> James - what did Maria think of the site?

She felt it was ok on its own except that some of the subjects look a bit
young but she felt the site would be used in ways that are damaging. She
doesn't like me to look at that sort of thing, and I generally don't. I have
to agree with her. Having thought about this a bit, I think there is another
dimension that has to be considered: The person viewing the pictures.

The bad part of pictures like this on the internet is that they will, as
with all art, evoke different pictures in different people. Not everyone
should be looking at them. In a normal, mature, male (ahem, such as myself)
they evoke feelings of wonder, appreciation, and a desire to care for and
protect women (ok, it makes me horny as well). In a 14 year old boy, they
probably evoke a totally different, and perhaps less positive set of
emotions. In a woman, they might evoke feelings of concern about her own
body, competitive or insecure feelings, or possibly the same feelings I
have.

I wish there was an effective way to control porn on the internet, but there
is not and never will be, IMHO. Assuming we accept that it is present, the
question is how do we manage it's effect on the broad range of people who
will see it?

Encouraging people to not look at it is probably a very good thing, but I
doubt it will be effective where it is most needed. I would encourage people
to consider the effect it has on them and avoid looking that things that
cause tension or excessive and unwanted excitement. But immature people, who
are likely to have a bad reaction to it, are also the least able to stop
themselves from doing so. 

Parents need to keep kids away from it. Monitor their children when they use
a computer. Never put a computer with internet access in a kids room where
they can close, or god forbid, lock the door. Password the family computer
and keep the internet connection locked out at night. Make sure your older
kids have a healthy appreciation of the sex they are attracted to and don't
let them get nuts about sex until they are ready to experience it with
someone they love. For my daughter that will be when she is 21, married, and
has finished college. <GRIN> Seriously, shielding kids from sex these days
is just about impossible, but it should be respected, not feared;
appreciated as a major life changing event, not devalued by constant
exposure.

Sex, fire, guns, cars, etc... and porn. Wonderful or terrible depending on
how you are able to manage them.

---
James.
 


-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist