Pornography Essays (9012 words) - Pornography, Ageism, Israeli Law

Pornography Pornography Nick Baker p.6 Pornography -- Sex or Subordination? In the late Seventies, America became shocked and outraged by the rape, mutilation, and murder of over a dozen young, beautiful girls. The man who committed these murders, Ted Bundy, was later apprehended and executed. During his detention in various penitentiaries, he was mentally probed and prodded by psychologist and psychoanalysts hoping to discover the root of his violent actions and sexual frustrations. Many theories arose in attempts to explain the motivational factors behind his murderous escapades. However, the strongest and most feasible of these theories came not from the psychologists, but from the man himself, as a teenager, my buddies and I would all sneak around and watch porn. As I grew older, I became more and more interested and involved in it, [pornography] became an obsession. I got so involved in it, I wanted to incorporate [porn] into my life, but I couldn't behave like that and maintain the success I had worked so hard for. I generated an alter ego to fulfill my fantasies under-cover. Pornography was a means of unlocking the evil I had buried inside myself (Leidholdt 47). Is it possible that pornography is acting as the key to unlocking the evil in more unstable minds? According to Edward Donnerstein, a leading researcher in the pornography field, the relationship between sexually violent images in the media and subsequent aggression and . . . callous attitudes towards women is much stronger statistically than the relationship between smoking and cancer (Itzin 22). After considering the increase in rape and molestation, sexual harassment, and other sex crimes over the last few decades, and also the corresponding increase of business in the pornography industry, the link between violence and pornography needs considerable study and examination. Once the evidence you will encounter in this paper is evaluated and quantified, it will be hard not come away with the realization that habitual use of pornograp hic material promotes unrealistic and unattainable desires in men that can lead to violent behavior toward women. In order to properly discuss pornography, and be able to link it to violence, we must first come to a basic and agreeable understanding of what the word pornography means. The term pornography originates from two Greek words, porne, which means harlot, and graphein, which means to write (Webster's 286). My belief is that the combination of the two words was originally meant to describe, in literature, the sexual escapades of women deemed to be whores. As time has passed, this definition of pornography has grown to include any and all obscene literature and pictures. At the present date, the term is basically a blanket which covers all types of material such as explicit literature, photography, films, and video tapes with varying degrees of sexual content. For Catherine Itzin's research purposes pornography has been divided into three categories: The sexually explicit and violent; the sexually explicit and nonviolent, but subordinating and dehumanizing; and the sexually explicit, nonviolent, and no subordinating that is based upon mutuality. The sexually explicit and violent is graphic, showing penetration and ejaculation. Also, it shows the violent act toward a woman. The second example shows the graphic sexual act and climax, but not a violent act. This example shows the woman being dressed is a costume or being 'talked down' to in order to reduce her to something not human; such as a body part or just something to have sex with, a body opening or an orifice. Not only does 'erotica' show the entire graphic sexual act, it also depicts an attraction between two people. Her research consistently shows that harmful effects are associated with the first two, but that the third 'erotica', is harmless (22). These three categories basically exist as tools of discerning content. Although sometimes they overlap without a true distinction, as in when the fil m is graphic in the sexual act and also in violence, but shows the act as being a mutual activity between the people participating. In my view, to further divide pornography, it is possible to break it down into even simpler categories: soft and hard-core pornography. Hard core pornography is a combination of the sexually explicit and violent and the

