Choosing a tool

After reading Fisher and Barak's article I was interested but confused on how one could write a research article using sexual explicit material as a variable.  When I am conducting research for a paper or assigned to read a research paper one of the initial things I look at is what they are trying to prove or disprove and how they define their variables. 

This is what confuses me about the Fisher and Barak article because how can you universally define sexually explicit material.  I think an argument could be made that all definitions are relative and that my definition of "blue" may be different from another's definition.  However, I think that this is a much greater cause for concern regarding the social issue of Internet pornography. 

If I walked in my brother's room and saw a photo of a woman mostly naked in a lewd pose I would think he was just being a teenage guy.  However, if someone else walked in they might think it was pornography.  I believe that people have different tolerance levels and to create a universal tool that could measure the explicitness of sexual material. 

Also many of the studies that Fisher and Barak used in their article included participants who were making decisions knowing that others would know their choices.  I think that the fact "big brother" is watching would have an impact on how one would behave. 

I understand that these issues of reliability and validity are not new ones, but I don't think that Fisher and Barak addressed them enough in order to establish credibility for the Sexual Behavior Sequence.  Without have addressed these issues I don't think I can trust the results of the research without additional background information. 

I am blue, but maybe I could be purple

I recall that after President Bush first beat former Vice President Al Gore how divided our country was and how this was repeated in his past election with Senator Kerry.  When looking at an electoral map it appeared that we were a very divided nation specifically divided into red and blue regions.  It seemed more evident than ever that there was a definite schism present, and this schism still exists.  However, I remember reading an article after these elections stating that maybe we need to become “purple” in other words meet in the middle (i.e. red and blue make purple- I know I am stating the obvious).  I don’t like to define myself as a particular group, but I would definitely say I am blue, but I don’t know if I could become purple. 

My point (and I do have one) is that we live in a society where information and goods are spread immediately and frequently across state borders, but each state may perceive these goods and the information differently.  There are also may be different legislation regarding these goods, which can lead to a great deal of confusion.  In O’Toole’s chapter he mentions “community standards” and how a porn movie made legally in California and distribued to Mississippi could result in jail time. 

My problem with this is that I believe there should not be a difference between states, but of course I would want the legislation to be blue not red or at the very least a purple hue.  This may be impossible but the entire notion of “community standards” seems incredibly subjective, and I had previously thought of most laws as objective.  The regulations that the porn industry face seems hypocritical in comparison to those of Hollywood.  I agree with O’Toole completely that most rational people understand that movies like Die Hard are fiction, so why can’t those some parameters be applied to pornography?  Questions like these I am not sure will ever be answered until pornography is brought into the forefront of public debate.   

When I retire…

After viewing Lecture 14 I can see how making a living would pose some problems for many women after being in the porn industry.  However I don’t really think the porn industry is unique because women in all industries face these issues. 

How about the woman who has modeled but never had a 401K? How about the aspiring actress? How about the waitress who can no longer stay on her feet all day? How about the woman who has made minimum wage all her life? How about the woman whose husband just left her penniless?

Porn stars are not the only women who face these circumstances, so the issue is not specifically female porn stars but the gender as a whole.  I am not trying to belittle the problems faced by former pornography actresses, but I think in order to see any resolution to this problem it need to be broadened.  Many women in today’s society are not properly educated on how to support themselves, and end up living in poverty (which may explain why some go into porn and prostitution). 

It is unfortunate that many former porn actors will not have the chance to enter certain fields (education, politics, child care, etc.) even if they are properly trained and educated. One blog I read said that since the porn actors made the choice to enter the industry they should deal with the consequences.  I can see the logic behind this, but I know that I would not want to be held accountable for the rest of my life for some decisions I made when I was a few years younger. 

How am I doing?

I am going to do my best to be objective here, and not just say that I think I am perfect at blogging and I am the most creative writer. 

I think that what is best about my blogging is my passion and that I have definite opinions, which allow me to form a clear thesis for my entries.  However this may also be my downfall because I get hung up on certain ideas and cannot let them go, so they end up in multiple blogs.  I think I have been blogging on a regular basis, and I like to incorporate news articles for other students. 

In order to improve my blogging I think I need to just sit down and write the entry I had outlined originally.  In the past I have outlined an entry and then before completing I start reading other entries, and one of them usually end up making me a bit heated.  The result is I lose my focus and start writing about their point (or lack there of), so in the future I will try to stick to my own point first and if need be I can write a separate comment afterward. 

Film vs. street

Today’s society is a fast paced one, in which many people do not have time to slow down and smell the proverbial roses.  What this results in is a society that wants things clear-cut and spelled out clearly for them, which is why the average newspaper is written at an eighth grade reading level.  The problem with this is that not everything is always clear cut and explained easily such as the difference as long with the similarities between the prostitution industry and the pornography industry. 

The easy way out would be to say that prostitution is illegal throughout most of the United States, and pornography is legal in most areas of the country.  However, I think this only scratches the surface of a much deeper issue.  To be honest I have never completely understood why prostitution was illegal I know that it is considered immoral, but I believe it is an individual choice much like participating in pornography is. 

To me it comes down to who wields the power and the way society views those involved.  Most phenomena are socially defined, so it is not necessarily important what the dictionary says, but more so what people think about it.  From my study thus far of both industries it seems that in the porn industry participants are considered “actors” whereas in prostitution participants are considered “whores”.  Essentially all parties are engaging in similar activities, but it seems that the social definitions are much different. 

