Monthly Archives: December 2010

Losing Heads Over Porn Block

Losing Heads Over Porn Block

So, the big story regarding pornography for the past few weeks (in the UK anyway) has been Ed Vaizey’s (minister for culture, communications and creative industries) proposal to look into introducing legislation which would require UK ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to filter out pornographic content before it reaches people’s computers. This filter is not absolute, as ISPs would operate an ‘opt-in’ system (similar to that which already exists with mobile phone networks) whereby individual customers can ‘opt-in’ by requesting that the providers lift the filter. As expected, child safety is being cited as the main motivation behind the proposal, and also as expected, the media is attempting to whip up a panic about ‘our liberties being under threat’ in a sort of “first it’s...

The Daily Porn

When I discuss the mainstreaming of objectifying, sexualizing and pornographic pictures and fantasies through mainstream media, I usually end up discussing lads’ mags and Page 3 of the Sun. Interestingly it is rare that anyone mentions the Daily Sport in such discussions, despite the fact that this tabloid is more than one stop closer than the Sun to the hardcore pornography industry. Tha main reason The Sun cannot be left out of discussions surrounding the sexualization and objectification of women in mainstream printed media is that the Sun is easily the biggest selling UK daily newspaper – with 3 million copies sold daily (August 2010 – source ABC). According to the latest figure I am aware of dating from early this year the Daily...

News: Police probe looms over NSW state MPs’ porn access

“Police may be called on to investigate reports NSW MPs or their staff accessed websites containing sexually explicit images of young people. The findings were contained in an independent report by Ernst & Young, commissioned in September after an unauthorised audit of computer use in the NSW parliament showed “adult” websites had been visited from the offices of some MPs. The report, tabled in parliament yesterday, says that of the 72 most-used websites on parliamentary computers over a 10-month period, 35 “appear to be adult-related sites”. Nine contained sexually explicit images of young people, some of whom may be under 16. The matter has been referred to the state solicitor. If it is decided there has been a breach of the law and there...

News: UK stores selling ‘porn star’ tops, lap-dancing kits for kids to be fined

“Ministers are cracking down on the sale of items such as little girls’ “porn star” tops and lap-dancing kits. Other items that include a “Future footballers wife” T-shirt and a bed branded “Lolita” – the name of a famous novel about a man’s obsession with a 12-year-old girl.” Read the whole article from sify news here. And from the Guardian: “David Cameron has ordered an independent review into whether retailers and broadcasters should be subject to new restrictions preventing them selling sexualised products aimed at children.” Read the rest here.

The Porn Trap

This article appeared in Therapy Today, a monthly journal for counselling and psychotherapy professionals. It begins with the issue of porn addiction but then goes on to offer a really insightful overview of how porn has changed over the last few decades. The piece is written by a sex therapist who talks openly about her own experiences of porn and the sexual revolution. She also explains how her feelings about porn have changed as a therapist – while she used to use it as a tool to help clients she now finds it to be one of the biggest problems her clients are dealing with. The article is great to share with people who may not agree with a feminist criticism of porn or...

The Marketisation of Sexuality

The history of porn as we know it today is a small one. Before the internet, the vast majority of porn was images, whether postcards, glossy mags, underground zines or erotic literature. Only “porn theatres” (most widely seen in the US) and porn shops screened and rented out the videos, complete with the inevitable and tedious “money shot” that perhaps were designed to make masturbation more closely mimic the act of sex. Internet porn started as almost exclusively paid sites, allegedly because high traffic levels meant servers were expensive. There is an alternative explanation, however: like porn theatres, sites charged, because they knew sex sold. Like many other growth industries, porn created its market – it produced something everybody had previously been fine without,...

Call for internet porn regulation

Couple of articles about this: Call for internet porn regulation from the UK Press Association Read the whole article here “The Government should regulate internet service providers (ISPs) to stop children unwittingly finding pornography online, an MP said. Conservative Claire Perry (Devizes) said children were finding it increasingly easy to access violent and shocking content on their home computers, while there was little adequate protection available to parents. She told the Commons during an adjournment debate that 60% of nine to 19-year-olds had found porn online, while only 15% of computer-literate parents knew how to use filters to block access to certain sites…” I know what internet porn does to children – and it terrifies me on Mail Online Read the whole article here...

Report on the Sexualization of Girls

Executive Summary of the Report of the APA (American Psychological Association) Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (Research) Journalists, child advocacy organizations, parents, and psychologists have argued that the sexualization of girls is a broad and increasing problem and is harmful to girls. The APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls was formed in response to these expressions of public concern. This report examines and summarizes psychological theory, research, and clinical experience addressing the sexualization of girls. The report (a) defines sexualization; (b) examines the prevalence and provides examples of sexualization in society and in cultural institutions, as well as interpersonally and intrapsychically; (c) evaluates the evidence suggesting that sexualization has negative consequences for girls and for the rest of society; and...