Free Essays on She Will Prevail

Persevere pr-s-vir (vb): to persist (as in an undertaking) in spite of difficulties. Nowadays it seems that cancer, in one way or another, affects everyone around us. Whether it is one’s mother, brother, aunt, grandfather or baby sister, cancer plays a major part in the daily lives of people around the world. For many forms of cancer, being diagnosed can be comparable to receiving a death sentence. Those who are able to muster up the strength to battle through this terrible disease in such difficult times deserve significant commendation. As a child, my Nona, Helen, was an incredibly strong influence in my life. She was perfect in my eyes, living life exactly how she had always dreamed- a silver-haired beauty running her own shop, travelling around the world, supporting herself and constantly enjoying the company of her grandchildren. Making new friends was no challenge for her. Each time she returned from a trip, whether it was touring around India or a craft convention in San Diego, we would hear about new people she had met, all of them, â€Å"lovely, interesting individuals†. It was the rarest of occasions when a person would hear her making a negative comment about someone. In her free time, she would go for long walks along the seawall, getting plenty of exercise while taking in the natural beauty of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. In late August 1997, my Nona became somewhat concerned, as for weeks her energy had seemed to be fractional of what it had been previously. She decided to consult her doctor, who did several blood tests, suggesting the possibility of cancer. Everyone scoffed at even the idea of my Nona having cancer. She was essentially the last person that could possibly deserve such a thing. Within two weeks, all of our worst fears were confirmed. The official diagnosis was released- my Nona had acute myelogonous leukemia. As if coming to terms with cancer itself was not difficult in itself,... Free Essays on She Will Prevail Free Essays on She Will Prevail Persevere pr-s-vir (vb): to persist (as in an undertaking) in spite of difficulties. Nowadays it seems that cancer, in one way or another, affects everyone around us. Whether it is one’s mother, brother, aunt, grandfather or baby sister, cancer plays a major part in the daily lives of people around the world. For many forms of cancer, being diagnosed can be comparable to receiving a death sentence. Those who are able to muster up the strength to battle through this terrible disease in such difficult times deserve significant commendation. As a child, my Nona, Helen, was an incredibly strong influence in my life. She was perfect in my eyes, living life exactly how she had always dreamed- a silver-haired beauty running her own shop, travelling around the world, supporting herself and constantly enjoying the company of her grandchildren. Making new friends was no challenge for her. Each time she returned from a trip, whether it was touring around India or a craft convention in San Diego, we would hear about new people she had met, all of them, â€Å"lovely, interesting individuals†. It was the rarest of occasions when a person would hear her making a negative comment about someone. In her free time, she would go for long walks along the seawall, getting plenty of exercise while taking in the natural beauty of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. In late August 1997, my Nona became somewhat concerned, as for weeks her energy had seemed to be fractional of what it had been previously. She decided to consult her doctor, who did several blood tests, suggesting the possibility of cancer. Everyone scoffed at even the idea of my Nona having cancer. She was essentially the last person that could possibly deserve such a thing. Within two weeks, all of our worst fears were confirmed. The official diagnosis was released- my Nona had acute myelogonous leukemia. As if coming to terms with cancer itself was not difficult in itself,...

Personal Perspective on Personality Theory Essay

Personal Perspective on Personality Theory - Essay Example Some of the more well-known theorists in this field are Sigmund Freud, Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Each of these men approached the question of personality from a completely unique angle, presenting models that attempted to explain the complex mechanisms that go into the development of personality, however, Maslow’s theory of self-actualization seems to take a predominant lead in explaining personality development. Maslow proposed personality was developed along a hierarchy of needs beginning with the most basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. As these needs were being met, the individual could move on to obtaining the second level needs. These levels progressed through physiological, safety, belongingness/love, esteem and self-actualization. Self-actualization was the highest level need and represented that point in a person’s personality development when they have met all lower needs and are now free to pursue their true potential. â€Å"A person who is satisfied at the previous four levels will feel bored unless she or he is engaged in self-actualization striving† (Jazwinski, 1998). Within this theory, he goes on to enumerate 16 different major characteristics of a self-actualized person, 15 of which I can identify with. However, it is true that Maslow’s theory remains a little shallow with respect to how individual differences are formed with the only contributing factor being how well or poorly our needs have been realized (Pettifor, 1996). Freud’s theory centers around the concepts of the id, the ego and the superego. According to this theory, the id is the unconscious mind that responds only to urges and gratification. As we mature, we begin to act upon those impulses and develop a conscious mind, the ego. However, the ego recognizes that some of the actions desired by the id are not appropriate within a given society, so it begins