Lev, there is no reason to be dismissive of meta-analytic studies unless you've examined the collected data and found that they haven't accounted for bias and paradox. There is some very good information and interpretations in the material that was provided.
Nevermind that even then there was a study or two to which you couldn't respond.

Col those links to which you refer were I think part of the Meese Commission enquiry and never gained much credibility. As to figures declining; all sorts of crime has been declining and that's wonderful, but porn is hardly the valiant element. Declines in crime can be attributed to many complex factors.

I know that nothing whatsoever will tear you fellows away from your petty orgasmic inspirations. No study; no information; no amount of distress or pain suffered by participants; rape survivors; young women growing up; people dealing with partners who can't leave it alone. Your sense of humanity has been hardened to me, me and more about me.

As to censorship, the argument is quite tired and stale. There are all sorts of restrictions on freedom of speech that we encounter every day in the interest of maintaining a functioning social system.
If porn - largely run and propogated by crime networks - is your idea of a valid source of morality that should have unfettered run; then how can you justify allowing restrictions in advertising, movies and general media.

http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/cn6/1996/media/gallagh.htm

That touches on the issue of freedom of speech versus human rights for women.

Col you asked for strategies.

I don't know that I can think of all that's possible, but here are some ideas.

1. Stop. As a man just decide that you are no longer going to relish images that degrade women.

2. Taxation of porn sites on their traffic through servers. Some of that money to be used to fund welfare programs that would provide alternative options for women who go into porn because of financial need; drug rehabiitation; health services.

3. Education in society about safe sex. Despite the mantra that some porn producers now have their performers undergo health checks; there are windows of waiting time for results and infections continue.

4. Participatory programs concerned with male ritualization and masculinity.

5. Restrictions on imagery. This is difficult; as shown in the recent UK discussions. The industry itself says it can't, or perhaps it refuses to, distinguish between what constitutes hard porn and what is soft porn/erotica. Some images should be restricted (eg: rape) and some more highly taxed. Presumably the cost will be passed onto the porn fan and might discourage younger men/boys/women/girls from early exposure.

6. Regulation of production sites to ensure the greatest level of safety for participants; to ensure that participants are there of their own free will and are aware of the health risks. Sites subject to health inspection so that there is transparency.

7. Management of wages; wage rates and taxation, just like any other income earning business, to ensure collection of taxes and fair wages and benefits to people who perform.

Maybe some of you can think of some additional or better ways of protecting porn performers and of helping deter younger people, especially children, from access.

The problem with these arguments from the pro-censorship crowd is that some people want to make specific cases universal cases and they cannot distinguish between the circumstances of an act and the content of an act.

Because they think some porn is degrading to women (I would love to hear what an objective standard of "degrading" is supposed to be), they then demand that all men (and women) stop watching all porn.

Because some porn is controlled by criminal cartels on an international scale, at least according to one study, they claim

Even if the above criteria included the overwhelming majority of cases, applying specific laws to particular instances is ALWAYS - wrong.

I cannot fathom what sort of foggy mind is required to do this.

PS: The dismissal of the meta-analytic studies was on the ground that I requested empirical studies. Meta-analysis - which I have studied a lot of - does not provide NEW empirical data.

Pynchme,

1. Stop. As a man just decide that you are no longer going to relish images that degrade women. - images that degrade either women or men are not of interest to me (although some may use different criteria to define degrade). Others may have yet different criteria. I oppose censorship of all sorts of things so I don't want to start here just because I may not like certain images.

2. Taxation of porn sites on their traffic through servers. Some of that money to be used to fund welfare programs that would provide alternative options for women who go into porn because of financial need; drug rehabiitation; health services. - not really sure I want the government finding a revenue source like that. It tends to distort their involvement and generally they find reasons for the money to go elsewhere.

3. Education in society about safe sex. Despite the mantra that some porn producers now have their performers undergo health checks; there are windows of waiting time for results and infections continue. - agreed.

4. Participatory programs concerned with male ritualization and masculinity. - Who gets to decide what is appropriate for those programs? Could be good but so easily abused in the wrong hands.

5. Restrictions on imagery. This is difficult; as shown in the recent UK discussions. The industry itself says it can't, or perhaps it refuses to, distinguish between what constitutes hard porn and what is soft porn/erotica. Some images should be restricted (eg: rape) and some more highly taxed. Presumably the cost will be passed onto the porn fan and might discourage younger men/boys/women/girls from early exposure. - again the values issue comes in and the inverse correlation between violent images and actual violence. Maybe the net effect would be to increase violence, especially sexual violence which is hardly a prefered outcome.

Cont'd

R0bert

Part 2

6. Regulation of production sites to ensure the greatest level of safety for participants; to ensure that participants are there of their own free will and are aware of the health risks. Sites subject to health inspection so that there is transparency. - An independant certification for a porn site that it met those kind of standards could be a great aid for porn users as long as it didn't become a back door tax system.

7. Management of wages; wage rates and taxation, just like any other income earning business, to ensure collection of taxes and fair wages and benefits to people who perform. - As per the previous item, independant certification on a site could be good.

One of the things that sticks in my mind is that the US study into decreased rates of sexual assault shows that the greatest impact is for mid to late teens.

Somehow we need to avoid early sexualisation of children but recognise that teenagers have some stuff to deal with that is not successfully managed by prohibition and denial.

A topic that needs an honest debate away from the moralising.

R0bert

1 stop As a man just decide …

Why?

I like images of women. Naked, clothed and semi naked, standing up, laying down, fat ones, thin ones and any permutation/combination of positions states of undress and sizes in between. That's before considering the wilder side, which you would not be able to handle but which I do enjoy with a consenting partner.

What you think is degrading and what I think will be totally different.

I will and do act upon my own view.
As for yours, get used to feeling frustrated and ignored.

2 Taxation of porn sites on their traffic through servers.

Impossible, imposing taxes on foreign owned, operated and located servers.
Locally sold porn is already taxed, GST.

3. Education in society about safe sex.
“Porn” does not require the user to engage with another.
Education on safe sex would be redundant.
There is nothing safer than not engaging with anyone else.

4. Participatory programs concerned with male ritualization and masculinity.
As an adult male, I would be offended if anyone tried to force me to engage in such a programme and like 99% of the other males I would reject attending completely

You are asking for men volunteer to be emasculated. Nice for you but it will not fly.

5 Restrictions on imagery.
Censorship. Rejected from the beginning of this and other threads

6. Regulation of production sites
7. Management of wages; wage rates and taxation
Impossible when most of the product is sourced from overseas.


Your suggestions suck.

They are the usual authoritarian panaceas which impose restrictions totally inappropriate to the perceived problem, which do not work for the reasons I have annotated above.

Robert
“Somehow we need to avoid early sexualisation of children but recognise that teenagers have some stuff to deal with that is not successfully managed by prohibition and denial.”

I have already made concrete suggestions on how to censor any access a child might have to pornography.

However, pynchme is not that specific. She expects adults to be, likewise, forced to kowtow to her bigotry, small mindedness and authoritarian moralizing.