I was wondering what we would be learning about, I told my parents about the name of the class and they gave me a weird look. I was excited to take it and see what it was all about. The first lecture started to worry me. Blogging three times a week was something that I feared that I would forget about. I still remember standing the in the bookstore looking at the textbook with the provocative silhouette on the cover, think to myself “is that really a textbook?”

    The class began and I found myself actually learning about pornography, really learning. I never knew that there was so much history and technology behind pornography. Lecture after lecture there was always something new and exciting. I even found the seemingly boring stuff like the legislature behind pornography to be interesting. I think it was an amazing class, I’ve been able to bring up topics that were discussed here to the dinner table, with a little censoring however. I was able to keep up with the blogging and it was never really a problem. I have received great grades which I am very proud of and this is easily the best college experience that I have had (in class, of course).

    I would encourage anyone that takes interest in pornography to take this class.  

            The post was on the new XXX Domain names for pornography. The post was about how the idea wasn’t going to be implemented yet. The idea was that this new XXX Domain would protect minors from viewing pornography. The post pointed out three major reasons that the domains have been activated. Firstly there is a lot of opposition from countries outside of the USA, because ICANN is a US based company. Secondly the programs that would need to be created to protect minors have yet to be created. Lastly there is still a question as to if the XXX Domain would me mandatory or voluntary. Doesn’t make much sense to me if its not mandatory.

            So don’t expect to see the XXX Domain soon, because they have far too many issues to deal with before ICANN goes through with the idea. It’s a good idea, but its going to be hard to implement.

            After reading your thoughts and browsing your blog and webpage I have a few questions.

            Firstly, earlier in the semester we saw a film on “gay for pay” pornography. My question for you is are any of your models “gay for pay”? I understand that its not possible to really know someone’s true sexual preference unless they tell you, even then they could be lying, but do any of your models come right out and tell you that they are heterosexual and just posing in homosexual photographs and videos just for the increase in payment?

            Secondly, you said that you wont allow men to work for you if they have preformed in a “bareback” film. I did a little googling and found that its basically homosexual unprotected sex. I read that you tested your models for drugs and seemed to treat them very well with insurance and gym memberships, however why turn someone away just because they worked in an unprotected scene? Wouldn’t it be possible to test them for sexually transmitted diseases? It just doesn’t seem fair that you would ban someone from working with you because of previous work environments.

            In the blog that I read, Jackie stated that “technology today allows for anything to be recorded to be viewed at a later date”. Sure the technology exists, but doesn’t the technology also exist to block out unwanted programming? The V Chip will not allow young children to view these programs, or tape them. The general public shouldn’t be subjected to strict censorship at night when the technology exists for parents to control what their children see. The second argument that Jackie made was the fact that many children watch have televisions in their rooms and could watch at all hours of the night. If the parents feel that they have a problem with their children watching television at night then it’s very easy to remove the T.V. from their room. Jackie’s third argument was that many T.V. stations are now making material available on the internet. Firstly, there is far worse content out on the internet then what would be allowed on television during the safe harbor hours. The technology is out there to block that content, but most parents aren’t taking the responsibility. Secondly, I don’t think that the amount or popularity of the T.V. content that is online is a sufficient argument. The vast majority of people watch television on their TV’s, not off the internet.

            I see nothing wrong with allowing more adult friendly content when adults are watching TV. Parents can still stop their children from viewing this content rather easily. Sure children can easily watch TV between those hours but that’s the parent’s problem, not societies.

Pornography is all over the internet, its extremely easy to stumble across pornography when you don’t want to, that makes it incredibly easy to find when you do want to. When kids are viewing pornography in there own homes then there is a problem with the parenting. Setting filters and restrictions to their children’s computer use is a start, yet most parents don’t even do that. Sure kids will probably find away around those systems if they really wanted to, but like this blogger said I think that parents should have a long talk with their children about what’s out there on the internet and why its just not something that children should be viewing. Don’t just tell the child that they aren’t allowed to, but explain what’s wrong with someone their age viewing pornography.

One caller on “The Internet's Impact on Sex and Society” radio show said that some parents are saying “well not my kids, my kids don’t do that”. Parents need to get out of denial and talk to their kids, they have to assume that their children are viewing these sites. The author of Pornified, Pamela Paul said that the best thing to tell your child that “this will make a problem in your life, and it will hurt you”. I think that’s a great thing to tell a child.

I know that when I was 13 or 14 I started viewing pornography but never got caught. I wish that I had not done it but it never turned into a problem with me. My parents never talked to me about it, and I think that it would have helped if they did.

