to think that a Europe wide ban on pornography is nuts?

[ophelia275]

The European parliament is seeking a ban on all pornography across Europe.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/european-parliament-votes-on-call-for-porn-ban-8527229.html

I don't think all pornography is bad and I think it serves as an outlet for both women and men to release anger/sexual frustration etc. I don't think a ban would be a good idea because there would always be ways around it and suppressing pornography would just result in more violence and sexual aggression imo. I also don't think there is anything inherently wrong in looking at naked photos of the opposite sex and satisfies a natural urge.

Sometimes I wonder what the EU is going to try and ban next on the grounds of protecting our rights?

What about Daily Mail porn?

Sorry! I meant meaningful discussions of tiny dresses nearly worn by Z list celebs I've never heard of, illustrated with lots of pics.

Tiggy - You are talking about nudity rather than porn, but I suppose banning porn would be a slippery slope that could easily lead to a ban on nudity as well.

Thats the real problem Cote.

When is porn, porn?
And when is it not porn, but art or educational?

The motion has been adjusted to specify advertising.

I think the key word is 'could' and a ban on all porn is simply not going to.happen. Stopping sexist advertising and the use if womens bodies to sell/adbertise could be good tho.

Would be interesting to see the actual proposal instead of select quotes.

Restricting internet porn is definitely a good idea. Banning it will be impossible, but life would be so much more pleasant if I could let my children go online without worrying and keeping on checking.

MrsTerryPratchett

OK. I'll bite. The problem is not that they are watching rape porn, it is that they are watching porn to set themselves up to offend.

In the same way, that, say, someone might watch a film with shooting in it and decide to shoot someone? So what are we going to do here? Punish the people who are capable of watching a film with sex/violence and not committing a crime?

Actually, 'consensual' porn could be worse for this in a way. The women are always ready, need no foreplay, never refuse anything, enjoy everything, are always available. There is no issue of consent because there is no lack of consent. Everything is great and the only thing that is important is the male gaze.

You've already admitted that you haven't watched any. Why start making stuff up about what it's like?

5madthings

I think the key word is 'could' and a ban on all porn is simply not going to.happen. Stopping sexist advertising and the use if womens bodies to sell/adbertise could be good tho.

How would it be good, and how would you even police it? And who would police it? Politicians? The Sexist Police?

There is no good outcome to a banning on 'sexist advertising'.

MrsTerryPratchett.

The sex offenders you talk about would find another way to set themselves up, they have always existed whereas the internet hasn't. Also many people watch porn and don't go out and commit sex crimes.
I'm sure all porn stars don't enjoy the sex and are good actresses, but they have consented to make this their job. The world is full of people who don't like their job.
People see porn as some kind of seedy rough nasty business, when actually many of the employers and employees are shrewd business managers.
I have seen several middle class American girls who used the money to pay themselves through Uni. They were very bright, new what they were doing and had a goal.

Took a while for the PhD-gaining sexual entertainers to emerge on the thread, but here they are at last.

What seems to be the problem, LineRunner?

Are you trying to say that there has never been nor will there ever be any such girl or just that morethanpotato is lying?

It's a runing joke. Like, you know, humour?

What possible difference would it make if there were PhD-gaining sexual entertainers? Why do people always imagine this line of 'reasoning' is relevant.

It's the wrong way around.

If you can demonstrate that all prostitutes are happy, well-adjusted women putting themselves through HE without a care in the world, be my guest.

Otherwise, it's irrelevant. Rather like saying 'well, we tested 100 Ikea meatballs and one of them was entirely made of cow, so carry on with the illegal horse-meat selling, it's fine'.

Sorry, that comes across as if I'm being aggressive at you, line, which I'm not - was responding to the original post on the subject.

How is banning sexist advertising and stopping women being reduced simply to a 'body' to sell or advertise something going to be a bad thing? The representation of women in mainstream media as nothing more than a body is not good, it has a massive impact on how women are viewed and valued in society. Changing this could well be a positive.

I don't need to watch porn to have read about it, studied it and have an opinion. I have an opinion about Apartheid but never went to Africa while it was happening.

morethanpotatoprints I was addressing the idea that porn makes people less likely to commit sexual and violent offences. From the OP, which was clearly a piece of nonsense. I'm not saying porn turns people into rampaging criminals just that it certainly doesn't discourage offending, IME.

There may be several women paying their way through University. I have heard that there are also a lot in adult diapers because the repeated anal has caused fecal incontinence. Third hand information from a friend who worked in the industry, I haven't seen it myself.

No worries, LRD.

I know a couple of girls who worked in the industry. They weren't the ones I was talking about, they were the opposite. They were pretty much homeless, drug addicts and prostitute.
The problem is you stop their one source of income then what? I was able to help one as she hit rock bottom, over dosed on E's and would have died if left any longer. The poor girl was in a coma for several weeks. She had no family to help and without her income had nothing. The church asked me to help via a friend I had, we lived in the country so she was unable to get back into bad habits. She taught me alot about the porn industry, it was quite revealling. Anyway, she sorted herself out, got clean, help with college entrance and turned her life around.

MrsTerry.

Apologies, I only focussed on the bit you said about offenders.

But you surely don't just stop the 'source of income', you try to sort out the infrastructure so people don't end up relying on that source of income. My brother occasionally worked with prostitutes as part of his job with homeless people - it's not as if there aren't schemes out there trying to get people out, it's just it's very difficult while it's still not criminal to buy sex.

MrsTerryPratchett
I don't need to watch porn to have read about it, studied it and have an opinion. I have an opinion about Apartheid but never went to Africa while it was happening.

I think you really do need to have watched porn to have studied it. You're not really studying it otherwise, are you? Of course you can still have an opinion from a position of total ignorance. How d'you think newspaper columnists function?

5madthings

How is banning sexist advertising and stopping women being reduced simply to a 'body' to sell or advertise something going to be a bad thing? The representation of women in mainstream media as nothing more than a body is not good, it has a massive impact on how women are viewed and valued in society. Changing this could well be a positive.

Mmm, but let's look at the actual practicalities here. You're talking about handing the power to decide what is 'sexist' to either a bunch of bureaucrats or a bunch of politicians. Everyone's definition of sexism is slightly different, so how would you even pass a law on it? I don't think anyone who's in favour of this ludicrous policy has really considered the consequences of its being made in to law.

Yabu. A ban would be great.

5madthings when you see David Beckham wearing nothing but a very full pair of Emporio Armani underpants do you think ban it?

I think pornography is a bit like processed meat. It looks healthy and the government say it is safe in moderation but the long term effect it has is toxic.

We didn't have it before, it's poisoning our children, why object to a ban?

Alright, found it

These are the porn ban quotes in full

"17. Calls on the EU and its Member States to take concrete action on its resolution of 16 September 1997 on discrimination against women in advertising, which called for a ban on all forms of pornography in the media and on the advertising of sex tourism"

"18. Calls on the EU to conduct research into the links between child pornography and adult pornography and the impacts on girls, women, boys and men, as well as the relationship between pornography and sexual violence"