The government could do much more than it does to restrict pornography, if it really cared to. The truth is, though they would deny it, that the authoritarians truly find it in their interest for there to be readily available copious amounts of material that commodifies and dehumanizes sex.
Sure, there have been token attempts to rein it in. I think the new War on Porn is a token.
But, if one does not have a healthy relationship with pleasure, which requires the ability to relate to other people in a healthy give and take of pleasure, then one is more prone to violence. One is more pliable in the face of authority. One is therefore more likely to be molded into the kind of shocktroops that empires find helpful to have around.
I honestly think that if most of the porn available was not misogynistic and dehumanizing, and instead portrayed the beauty of life and sex, that there would be a much more forceful push to control it. The sexuality of women has always been threatening to authoritarian types, and they have always felt a need to control and degrade it.
As for the portrayal of violence in Iraq: i have mixed feelings about it. I do wish that it would inspire more people to see the horrors of what our children will be paying the bills for. Instead it is treated like a game.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-09-27 01:25 am (UTC)Sure, there have been token attempts to rein it in. I think the new War on Porn is a token.
But, if one does not have a healthy relationship with pleasure, which requires the ability to relate to other people in a healthy give and take of pleasure, then one is more prone to violence. One is more pliable in the face of authority. One is therefore more likely to be molded into the kind of shocktroops that empires find helpful to have around.
I honestly think that if most of the porn available was not misogynistic and dehumanizing, and instead portrayed the beauty of life and sex, that there would be a much more forceful push to control it. The sexuality of women has always been threatening to authoritarian types, and they have always felt a need to control and degrade it.
As for the portrayal of violence in Iraq: i have mixed feelings about it. I do wish that it would inspire more people to see the horrors of what our children will be paying the bills for. Instead it is treated like a game.