Arrest The Child Abusers

Adults’ acting as children has been seen as a legal form of ‘child pornography.’ I don’t understand arousal from children, or adults acting as children, but some people do have this fetish. I feel that if this is a way of keeping children safe then it should be considered acceptable. Adults who have healthy sexual appetites should be allowed to cater to those who want to see “childish” acts.

I do not think that children should be exploited in any way. After all child porn is rape! Just as the law says that someone under the age of 17 (in New York State) cannot give consent to sexual activities. This makes children victims and that is not acceptable to be portrayed in pornographic pictures. Action should be taken against the people producing or providing the child porn, and to the people who are accessing this material.

People who are viewing this kind of material should be easier to find. Every computer has an IP address and this would be a way that should be used to track down people who are watching child pornography. The police should stop people who are providing child pornography to others; this would be harder to track because they are not just going to give themselves up. They should be tracked to location using IP addresses and arrested for this illegal activity.

Tracking Identity

Protecting children by trying to differentiate websites ideally is a good idea. However, as mentioned in lecture a lot of different pages that are not suitable for children will not consider themselves to be pornographic. I understand how Playboy would not want to put .XXX at the end of their website. They do not show pornography, but as my boyfriend would say “naked women is art.” Keeping children away from pornographic sites cannot be solely up to the websites that provide these images.

Parents can implement child blocks online. Although they do not block all cleverly named website they will eliminate a majority of the images they want to keep away from their children. Parents should also be monitoring the activities of their young online. This is not only to protect them from seeing pornography, but also to prevent them from becoming victims themselves. Adults prey on children all the time and the Internet is the easiest way to get at young children.

Websites have to have a responsibility to check who is visiting their sites. This is hard, but a way needs to be found to keep their sites only seen to adults. Many sites have warnings of how it is illegal to view their site if you are under a certain age. This warning “protects” them from having liability, but I argue this is not enough action to keep children away from sexual content.

I propose that something more tangible and traceable to check date of births should be implemented. Having to enter a driver’s license number would be something that could be tangible. I understand this violates the rights of the individual being exposed, but by providing a credit card number you are exposing identity. Either way there is no clear cut way to stay anonymous while viewing these sites.

Obscene with no Witness?

What is obscenity?  I agree that there is a fine line to what is and what isn’t considered to be obscene.  When I ask myself that question I look at a couple factors.  One factor I take into consideration is whether it affects a large group of people or just one person.  I do not agree with some behaviors that are done by just one person, but I pose the question is it obscene if no one else witnesses it?

 

What I mean by that question is if it isn’t affecting anyone and they are doing something that is not necessarily appropriate, would it be obscene.  People do things that are inappropriate all the time, but I argue that it’s in where the event takes place.  People may stand and admire themselves nude in the mirror, but they are doing it in the privacy of their own home where others cannot see it.  Another case would be cleaning the house in the nude, but leaving the curtains wide open where several people can see it.  I tend to say the second scenario is much more obscene then the first.  The difference is that people can witness it and find it to be obscene.

 

Another factor in which I judge obscenity is whether others have been found of the same thing.  Each case is taken one at a time, but some cases are so similar with different outcomes.  An example of this was the book mentioned in lecture that was not considered obscene when it was a hardcover, but found to be obscene when it was printed with a soft cover.  I understand that they judged it by age, education, and wealth at this time, but the format of a book doesn’t change the content in a book.

Snow Penis Obscenity

Pee Wee Herman may have been looking at child pornography, but should that really result in an obscenity charge?  I understand and agree that having child porn is not acceptable I just don’t find the justification in this charge.  I guess I feel that obscenity should be something that is exposed in public, or in front of others.  If they wanted to charge him they should have looked for evidence of molestation.  Another point is that I feel from his direct actions (that they had evidence of) were not harmful or exposed to anyone beside himself.

 

Another case I found via the Internet actually made me laugh.  Two men were being charged with obscenity because they built a snow sculpture of a penis.  This is something that was public, and I agree is unacceptable to expose to anyone who is passing by.  This is exposing children to images that are unacceptable.  I feel this is justifiably charged because it was done publicly. 

My other point for this though is that people may not understand the outcome of some actions.  I feel as though they should have had a warning and they would have had to destruct the sculpture.  If they again made the same actions or did something of equivalent indecency they would be justified in a charge at that point. 

It Does Enhance

Porn enhances relationships?  Relationships have good and bad parts to it.  People in relationships can have good conversation, things in common, and lasting love.  However, they could also be having trouble coming to agreements in the bedroom.  Some people are shy and unsure of having sex even when in a serious relationship.  I believe that porn could help open the communication channels and lead them into being more explorative.

 

Porn can bring new ideas and spice up a sexual relationship.  When people watch porn they can be turned on and enjoy those same activities themselves.  Watching the porn with your partner may be the best way to communicate this excitement.  If they are not interested in the activity you can judge by their response to watching it.  I feel this is a good way especially in the beginning stages of a sexual relationship to become aware of your partners likes and dislikes.

 

Watching porn together can really bring two people into agreement and into experiencing new things together.  New experiences within a relationship do enhance and expand the relationship.  Porn is unlikely to pull people apart unless it is due to jealousy, as long as this does not happen then it is a relationship booster.