Hope we're all adult enough on here to discuss this. I was just reading a news article about Elizabeth Smart, the girl that was kidnapped in Utah awhile ago. I was mesmerized by that case and followed it every day. Anyway, that's not the issue.. She is saying that it was pornography that made her captor rape her more than he already did. I always thought that Rape was an act of violence more than about sex. I would call her captor more of a sex addict than a rapist. Anyway, is pornography harmful? I'm not talking about kiddie porn, that's a different subject and illness. I'm talking about normal porn. I know my husband would look at playboy and hustler occasionally and he wasn't a sex addict or rapist. Most boys will sneak a peak at x-rated stuff in their teen years. I just don't see it as something where Rape will be the next step. Too much of it I think is a sign of a sex addiction but not a rapist. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...pornography-made-my-living-hell-worse-n635066 Guys...don't be afraid to reply here. If this subject is improper for this forum, Ken can remove it. I just figured if it was on regular news channels it was ok. I do think with computers though, some men have gone past that few magazines stage and will be on porn sites all day and night. Not healthy but I still don't think they will rape someone unless They have other issues.
I think there is a connection Chrissy Its way beyond what it used to be and I fear there is an abundant lack of respect for women because of it 'Act like trash - get treated like trash' this is what comes across - the very sad thing is its usually an innocent that gets caught up in the tragedy of this awful crime
Since everyone is an individual, some people are triggered differently or by different things than others. I think that one of the ways in which pornography is harmful, particularly when children are exposed to it, is that it normalizes things that shouldn't be normalized, so that those who are inclined to extend beyond the normal are pushed even further toward an edge. At whatever point the sight of a naked woman is no longer enough to bring the desired response, there might be a tendency among some people to go beyond that. With the kind of stuff that's available these days, it can't be healthy for people to grow up thinking that's normal.
Yes, I agree about what's available today on the internet. It's a whole different enchilada then what was in a playboy magazine years ago, even Hustler is mild by today's standards. Also, even if you aren't looking for it, it's there. Why do I get naked pics of women wanting to meet me in ads on the bottom of some forums or even most websites have those type of ads. Unless you have your computer set with strict controls even a google search of something innocent will bring up quite a few X rated pics. But anyway, my question is about rape. I thought it was really a crime of violence by men who hate women rather than triggered by porn.
I agree that today's children get to see more than we ever even knew existed. One innocent click will have them Going deeper and deeper and that's kind of scary at age 10 and above. But curiosity about sex is also very normal in the tween and teen years, and playboy would satisfy that curiosity back then but now...WOW! Girls are less curious I think than boys or seem to care less about porn. I have 5 grandsons though. Just do a simple innocent image search of someone's name and have safe search off and wow is what you get on google or Bing.
Some 30 or more years ago, when I was already divorced, I would look at a few porn mags at times. Heck, even went to a couple of nude bars with a co-worker. When I was married to my first wife, we went to a porn movie, but left about a half-hour after it started. Just wasn't our "thing" for a marriage. No porn, or anything like, in my marriage now. As far as rape goes, it think porn could influence it happening.
Yikes, I put my real name in a bing search image with safe search off! I have a fairly uncommon last name and I didn't think there were too many with it but there is a whole page of naked women...none are me of course but And thankfully they're all great bodies, lol but someone who doesn't know me could maybe assume I was a naked model in my early years.
Most men do, some just don't admit it. I've watched a porn movie or two with my husband but it's just not my thing, did it to please him but it does nothing for me. I know many that do nothing but look at porn but haven't known them to take it to rape, think it's more of a sex addiction. Not know them personally, just know of is what I mean.
I know we're told that rape is a hate crime, and it certainly does include a lack of consideration for a woman as a human being. As for rapists hating women, in a sense I suppose it's true, but in many cases, I think these are sad people who don't have a clue as to how to have a real relationship. Clearly, that's not true of all rapists though, as some of them are married. Is it the excitement they are looking for?
