young girls becoming women to early?
I understand that it is hard to believe that some girls are waxing their lip or eyebrows and shaving their legs at the age of 10 but this does not mean they do not still have a strong set of values behind them. Way too much blogged about how she is trying to raise her 10 year old daughter to have good traditional values but was surprised to hear that one of her daughter’s classmates is already shaving her legs and waxing her lip. To me this does not seem superficial; I feel that it depends on the type of household you grow up in. If you do not put much emphasis on these activities and just look at them as normal hygiene habits that women do young girls are not going to feel like they are so special because they are finally shaving their legs. I was in 5th grade the first time that I got my eyebrows waxed, and the reason was that they were taking over my face! It was very uncomfortable for me and when I did get them waxed you could hardly notice but to me it was such a huge deal for my self confidence.
I do totally agree that it is hard to see young girls acting so much older and getting so wrapped up in these grooming habits but I think society has already put these ideas in their heads and they want to do it. I truly think that it is ok for 11 year olds to shave their legs and get their eyebrows groomed as long as that is not the highlight of their day. We need to allow our children to do what makes them happy pertaining to their bodies (i.e. shaving and grooming eyebrows) but make it a point to not emphasize their wants to do so. My mom never made it a big deal when I asked to shave my legs she just explained to me that once I make the decision I have to keep it and do it all the time. So I choose to wait a little while until it was really bothering me and then I shaved my legs. I think it was easy for me because there was no big deal made out of the idea.
I just really think that children look up to the women in their lives and want to do what they do. I grew up in a household with a gorgeous mother who always looked perfect to me, she never spoke of how she needed to shave or wax her eyebrows so it was no big deal to me it was just something that women did. I think that you can teach your child to have a good set of values for their life but also teach them a good set of values when it comes to their bodies. It is important to educate young girls about womanly grooming habits but to not emphasis what a big deal these are, teach them individuality and if they want to shave their legs let them, they are the ones who have to deal with the repercussions of shaving daily after they start.
the class comes to an end!
So it’s the end of the semester and classes are finally coming to an end, which means graduation for me! I first signed up for this class because I thought that it was going to be an easy class that I could fit into my schedule whenever I wanted to actually do work for it. But to my surprise I ended up doing more work for this class than I did for many of the other ones that I took this semester and throughout my college career. I did like that I had the chance to blog and watch the lectures whenever I wanted to during the week so that was very helpful to me with my busy schedule.
This class has totally changed my outlook on a number of things having to do with pornography. I have always been very open and comfortable with nudity, sex and pornography but now I feel even more comfortable and ready to talk about it. A lot of people don’t know what goes into pornography or how much it has helped our society to advance technologically. This class also taught me a lot of the laws and standards pertaining to the porn industry; it was nice to be able to read other classmate’s blogs to see what they had to say about certain topics we discussed in lectures. I like that it was encouraged for us to look at other students blogs and write our opinions based on what they said, I like the encouragement to object or agree with others.
I also like all of the videos that we had to watch about the porn industry. The best video I watched was the front line special on sex slavery. This really opened my eyes to see what is going on in other countries. It was appalling to see women being kidnapped and forced to sell their bodies for money, how a countries government lets this happen is crazy, this just shows us how underdeveloped some countries government are compared to the system we have here in the US.
Overall I really enjoyed taking this class and learned a lot of things I am able to share with others to educate them on things pertaining to pornography. The best surprise of the class was when it was announced that the final was optional…. I could not have been happier! This class was very interesting and educational, encouraging us students to voice our opinions about every issue we talked about.
internet laws
.xxx I do not think that this would be an effective way to keep children from accidentally wondering on the pornographic sites. This is a good idea in theory but how efficiently could this truly work at secluding pornographic sites on the internet. I think that children will know that porn sites have .xxx attached to their website and it will just make them more curious to know what is on them and why they are so bad and are not allowed to look at them.
However, I do agree that something needs to be done to protect our children from the things that they can be exposed to on the internet. I find it so interesting what a big deal is being made out of this nowadays and that the government actually has to step in and create labeling laws for internet websites, when just a few years ago when we were children nothing like this would have ever been brought to mind. So in a way it is scary how far the internet has come and how things have changed in the few short years since I was a child, and makes you wonder what laws we will be creating in another 10 years.
But lets be honest are the labeling laws that Bush is putting into effect really going to make that much difference for what our children are exposed to. They are going to be warned that the website they are about to view has sexual content, but what about when children get to that curious stage and want to know what sex is and what other people’s body parts look like. Are the labeling laws going to stop them from taking a look at the website they were just readily told had sexually explicit materials?
