I really enjoyed this class because I have learned so much about a world I was largely ignorant of. Also, I liked the fact that it was on-line and that the majority of the work was blogging. For anyone who enjoys writing and expressing their views, this is the perfect class! I also appreciated the fact that our professor responded to any questions or concerns in a timely manner. 

The only complaint I have about this class is in regards to the TA’s and rude comments. Although, I did not experience problems with the TA’s, I have a couple friends in the class who were sent very rude and rather nasty emails from their TA. All I want to say about this is that everybody in the class, TA’s and professors included, should be respectful of each other. Also, it would probably be a good idea if the professor checked up on his TA’s from time to time, to make sure they are doing their job. Also, it took a week for my TA to email me back. Alex was much more efficient in answering emails, so I then just sent any questions directly to him.

In regards to rude comments, I received a few on my blog. I am not saying that I expect everyone to agree with me, but any comments left on a blog should be respectful and not nasty. I believe that respect is the most important part of communicating with people. If you really want someone to consider your view, then be respectful!  After all, we are in college aren’t we?   

I don’t understand how labeling websites with warnings for sexual content going to help protect children? It still isn’t going o prevent children and teenagers from accessing these sites. This is a micro problem compared to child pornography; focus should be on preventing more children from being abused in the porn business. The macro problem is that children are being forced and abused into having sex and being videotaped. I would think that the government’s concern should be focused on the macro problem rather than the micro.

So then, what are the politicians doing about the children who are starring in porns and being sold for a price on the Internet? They should be more concerned with this, than with the appropriate labeling for a website that has sexual content. The government tries to put up this moral image and yet they are only touching the surface- with a needle. Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-American, but I do believe our lawmakers are making a mistake, by focusing on the micro issue rather than the more obvious macro problem. It seems that the government just does want pornographers to turn a profit anymore. Thus, with this new law, they can fine pornographers that don’t label their websites for sexual content and put them out of business. However, lawmakers governing a country that believe in human rights are not helping those who are really getting hurt in the world of pornography.

What does every one else think in regards to this issue? What part of the porn world should the government be most concerned with? Protecting middle-class kids, browsing the net , or children being raped and abused on the Internet? Let me know what you think… I appreciate comments as long as they are respectful to all.

Child porn exists because humanity is inhuman; society is more interested in moving up, than taking action. After reading this blog, I realized how frustrating it could be to an individual who is concerned with taking action. Lets face the real problem at hand: at large, people within a society are so consumed with themselves, that they don’t stop to think about children who are degraded and abused in the porn world. I, in fact, was largely ignorant to the happenings in the world of pornography before taking this course. There are many pros and cons of the porn business, but when children are involved it becomes more obvious that porn is a societal problem on a global scale.

Child porn is mass societal problem, in that it just keeps occurring, and the business is booming. Like I have said in my previous blogs, I don’t have a problem with porn as long as it is not hurting anyone. What does society think that these children grow up to be? Do people think that they will be fine, once they reach adulthood? I grew up in an abusive home as a child, and I still suffer from the experience. I could not even imagine what it would have been like to be a porn star as a child. Would I be successful in my career and starting grad school in the fall? No, I would probably be shooting heroin in my arm, trying to forget the horrible memories.

One major question that many ask themselves, is why do people look at child porn? One obvious answer, is that it is widely avaiable. Thus, child porn has become more acceptable or tolerated to people who are browsing the internet looking for a good time. As long as this cycle keeps occurring, child porn will always exist.

People view the child porn world as someone else’s problem: “ someone else will solve the problem”. Child pornography is a business that is going to keep growing and expanding, until society as a whole takes action. When you and your friends are laughing and looking at porn, and come across child porn, know that it is a real child. Think of it this way: what if the child in the porn clip, was your little brother, sister, son, daughter? If society thought of child porn in this light, then perhaps child porn would not exist today. Also, as long as porn is available, people will engage in it, either indirectly or directly.

As, I read Mr. Lucas's Blog, I was quite impressed with his intelligent and creative ideas and thoughts. One of his posts really hit close to home for me, entitled " Taking a Stand, For Yourselves". This is because my brother, who is gay, had his car dented badly on the driver's side .This person who did this, does not even know my brother. All he knows is that my brother is gay, so he smashed his car. My brother was pretty upset about this and did nothing. He seemed freaked out by the whole experience. Honestly, I think he was too sacred too do anything about it.

My question for Mr. Lucas is, when you talk about fighting back, do you mean psychically or verbally? My experience has been to just walk away from situations like that. Sometimes people just want a rise out of you, and I won't give them the satisfaction. What do you think my brother should have done in the above situation?

Is it the parents’ responsibility to monitor their children’s Internet use? Some would argue that it might be the government’s responsibility to protect children from pornography and child molesters on the Internet. The Internet is a wonderful creation: but our republican government argues that it is used mainly for evil: pornography. Our government does realize that taking the Internet away is not going to solve this problem, nor will allowing the issue to continue. So where is the middle ground according to our lawmakers? It is not enough for parents to monitor their children’s Internet use. Parents can’t be with their children one hundred percent of the time.