I don't know, I guess maybe what we were taught about them isn't really true for all. I think they don't care who the woman is so attraction wouldn't be part of it. They could always pay for it if they want sex that badly, getting caught for rape is pretty major as apposed to getting caught with a prostitute...the guy usually walks away and it's the woman who's jailed. The guy who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart was pretty messed up so you cant really judge wether porn had anything to do with it or if it was rape...he had kidnapping and underage sex with a minor as part of his crime, rapists don't usually live with their victims. It's a hit and run type of crime. Now you hear a lot of rapes happening with refugee men. Some aren't true but some are and is it because women Are so covered in their culture that seeing half naked women (in their eyes) turns them into animals? Don't know.... Sex is an addiction that's being fed more now by the internet, it's just like any other addiction for some people. For the most part though, they are harmless and maybe only destroy their marriages but it's the ones that take it too far that I guess Elizabeth Smart is talking about. The more I think about something, the more confused I get, I just edited this post to add that it seems There are a lot of rapes on college campuses. Usually everyone involved is drunk and they probably know each other also, so a whole diffrent type of "rape". Maybe there should be different words assigned than just a general term of "Rape".
Yeah, I have a sense that rapists are not all motivated by the same things. Pornography may play a part in it, as it serves to dehumanize the women or children who are being viewed online or in magazines, and maybe gives some people a sense that this is what they really want. Pedophiles often claim that the child wanted to have sex with them, and many may actually believe that. While I suppose there are kids who are so twisted as to want something like that, something brought them to that point, since I refuse to believe that twelve year old boys or girls want to have sex with forty or fifty year old men, or that there are very many women who want anonymous men to forcibly rape them. I believe that some rapists are simply unable to consider any other way that they could have a relationship with a woman, others are looking for a thrill that they wouldn't get from a regular relationship or even from paying for sex, similar to people who will shoplift even though they don't need the stuff that they're stealing, and others have a hatred for women, and feel the need to humiliate and debase them. These are the ones who might go on to kill women.
My husband and I are very close in almost everything including sex. I know for a fact that he is like any other man who loves to see naked women. But he doesn't like porn, that sexual act itself because it looks dirty to him, he said, and it doesn't excite him that much. But in fairness to the porn videos and sites, I don't think watching porn can make a guy a rapist. My take on rape is that it has a deeper reason like a criminal mind or a psychotic and more likely a drug-crazed person. A person with a sexual hangup can be more of a rapist than the one who is a porn lover. By the way, sometime in the year 2000, the most visited sites aside from Google and other search engines are the porn sites. Fortunately now, the number 1 sites for audience count are the gaming sites.
Yes, those are the ones that will kill a woman and thats why you're told not to fight many times...but I guess it depends on the situation and what your gut tells you. Pedophiles are a whole other subject and the worst of the worst in my opinion. There are so many, another thing I don't understand. Bad enough when it's a 12-13 year old but how about the sickos with the 2-3 year olds. To top it off usually it's family members. If it's a stranger and the child is kidnapped, usually that child is found dead. Too many stories like that too. Gosh, when you start thinking about all these things and add in all the other problems of the world....it's a sad picture. I actually think that the bad outnumbers the good people. I hope I'm wrong. If I was religious I would say maybe it's time for another flood.
I can't help but wonder if God isn't considering that, too. There are an awfully lot of good people in the world too, but the good ones don't make the news, and they are not even the ones that movies are made about anymore.
I'm hoping your right about the good people, Ken. Hopefully it's just our access to all the information that we get Constantly and instantly that makes it look the other way. @Corie Henson , most men will have in their lifetime looked at some level of porn. Even ones we thought didn't...like some priests and preachers!! There is nothing wrong with it until it becomes an addiction or leads to problems. Like Ken says, children looking at some very bizarre things will think that's normal. It's one of those things, like everything else that has to be kept an eye on if it's becoming a problem.