I think that it is a good thing that the government is finally acknowledging that the internet is a problem when it comes to porn and sexually explicit materials being exposed to children, but how are they going to stop it. I think these new laws are a step in the right direction but a lot more needs to be done to help protect our children from over exposure on the internet.
a look at Rabbit’s porn blog
So I was reading Rabbit’s porn blog and on it I found a story that I found to be absolutely hilarious. A 76 year old man in
Florida was arrested on Thursday, April 20th for going door to door pretending to be a doctor offering free breast examinations. The worst part is that two women let him in their house and allowed him to fondle their breast no problem. These were two women you would think were of older ages, as he was over seventy himself, but no they were both in their thirties. The third women that the “boobie doctor” tried to examine realized something was wrong when he instructed her to take off all of her clothes and then began to touch her without any type of gloves on. The women claimed that the man did carry a black bag and looked to be trustworthy because of his gray hair and glasses! OK?
I found this assignment to be very interesting because on this blog site that I looked at a lot of the things that were posted about were news and research findings having to do with sex. This blog offered a variety of category topics to search through when looking to find something to read. Rabbit’s porn blog offered a good variety of topics to read about making the blog interesting and fun to look at.
When I started my search for a porn blog to look at and read I used Google to search. I was surprised at how many blogs came up and how many of them had no type of warning that there were pornographic images posted on these sites. I feel that this is just an example of how easy it is for children to be exposed to sexual images when using the computer. There are some filters and limitations that these blog sites can put on so that children can not see them but if a child merely typed in Rabbit blog, Rabbits porn blog is the 7th one listed on the front page. And when you click on it you are automatically exposed to pornographic images without any warning.
I understand that blogs are a persons own space and their opportunity to express what they want to say and post whatever pictures they want to post, I think it is a great thing. But my only concerns are when children are so easily exposed to these things without intentionally looking to see them. I think that this is just one example of how inadequate the filters on the internet are.
Questions
Question for Mr. Lucas
1. How did your family react to you going into the pornographic industry? And are they proud of your entertainment company and the great successes you have created for yourself?
2. What made you want to make a career in the porn industry? And when you when you did your first nude scene/pictures were you shocked that you did it or proud of it?
3. Why do you think men in gay films get paid so much more than men performing in straight films?
sexual role playing
I agree with this blog that it should not be illegal for adults in pornographic films to dress up like children, as stated in lecture 30. There are many films in which adults performing in videos dress up to be other characters. They play police officers, fireman, school teachers, and many other things. If it is not illegal to imitate a direct public official such as a police officer then why is it illegal to dress in up in general to look like a child? This is not harming any children by using the idea of dressing like a child so I do not see why it is so important to have this act be illegal. I understand that a lot of adults are worried that if people watch these pornographic films they will get the ideas of child pornography, I do not think that this is true. I don’t think this will cause someone to go out and want to see pictures of actual children because you know the person on television is ACTING its role playing for sexual excitement.
Too many people do not know how to draw the line between what is made up and what is real. Just because something excites a person while watching a film does not mean that they are going to want to go look at pictures of real children, when it was an adult they were watching in the video. I understand that we need to protect children especially in today’s world but I think sexual role playing is as children is not what needs to be made illegal, there are many other things that could be done away with that are truly harming to children.
parents can’t do it alone!
The congressional hearing pointed out a fact that most people don’t take into consideration when they are talking about regulating children’s exposure to television and the internet: the parents can’t do it alone! The government has tried to help by creating a television rating system to help parents to know what shows are appropriate for their children to watch and what ones are not appropriate. They have also created a safe hour so that television that is not suitable for children to see is able to air with hopes that children will not see it. But what is done for the internet how is it possible to regulate exactly what your children see on the internet. I remember a few years ago my best friends 10 year old sister wanted to look at the website for Dicks sporting goods for some new rollerblades or something and just typed in Dicks in Google, clicked on the first link and saw something’s that she was not expecting at all! So if things like this happen all the time parents nor the government have the ability to protect children from being exposed to things they don’t want them to see.
I think more innovations in regulating television and the internet need to be created to help parents protect their children. There has always been a lot of talk about how children are so influenced by what they see on television and how they should not be allowed to watch certain programs. So why has nothing been created to block these shows from being even allowed for children to flip through when they have the TV on. As far as the internet I do not have a clue as to how it could be regulated, there is so much stuff on there that t would be hard to filter but I am sure that there is a way.
A lot of parents are so busy with work and taking care of their families that they allow their children to sit in front of the television or the computer for hours, they use these electronics as a form of babysitter. Also many parents do not know how to use all of the technologies that computers offer so they do not know how to check where their children go on the internet making it very easy for children to go to any website they want to.
There definitely needs to be some sort of innovation created to protect children from exposure to some of the things on television and the internet that is not appropriate for them to see. But what will it be is the question!
interpretations of indecency
I believe that just like obscenity there are many definitions and interpretations of indecency. As we saw in our lecture mediums this week the interpretation of what is or is not decent goes along with the time, place and manor of the action being questioned. In our lecture the topic of zoning laws came up and the fact that they can not keep particular businesses from developing in areas that seem inappropriate. This blog talks about how it is not right to allow a porn shop to open next to a school because of the dangers to children. Is this implying that people who shop in porn stores are dangerous?