The issue of who holds the power also becomes significant for in the porn industry it is the female actor, but in the prostitution industry it is either the pimp or the “john” who calls the shots.  Is porn then a step toward complete women’s liberation?  I am not sure I would go that far, but I do give credit to women for taking the power back.

Porn vs. prostitution: it seems in the end it is a choice of semantics and power that ultimately differentiates the two. 

Have you been tested?

After viewing Lecture 13 I do think that the regulations regarding mandatory testing for sexually transmitted diseases and infections is needed and should be seen as a model for anyone entering a sexual relationship regardless of whether or not it is for profit.  Testing is obviously only one part of ensuring that you stay STD free the other part being practicing safe sex.  I am not sure when condom-phobia started, but obviously it is still continuing in the porn industry and in mainstream society.  I am sure most women have heard all the excuses of why guys don’t want to wear one during sex, and either these women have decided the guys or the condoms were not worth it.  It’s not that I understand a guy’s point of view regarding condoms (because I don’t), but what I am completely baffled over is how watching pornography in which condoms are involved is also objectionable. 

I understand that the profits of the porn industry declined after actors started wearing condoms, but I think that the porn industry could help set an example for others by donning a condom.  Without condoms testing can only go so far as seen in 2004 when several actors tested positive for HIV.

Are you addicted yet?

I am sure that by this point in the semester many of us have experienced a multitude of reactions to this class.  Many people who don’t know me that well assume that I must love porn and can’t get enough of it, but the truth is although I am interested in the social aspects of porn the visual part does not really do it for me.  This does not mean that I think it’s wrong or immoral, but I have just decided that it is not for me.  After taking this class for the past several weeks I have begun wondering what others outside of this academic setting think of pornography being studied. 

I was kind of randomly searching the Internet when I found this article, which sparked my interest.  The article basically compares a class such as ours with a class, in which students do cocaine.  The end result being a group of addicted college students.  I think it is almost humorous how absurd this comparison is, and at the same time completely naive.  It is naive in the fact that anyone could believe that the majority of students at the university level have not been exposed to countless pornographic images.  I think that I have probably viewed less porn content then my peers, but I can also say that I have seen a good deal.  My point is that most students taking classes similar to this one have most likely been exposed to pornography by this point in their lives, and if they are going to become addicts they probably already were before enrolling in the class.

Now if I took a class on using cocaine I very well may become an addict since I have never been exposed to cocaine.  So I guess this is the only part, in which I would agree with the anti-pornography curriculum author.   

you have been “R. Kelly’d”

This article was way too bizarre to not share with the class.  I cannot believe the courts would let someone like Tamiko Carter get away with the harassment of an 11 year-old girl because they cannot determine the meaning behind the slang use of R. Kelly’s name.  I understand that if Carter was to be punished it could mark the beginning of a downward spiral, in which people’s words could be legitametly misinterpreted.  However, I don’t think that in this specific cases there are many other ways to interpret “fixing to do an R. Kelly.”  I have a hard time believing that Carter was referring to becoming a multiplatinum selling artist, so why are people like this allowed to walk free and potentially hurt children?

Privacy and the law

I was reading the Buffalo News online yesteryday (February 27th)  and I came across this tidbit of information.  The Bush administration has been succesfully denied Google Inc.’s attempt to deny the government access to their users search histories.  Google believes that this is a violation of privacy, but the Bush administration says no names would be traceable to the search histories that will be investigated.  This is being conducted in hopes of determining how effective Internet filters are in keeping pornography and other adult content away from children. 

It is hard to argue with the idea of protecting children from so-called “adult content”, but I guess I am more than just a bit suspicious of the government especially during this current administration.  I just do not believe that people’s identity will be kept a secret, but I guess only time will tell. 

Military rewrite

When reading through the posts to find one to rewrite I decided on this one because I recognize that the author and I have similar opinions, but very different approaches to expressing them.  I thought this would be a challenge for me to reorganize the other student’s writing in a manner I found to be logical and compelling.   

It should not be too shocking that the military has many undercover, covert operations going on, but it is shocking that many of these secret operations are no in search of communist rebels but women to participate in sexual acts with soldiers.  

These contractors have been around for years, but for the first time these contractors are being prosecuted for their crimes.  For years, these contractors were implicated in the trafficking of women and other sex crimes and nothing was done, but this is beginning to change. Now these contactors are being prosecuted not only for the soliciting of these women, but for another crime that the US believes these contractors played a large role in.   

They have been associated with the US found videos where the Iraqi prisoners were beaten, sexually assaulted and forced to perform simulated sexual acts, among other perverse things.  Many of those who were the “beaters” were these private contractors that were hired as interregators of Iraqi prisoners.  One of the most unethical and horrendous parts about this is that the military has established structures to investigate, prosecute and punish the soldiers that had commited these crimes, but the legal status of contractors in war zones allows for them to escape punishment.

 Soldiers are accountable to the military code of justice wherever they are, but contractors are civilians — not formally part of the military and not part of the chain of command, which means they cannot be court-martialed.  In different circumstances these contractors would be held responsible for their actions, but they are under another country’s jurisdiction and some of the contractors are not US citizens.  

Even today, these contractors still have not been prosecuted.  Disgusting as it is these contractors are getting away with raping and terrorizing the prisioners.  The lesson to be learned from these horrifying events is that no person should be above the law of human decency and the United States is not just out their “protecting” other parts of the world.