Sexual expression: your opinion

Pornography is a touchy subject in the US. Over here, it's apparently ignored except for child pornography (and there the big question is child exploitation).So let's hear your opinons, and we can get a really interesting thread going. Is it wrong? Is it right? Is it a gift from the gods? What about fetish porn, hentai, Greek nudes, lapdancing, whatever?How do you feel about human sexual expression?A good friend of mine (who is actually involved in the sex industry) once said to me "A human who cannot express themselves sexually is risking insanity and suicide". This friend believes, without a shadow of a doubt, that people have a fundamental need for this kind of expression.

It looks like a coffee house topic to me. Is that okay>

That's fine, thanks.

Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

Sexual expression involving consenting people is nobody's business, except for the people involved. The government should keep out of it, the newspapers should keep out of it, the politicians (as in Monica-gate) should keep out of it.Hmm, the churches should also keep out of it.Not long ago, someone posted a message in which he expressed guilt at his sin of masturbation. Christians should stop this nonsense. For someone with no other outlet, masturbation should be seen as good. It exercises the organs. Your urologist will probably advise it to better maintain prostate health.

didn't you get the memo? any pleasure is inherently wicked, especially self-pleasure.(so get someone else to do it for you, and for god's sake, don't enjoy it!)This message has been edited by arachnophilia, 11-23-2005 08:41 PM

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אָרַח

As long as everyone in the porn is concenting, and the viewer is an adult of a mature and healthy mind, I see no problem with it. I like some porn

Earl said it.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I think absolute, unqualified statements, regardless of the content, usually lead to overapplication of ideas due to their appearance as "rules" rather than "trends" or "guidelines."I'm a firm believer that we make ourselves out to be a whole lot more interesting and powerful than we actually are. Sexual expression is one way to spend your time. Playing basketball is another. Inventing new tools is another. So is eating tasty foods. I don't see any are inherently more valuable or necessary than any other.Somehow this thread seems to be taking a different direction, talking more about how sexual expression interacts with society and rules / laws / privacy? Seems to me to be a totally different issue, and like everything to me--a totally practical issue of merging disparate views into a single law.Ben

I believe we all have a fundamental need for this kind of expression, though it may take many different forms. I also believe such expressions are a human right.It's intriguing that many "liberals" who believe that sexual orientation should not be discriminated against, often find sexualities they do believe should be discriminated against, and totally right off sexual expression as having anything to do with sexuality and sexual orientation.There is nothing which can be exhibited, no matter how odious to anyone, which can actually hurt the exhibitor. There is nothing which can be read (or viewed), no matter how odious to anyone, which can harm the audience.There may be legitimate questions of abuse in anything that involves humans interacting with other humans, especially if it is a for profit enterprise. So regulations are not inherently useless, or undesirable, regarding how "expressions" can be created... even if almost all in effect today are.Although there is no need for constraints on public expressions (as can be seen in places like Amsterdam where even bestial porn is visible to kids on the streets), there might be a reason to come to consensual agreements on what we will bar from public expression, just so people can get around without overtly offending others.I think a fair trade would be no blatant sexual activity in public, for no blatant religious activity in public. Those are both highly personal and highly charged forms of expression and so capable of offense. Though like I said, this is not necessary. I enjoy living in an area where people can see and show pretty much whatever they want.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

Only a few replies? And here I thought this thread would be up to a few pages by now.I mean, can you get any more controversial than porn?

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Sexual expression is one way to spend your time. Playing basketball is another. Inventing new tools is another. So is eating tasty foods. I don't see any are inherently more valuable or necessary than any other.

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Well, I'd say on the whole people can get by without playing basketball, inventing new tools, or eating tasty food. Sex, however, is the great leveller - just about everyone mentally and physically capable of it on earth appears to be doing it or wants to do it. (Of course I'm generalising here, if you've got actual stats I'd love to see them.)Does anyone know the long-term effects of restricting one's sexual expression?Anyway... I've heard much talk that the US is going to be banning pornography as well as a host of other related businesses. This is a restriction of sexual expression - can we agree on this?My questions, in order to move the discussion onwards, are:Is this actually going to happen?
If it is, what reasons have been given?
Do you feel the government has the right to restrict it?
What kind of effect will this have on American society?Most importantly, because I'm starting to see this in Ireland as well...
Is sexual expression rated as so much more damaging or dangerous than expressions of violence? If so, why? Is it a cultural thing? An effect of religion? A sign of the times?

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"Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do."

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Well, I'd say on the whole people can get by without playing basketball, inventing new tools, or eating tasty food.

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Lack of physical activity can often lead to depression and illness.Not exercising one's mind can lead to faster brain degeneration and cognitive funtion when one is older.Lack of eating leads to starvation.

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Sex, however, is the great leveller - just about everyone mentally and physically capable of it on earth appears to be doing it or wants to do it.

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That's what people think, but not so much in the US and other industrialized nations.

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(Of course I'm generalising here, if you've got actual stats I'd love to see them.)

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link

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Does anyone know the long-term effects of restricting one's sexual expression?

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In women, not having sex leads to a lessening of desire, and in men, it's the opposite. At least, that seems to be the general trend.

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Lack of physical activity can often lead to depression and illness.

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Not exercising one's mind can lead to faster brain degeneration and cognitive funtion when one is older.

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Lack of eating leads to starvation.

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Bad analogy there, schraf. You're equating not playing basketball with not taking any physical activity. Similarly, not inventing new tools does not equate to not exercising one's mind, and not eating tasty food does not equate to not eating at all.People need some form of physical activity, mental exercise, and nourishment, yes. The actual specifics are up to the individual. So can we say that people need some form of sexual expression too, assuming that they would choose the specifics of that expression themselves? I don't know, hence this thread.(As an aside: David Beckham??? He looks like a dog in a bad wig! How the hell did he make the top three sexiest men??)Thanks for the stats, by the way.

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In women, not having sex leads to a lessening of desire, and in men, it's the opposite. At least, that seems to be the general trend.

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I do wonder if there are any other effects. Has there been any actual studies done?

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"Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do."

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Bad analogy there, schraf. You're equating not playing basketball with not taking any physical activity. Similarly, not inventing new tools does not equate to not exercising one's mind, and not eating tasty food does not equate to not eating at all.

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True, it was not a very good analogy.

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People need some form of physical activity, mental exercise, and nourishment, yes. The actual specifics are up to the individual. So can we say that people need some form of sexual expression too, assuming that they would choose the specifics of that expression themselves? I don't know, hence this thread.

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Well, considering that people have orgasms in their sleep, I would say it's safe to say that the body does reflexively react sexually.

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(As an aside: David Beckham??? He looks like a dog in a bad wig! How the hell did he make the top three sexiest men??)

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He doesn't look like a dog in a bad wig to me.

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Thanks for the stats, by the way.

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You're welcome!

I'm not sure I'd be trusting a survey by Durex on anything. That's like quoting a collection of Late Edition viewer's polls.However at Schraf's link was another link discussing the results of studies (better collections of research anyway) on the effects of sex. Sex keeps you healthy, and frequent sex makes you healthier (listed are some highlights)... Do it.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)