I do understand that it would be inappropriate to have pornographic images on display while children are attending school but if it is simply a building that on the inside displays sex and nudity without allowing children to enter, I don’t see the huge problem with it. Children are usually only outside of school for a few minutes before and after school when they are being dropped off or waiting to be picked up. During this time that students are outside they are under the supervision of school officials, so it’s not like they are going to just wonder into a porn shop and be traumatized. But wouldn’t it be far worse to have a bar next to a school where there can be the hazards of drunk driving, loud people and angry drunks in general. Bars may not be open the entire time that students are in school but depending on the state some of them are open all hours of the day.
I do agree that state zoning laws should be created to protect everyone, but by this I think that there should be separate residential and business districts, not that they should protect people from having a store they don’t agree with near their home. I think that the effects of having a porn shop next to a school or a home will result in the same situations; it does not endanger people near it but may be uncomfortable for people that don’t agree with this type of store. This goes along with the uncertainty of the definition of indecency. The location of this store may seem ok to some and yet indecent and not appropriate to others. The problem with creating definitions for terms like indecency and obscenity is the variety of feelings and beliefs of the American public. So I believe that until everyone in
America believe and feel the same way there will be unclear definitions of these controversial words.
sex education taken a little too far!
So on Friday I was watching Dr. Phil….. and what an interesting guest he had. He was talking with a woman, Margaret, who was in a poly-amorous relationship with a married couple Jen and Travis. They all live in the same home along with 4 of Margaret’s children, ages 3-14. Margaret is also 5 months pregnant with Travis’s baby.
On the show Margaret talks about how nothing is too taboo about sex to be talked about in their home with all of the children, no matter what age. She keeps a box of sex toys next to the side of her bed and allows all of her children to look at and investigate; the “couple/threesome” also has a sex swing at the end of the bed that they allow their children to see and explained to them that it is used to create variety in a person’s sex life. She also claims that they walk around the house nude because they see nothing wrong with a little bit of skin. This mother also went to the point of disciplining her 12 year old daughter, who had made fun of a girl’s body at school, by making her walk around the house for 2 hours completely naked. She claimed that it was an educational lesson to show her that people do not really care about your body and that all people are different.
Margaret also has a website in which she talks about sex and her sexual relationship. She also posts nude pictures of her and Jen, of her and Travis, and of the 3 of them. Her children are allowed to view this site and its sexually explicit content. Margaret simply explained to Dr. Phil that it was fun for her, that she likes to show skin and posting the pictures is exciting.
I think that this mother took being open about sexuality a little bit too far. She claims that she did this because when she was being brought up she was 16 and did not even know what a virgin was, so she wanted to make sure her children were educated when it comes to sex. But how is this really benefiting her children is my question? She has a 14 and a 12 year old and she thinks that it is ok for a grown man that is not their father to walk around naked and have them walk around naked in this mixed company. I definitely agree with her idea of educating her children and telling them to be open about their sex lives but she has gone way crossed the line. She also went as far as telling her 14 year old who was stressed out about school to go masturbate because it would calm her down, and when one of her friends called she said she could not get the phone because of the fact that she was masturbating.
So the thing that bothered me the most is where is the protection for the children in this situation. They have no choice but to live in a house where your mother and her boyfriend and girlfriend walk around naked, talk about their sex life, and have loud unruly sex while you are in the house. So in a lot of the lectures this week obscenity was a big issue but isn’t it wrong that these children are being forced to live in a house that exploits their privacy on a daily basis?
what is obscene?
Obscenity was talked about a lot in our lectures this week by Dr. Halavais. This topic is very controversial to many people within
America because of the differences between people and differences in people’s beliefs and thoughts that a “true” definition of obscenity has not been able to be federally defined. A variety of examples of the ambiguity pertaining to obscenity were also seen in the Miller text. So with the definition of obscenity being so open to interpretation, how can someone be convicted of obscenity? There are different understandings of what it is depending on what judge is hearing the trial, so how is it ok for someone to be charged with obscenity from one judge but someone else not be charged because a different judge does not see it as obscenity? Also how is it decided what cases are brought to court? I do not think that it is ok for some obscenity cases to just be ruled as to expensive to bring to court so they are there for dropped.
If there is such a big problem and issue with obscenity then I feel that the government needs to make rulings that will be carried out in all cases having to do with obscenity. I understand that there is such a wide range of things that can be seen as obscene but if the courts have the ability to charge people with this crime then I think that they should have to have a definition of what it is. I also feel that if the government came up with standards as to what is and is not obscene than it would deter the laws being created in states. If our main governmental system created laws to follow then there would be less of a difference on the laws relating to obscenity as you travel from state to state. In our country it is understandable that pornography is viewed differently in a variety of states because we have a large range of conservative and liberal states. But I do not feel that states should have the ability to limit things in their state because their state government is more conservative than others, there needs to be consistency throughout the
US. We have consistency in all of the other things that the government views as important so why is it that an issue that deals with sex, sexuality or pornography the government can’t come up with an agreed definition?
