PORN: Overall, a good or a bad thing?

[Gringo]

Strictly mainstream, human-on-human, consensual, over-18 porn.









It doesn't bug me that much, but I hate seeing tose "girls gone wild" commercials on broadcast TV. Also hate ponographic spam.

[blackcat77]

1. Even with those qualifications...

...the porn industry generally abuses the people involved in the making of their stuff. Additionally, the money from porn goes to criminals who use it to help fund a lot of very bad stuff.

[ChoralScholar]

35. Are we talking about Wal-Mart or the Porn Industry

I forgot.

[KissMyAsscroft]

2. overall a bad thing, but thats life...

...

[ringmastery]

3. I think it is a very good thing

We are sexual creatures and I think it is a lot more productive for lonely members of our society to release their sexual frustrations alone in their home while looking at porn rather than raping women or going to prostitutes and spreading STD's.

[girl gone mad]

4. Bad thing..

for human rights reasons.

I've heard it said that cockroaches on movie sets are treated with more dignity and concern than actors on porn sets.

[rumguy]

5. It all depends

I see it as both good and bad, depending on how it was made and by whom...

[Fenris]

6. Whoa! That lacks about a thousand qualifiers!

What do you consider mainstream?

[lucidmadman]

7. Porn overalls?

Could make gardening fun...

[TheMightyFavog]

8. porn overalls?

is that anything like a porn bomb?

[regnaD kciN]

9. All those who think porn's a good thing...

...please raise your hands -- if you can spare them, that is!

:evilgrin:

[Mass_Liberal]

21. It's a gift from god

:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[Edge]

10. PORN IS NEVER A BAD THING!

I download a video or two every other day. :) :evilgrin:

[JVS]

30. Unless it is snuff or kiddie porn. That is no good.

:-(

[Nikia]

11. Good and bad

It is good for entertainment and educational purposes. I am serious about the educational part too.
It is bad because it gives some people inaccurate perceptions about sex and relationships. I especially troubled by videos that include violence, especially when it isn't an obvious S&M type scene. I don't think that most porn viewers go onto be rapists or even complete jerks because of porn though.
It is also bad because it is rather demeaning towards the performers, both male and female. I suppose though that some people are inclined to think of themselves as sex objects whether or not they are employed in the sex industry though.

[Bertha Venation]

12. other: no opinion. eom

[Fleshdancer]

13. well if the actors/actresses could unionize and have healthcare...

then I wouldn't have a problem with it. The prostitutes in Nevada get better care than the porn actors...hell, even the people working in the factory to distribute the porn videos get healthcare.

[CanuckAmok]

15. They are organizing, and they created AIM...

http://aim-med.org

Incidentally, this not-for-profit organization accepts donations (which are tax-deductable), so if you really care for the health of sex workers, think of AIM next time you're feeling spendy.

[Barad Simith]

14. I love porn, I love to EAT it (nt)

[Blue-Jay]

16. What is this..."porn"...of which you speak?

Never heard of it.

Oh, shaddap, Buddy Christ.

[durutti]

17. Bad for feminist reasons.

Though I am an occasional porn consumer (and hypocrite).

I also think most forms of gambling should be outlawed, but buy lottery tickets regularly.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

18. I have mixed feelings....

I feel that pornography (I'm talking legal, adult porn) will only be as harmful as we allow it to be.

My ex-girlfriend is a staunch feminist and would argue that pornography is denigrating to the models or objects of the pornography. She felt, that porn cheapened and objectified women in society. And for the most part I agree.

However, I have heard some defend porn in that it gives a safe release for those who are unable or unwilling to initiate sexual contact. Does this hold up? Are there some folks out there who feel that their ability to masturbate at a video may prevent them from going out and committing a violent-sexual crime? Maybe, its a big world.

However my question is, what does it say about those consenting men and women who pose for pornography? If they are of legal age and have full knowledge of what they are doing, is that discrimination? Sure, it reinforces the objectification, but doesn't mainstream media do that as well. Look at the Super Bowl debacle, and at the Britney Spears stink. Just cause one has penetration, and the other doesn't, doesn't mean they're not both selling the same thing.

I feel the real danger of porn is desensitization. If some one gets used to spanking it to a hot porn star, what's their motivation to go out and try to meet, and maybe hook-up with a real person. We already have enough shut-ins in this world, and I don't think porn is helping the sitch.

