(no subject)

[drewkitty]

From "Mother Earth Mother Board" by Neal Stephenson:

"[A] big space ringed by anxious, ignorant, heavily armed men, looking outward. Inside that perimeter, a surprisingly small number of hackers wander around through untidy offices making the world run."

What do I do for a living?

I train the anxious, ignorant, heavily armed men and occasionally translate for them.

Comments

[skramamme.livejournal.com]

Hey, I am responding to a comment you made in sf_d. I hope that's okay- I guess I didn't want to post my question on such a public forum.
If I'm out of line then please accept my apologies.
Em
I didn't know it was radical to take the view that pornography (as opposed to erotica) is not positive, healthy or respectful.
You seem fairly switched on with this. My female authority figures (mum/step mum... even my dad) all have the view that porn is wrong- it's demeaning, unhealthy and leads to increases in certain types of sex crimes (ie, if there's a popular flick involving simulated rape in a spa there will be an increase of assaults in similar environments)... this is what I have been raised to believe. And these are strong women who are far from conservative and identify strongly with being feminists.
I would very much like to address the conflicts I feel personally in regards to the innate sense of 'wrongness' vs the physical arousal that seems inevitable as I think the dichotomy produces an unhealthy combination of repulsion/attraction which can lead to extreme conflicts within ones self. Do you know of any comms on lj that have intelligent, non bias discussions in regards to this? Thanks :)

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I don't know any specific communities . . . I have a career and try to fit a life into the small cracks. I'm also not sure that there is any community on LJ that indulges in 'intelligent, non biased discussions.' If you find one, please let ME know.

Some people use the term 'pornography' to refer to the mass of pornography that objectifies and demeans women, and 'erotica' to refer to the rest.

Some pornography is demeaning, certainly. (Google 'gonzo' for extreme examples.)

Unhealthy is an open question. Some psychologists and other observers note that pornographic fantasies can lead to fetishes and deepen someone's involvement in increasingly inappropriate sexual activity.

Belief is what one does in the absence of facts. There have been studies linking pornography to crime but the last I looked, the jury is still out and there's a lot of controversy on this point.

The inevitability of arousal when confronted with stimulus is part of the baggage we carry as biological creatures.

I'd prefer personally not to have certain garbage in my head. But I'm not comfortable with state censorship over the behavior of consenting adults.

Be well.