Parents need to take control of there children and stop blaming people that don’t live in their household, town, and even state.

The tax was proposed by Utah Congressman Jim Matheson combined with legislation that would require all pornographic websites use the latest age verification system, and no that doesn’t mean the honor system like more websites are using. The Congressman plans to start an “Internet safety and child protection trust fund” with the money that is collected from the taxes. I think that it is a great idea to use money from pornography to help children out. It’s very similar to the lottery system which most states use, in which that type of gambling is legalized in order to benefit the states schools and children. I am completely in favor of helping out children and improving ways to keep them out of pornographic sites.

However I think that 25% is a ridiculous price and is only going to lead to more piracy of pornography. A site that is offering access for $29.99 would cost $37.49 for the purchaser. That is far too great of a hike in price. We already pay a great amount of taxes yet I cant think of one thing that has a 25% tax added on to its price, not even gas is that bad. Maybe a 10% tax would be more appealing, we shouldn’t make people that purchase pornography be responsible for adding to a child protection trust fund. I think that Matheson is trying to charge money from the wrong people. This blogger said that consumers “are partially the ones who are responsible for how big the industry is today and how accessible different sites and things are to young children.” While I agree that the industry grew due to demand, I disagree with the statement that people who buy porn are to blame when children are accessing it. That is the industry’s responsibility, not the consumers. Jim Matheson went as far to say "I stand with parents when it comes to holding the pornography industry accountable."

He should be taxing the industry, not its consumers.

Marvin Miller was running a mail order business on the west coast, mainly in California, which dealt in sexually explicit material. When he turned to a mailing campaign for advertising purposes he was arrested. He was charged with “knowingly distributing obscene material” which in California is a misdemeanor. The case went to the Supreme Court and they had to figure out if distributing sexually explicit materials in the mail was protected by the First Amendment, the court decided and rules that it was indeed not protected and Miller was guilty. However the Supreme Court agreed that they needed a way to test future cases, in order to keep other rulings consistent. The Court came up with the Miller test. The Miller test was three specific ways to judge if a material was obscene:

• the average person, applying contemporary community standards (not national standards, as some prior tests required), must find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest
• the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable state law
• the work, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

All three conditions must be met in order to consider a material obscene, not just one.

“In the years since Miller, many localities have cracked down on adult theatres and bookstores, as well as nude dancing, through restrictive zoning ordinances and public nudity laws. These types of actions have been upheld by the Supreme Court.” Miller vs California upheld the fact that obscenity is not covered under the First Amendment and also gave way to easier rulings, with the Miller Test

Miller vs. California

1^st - A Porn A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

            I really find this bloggers posts to be thought provoking and also too the point. I don’t like to read a lot of filler information and this person just says it as it is. I really like their writing style and enjoy reading the blog. 

2^nd – Sex4Thought

            This blog is full of content which at sometimes can be overwhelming, but when I have the time to read it I find just how great of a blog it is. 

3^rd –  Porn each day will get me an A 

            This person has held my attention since the beginning of the semester, possibly from the unique name. There is a great amount of content here and as the title says, this person deserves an A.

The large class is rather hard to keep tabs on, it must be impossible to grade.

            Without viewing these acts, many men wouldn’t even think about abusing and raping a woman. It’s because that they have been exposed to the idea that they will have the urge. The government needs to regulate the amount of violence in pornography; this will be a sure way to reduce the amount of rape that occurs in our culture.

            However I naturally feel completely opposite about the whole situation, porn does not cause rape or violence. April Fools!

I think that it couples should watch pornography together, as it will give them a common ground in which they are seeing the same things and hopefully getting the same ideas. Maybe the female in the relationship wanted to try something new but just couldn’t find a way to bring it up, chances are she’s going to find a way to do it with pornography. Also pornography will provide a way for the partners to see what turns the other partner on. If the female sees that the male is turned on by deep throating then she might possibly be willing to try it for him, if she has not done so already.

Pornography could also help a struggling relationship if it is introduced in the right manner. When things in the bedroom start to get stale I think that it would be a good idea for people to watch porn in hopes of new ideas or mutual entertainment. One must be careful not to hurt their partners feelings by trying to introduce porn, some people have very strong beliefs against it. One first must make sure that both partners want to do it, says this website. “Society has done its best to make porn into an evil to be avoided at all costs. Religion, sexual repression, obscenity laws, and such have all forced the adult industry to operate pseudo-underground, worsening the stigma attached to viewing their products.” That website has a great guide to watching pornography with your partner that is found here.

Couples watching pornography together can be a great thing, but only if its handled in the right and appropriate way.