[smirkymonkey]

28. Good post!

Those are pretty much my issues with it as well. :hi:

[geniph]

19. I regard porn itself as value-neutral

Are some of the people producing it scumbags? Sure. And there's some like the founder of Adam and Eve adult products who've been doing things like supporting family planning in the third world to the tune of MILLIONS of dollars over the years.

Is some porn degrading to women? Sure. Are there images in mainstream media that are also degrading to women? You bet your ass there are.

Do some porn aficianados develop unhealthy obsessions with it? Yup. Do some people who are utterly sexually repressed and wouldn't look at a boobie if they were feeding from it have similar unhealthy obsessions? Uh-huh.

What I wish is that porn had better production values. I do find extreme gynecological close-ups showing no other part of a person to be somewhat disturbing. And the movies they're making these days SUCK! There's this little thing called a PLOT...

[supernova]

20. Good and bad

Like a lot of other subjects porn has a good and a bad side to it.

Good
It's fine to watch and get revved up w/ your SO, or just get revved up if you're alone.
As someone else said, it's educational; we can always learn new skills. :evilgrin:

Bad
Most "actors/actresses" are badly treated in the making of these films. For every performer who goes one to have their own film company there are 1000s of others who get kicked to the curb... and worse. :-(
The drug abuse.
The opportunity to pass along STDs to hundreds of others without ever knowing it.
The fact that a heck of a lot of the Fortune 500 make mucho dinero off porn and these drawbacks.

So, I'm not opposed to the viewing of porn per se; but the state of the industry is just dispicable.

[Exultant Democracy]

22. Too broad of a question

It's like asking is tv is bad or good.

[populistmom]

23. Good, but...

I have issues with worker's rights and the people who act in the films. The are not given health insurance, workman's comp, or any other benefits because the are classified as independent contractors. They need a dang union, but unfortunately it seems young women for the most part are not the best organizers, and it's a male dominated business.

[JohnKleeb]

24. heh indeed pop mom

Well I have no problems with porn personally heh, and I think you make a good point, they do need a union and etc. Being very pro union and pro porn :evilgrin: I agree with this. Now to find a leader for their union, I'd do it :evilgrin:. Hey fun fun heh. Oh and its definely a good thing. Besides we all have personal porn, like what our fantasies and shit are, so why not put that in a magazine or movie. Yep got me know problems with porn.

[populistmom]

29. Maybe that would be a good field for you, John.

When you get to college, you can major in sex worker labor relations or something. You use all that pent up adolescent energy and brainy mind to liberate all those hot chicks I suppose.

[CanuckAmok]

34. It's not just that they're bad organizers...

...but also because most porn performers, particularly women, don't expect to be in the business very long.

Why would someone risk being in a high-profiloe organization formed solely to wrestle some of the profit from the producers, when she doesn't expect to be around very long, and doesn't want to 'blacklist' herself during her short career. Basically, it's 'get in, make as much as possible in "X" time, and get out'. Many of the big name female performers are simply headline dancers, and want a box or two to be able to promote themselves as 'pornstars' when out on the dancing circuit. They can charge a larger fee from the club owners if they have a recognizeable video out. Plus, in some places, they can even sell the video where they're dancing, for even more profit.

Even the most visible performers, with a few noteable (and mostly male) exceptions, are only 'in' the biz for a couple of years at most. Very few people believe they're going to be around long enough to benefit from any union protection.

I recently read somewhere that only 1 in 200 people who perform in adult films return to do a second film. That gives you an idea of the vast size of the business, and the level of attrition therein.


How am I so intimately knowledgeable of the goings-on on the seamier side of the naughty industry? Don't ask...

[JohnKleeb]

25. What do you think?

:evilgrin:

[mark0rama]

26. I'm for it

I see nothing wrong with watching beautiful bodies doing what they were made to do.

The real question is, why is so much porn so badly made?

[Dr Fate]

27. Bad, except for the lesbian stuff...n/t

,,,

[DU GrovelBot]

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[populistmom]

32. Does Grovelbot like porn?

(Oh help me. I'm having sexual thoughts about Grovelbot.)


.....must resist.......... Grovelbot's sexiness

[JVS]

33. A professor once described porn as the most serious form of literature

People may take poems lightly or fake an interest in novels, but with porn people always care enough to make a judgement as to whether the porn they are watching is good or bad. Porn consumers are harsh judges of product.

[corporatewhore]

36. canidate on canidate porn is the best

[JVS]

37. What ticket are you looking for?

;-)