One major issue is that our government can’t quite figure out how to solve the problem. Either they would be impeding on free speech or allowing pornography to continue enveloping the Internet. Thus, the lawmakers on capital hill propose that sites containing obscenity have to make sure that all their site visitors are over the age of eighteen. The government is not trying to impede on the rights of adults, they just want to protect the children.

It is obvious that no matter how many laws and amendments the government passes, that children are always going to be exposed to obscenity, no matter what form. A child walking to school in New York City sees a man peeing in an alley. Is that not obscenity. Our government knows that obscenity is engulfing our world today, and they are trying to protect the children. However, it’s too late; the world has become an obscene world and no matter how hard we try to protect our children, obscenity will always be.

What kind of world do we live in when a child involved in porn asks for help and none is given? I recently read a blog, wherein the author asked, “how does this happen?” Automatically, one thinks that our world is sick and cruel for such a thing to happen.  Yes, but there are a couple other factors behind this problem. Our country is so materialistic compared to 30 years ago. It is also much more technologically advanced. Now, society believes that money is what counts in life; it’s what makes life worth it. Many involved in the porn industry admit that they get into the business to escape poverty. Is it really that awful not to have a lot of money and material things? Is it so worth it to live a life free of worry, that one would take a profit from his child’s porn videos? Society is to blame when a child involved in porn asks for help. Society has created its own downfall through the love of money.

Also, technology is partly to blame in this horrendous state of affairs. The internet is a wonderful tool, which is often used for great things. However, the internet is also used for sick and cruel matters. On the internet you can view women being raped and children having sex with adults. Now, society has developed a dependence on the internet. Thus, the internet is definitely not going away. The resolution to this problem is to have the government come down hard on people involved in putting children in the porn industry. This may take a long time, but eliminating the internet is not the answer.

In reality, if free speech were ambiguous, we would not be living in a very peaceful world. I felt that it was a little ridiculous for our professor to even discuss the possibility of free speech being ambiguous. Yes, I do understand that there have been incidences wherein someone’s free speech was taken away unjustly. If free speech weren’t censored in some way, our country would be chaotic. I also understand that many people and groups have been censored unjustly as well. However, censorship in it’s own right creates a safe country for us to live in. Imagine if free speech was ambiguous and child pornographers took advantage of that. It would be terrible; many, many children would be abused sexually. It is evident that there are positive and negative aspects to censorship.

One of the reasons censorship is needed is that people need to be protected from others who would abuse or impede on their rights. For example, if free speech was ambiguous, a man who raped a woman could say, “oh I was just engaging in free speech”. This is what I am concurring when I say that censorship is important for mankind. Basically, there are two kinds of censorship: fair censorship, which is protecting the lives of others, and unjust censorship, which does not really protect anybody or anything, it just makes the government happy.

In a way, I feel two-sided about porn and censorship. I think that pornography is tolerable, as long as it is not hurting anybody or anything. For example, child porn is hurting somebody: the child. Then again, porn involving two consenting adults really doesn’t hurt anybody, so why should it be censored?

Censorship is a difficult topic to discuss, let alone within the realm of pornography. This blog is not intended to offend anyone. I am just trying to work through censorship in regards to porn, and it isn’t easy! So please feel free to comment, even if you disagree.

The author of this blog left me with some very important unanswered questions. Why does this author think that porn influences men to degrade women and engage in rape? This author stated that pornography is the reason why men and women engage in a “cat and mouse game” in regards to sex. Also, this author seemed to be saying that pornography is what created this game between men and women. For example, the woman is the object of desire and is seen as aloof, and the man is aggressive and pushy about sex.

It is actually a myth that this “game” was created/ influenced by pornography. In reality, this problem of men being too sexually aggressive has been around long before nudie mags, strip clubs and internet porn. It is actually society that has created this image of women as unattainable sexual objects and men as the aggressors. Since the dawn of time, this so-called cat and mouse game has been going on.

Also, it is a myth that porn causes men to rape women. Women were being sexually assaulted long before porn mags and internet porn. When a man assaults a woman, there is something else that is motivating him than pornography. If it was true that porn influences men to rape, there would be far more incidences of rape .For example, my fiancée watches porn from time to time. Does he pressure me into sex when I don’t want? No. He is actually a very kind and understanding man in regards to sex.

I think that sometimes people do not intellectually evaluate pornography and its outcomes. It is hard for some people to do this because of the negative light porn is cast in. If people took the time to research the history and studies on porn, it would become easier for them to evaluate the outcomes of porn.  

I enjoy reading Andrea 707’s blog because it is not full of crap, like many of the other blogs. She doesn’t just talk about the dirty aspects of porn, like many of the frat guys do in this class. Andrea critically thinks and writes about pornograpghy as an industry.

Also, I enjoy reading Divino 74’s blog. She is not afraid to voice her opinion and she also adds interesting points of her own, instead of just summarizing the lectures.