, our schools, our marketing campaigns, our television programming, our music videos, our books and our movies. It is something that is eating its' way into the very foundation of our country and what America was built on. Because of Pornography, we are losing respect for ourselves and are eroding the respect other people have for us. We are human beings and we have faults and weaknesses, but we shouldn't easily dismiss this issue. It has brought the dark and destructive industry of sexual trade and trafficking into the mainstream but there have been no cries of outrage.
I have no respect for any woman who willingly sells her body like that; I don't care why she did it. I don't care if her intention was somehow honorable; she has demeaned every other woman by giving something away for money that was meant to be given in love. I see someone in a slutty outfit walking around the mall and I think, "Why does she have to dress like that? Is that all she has to wear or does she think that men will admire her and desire her because she looks like that? Could she be that shallow?". Than i think maybe thats not her intention. But, than her ignorance isn't her fault or is it? I've heard that one person voice can change the world. But there shouldn't be just one voice, we need to come together and fix the problems. No one is going to do it for us, no matter if we are teens or adults. We all live in the same world and we need to be accountable for our actions and how we allow other people to act. This is our world, your world.
