Subtle Dangers

[Dan Murphy]

I came across the following thoughts from a web site that our friend Chipperdini had provided a link to while she was replying in a thread posted by DIS'er, alias. I found the comments to be quite interesting. Any thoughts??Subtle Dangers of Pornography

Ted Bundy confessed before he was executed for multiple murders that addiction to pornography fueled his violent behavior. Many viewers of pornography claim that occasional viewing of nudity will not turn them into serial killers. True, only a small percentage of individuals who view pornography develop addictions that lead them to violent behavior. Pornography, however, does pose subtle dangers worth considering.

National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families

In his book, The Centerfold Syndrome, psychologist Gary R. Brooks, Ph.D., identifies five principal symptoms of what he describes as a "pervasive disorder" linked to consumption of soft-core pornography like Playboy and Penthouse.

Voyeurism - An obsession with looking at women rather than interacting with them. Brooks contends that the explosion in glorification and objectification of women's bodies promotes unreal images of women, distorts physical reality, creates an obsession with visual stimulation and trivializes all other mature features of a healthy psychosexual relationship.

Objectification - An attitude in which women are objects rated by size, shape and harmony of body parts. Brooks asserts that if a man spends most of his emotional energy on sexual fantasies about inaccessible people, he frequently will not be available for even the most intimate emotional and sexual moments with his partner.

Validation - The need to validate masculinity through beautiful women. According to Brooks, the women who meet centerfold standards only retain their power as along as they maintain perfect bodies and the leverage of mystery and unavailability. And the great majority of men who never come close to sex with their dream woman are left feeling cheated or unmanly.

Trophyism - The idea that beautiful women are collectibles who show the world who a man is. Brooks asserts that the women's-bodies-as-trophies mentality, damaging enough in adolescence, becomes even more destructive in adulthood. Furthermore, trophies, once they are won, are supposed to become the property of the winner, a permanent physical symbol of accomplishment and worthiness. This cannot be so with women's bodies.

Fear of true intimacy - Inability to relate to women in an honest and intimate way despite deep loneliness. Pornography pays scant attention to men's needs for sensuality and intimacy while exalting their sexual needs. Thus, some men develop a preoccupation with sexuality, which powerfully handicaps their capacity for emotionally intimate relationships with men and for nonsexual relationships with women.


The site is http://www.focusonthefamily.com/


http://www.focusonthefamily.com/topics/a0018139.cfm

[Buckalew]

Doesn't surprise me any... I'm a big believer in garbage in, garbage out.
Thanks for the post, Dan.

[SilverLily]

In his book, The Centerfold Syndrome, psychologist Gary R. Brooks, Ph.D., identifies five principal symptoms of what he describes as a "pervasive disorder" linked to consumption of soft-core pornography like Playboy and Penthouse. Well, I hope this Dr. Gary Brooks is talking about addictions to pornography, and not just the everyday man who indulges occasionally. If he believes that this "pervasive disorder" happens to any man who looks at Playboy and Penthouse, then he is off his rocker and I would take his opinion with a grain of salt. :rolleyes:

[caitycaity]

"If he believes that this "pervasive disorder" happens to any man who looks at Playboy and Penthouse, then he is off his rocker and I would take his opinion with a grain of salt. "

i agree, 100%.

[Kermit]

Dr. Dobson has been against pornography for this reason for a long time, and since he's someone that I really look up to, I'm inclined to believe him. I know that it doesn't cause problems in every single person, but it is a risk, and there's no way to tell which people are going to end up being affected (much like drinking and alcoholism).

For this reason, I don't shop at drug stores that sell pornography (or alcohol or cigarettes for that matter). I think that drug stores should be focused on keeping society healthy.

[helenabear]

I saw this thread much earlier in the day and I wanted to read the article better (and some of the website) to get a better feel for what he was talking about. I can't say that I don't disagree with him. I think that when looked at on a regular basis pornography can lead to these five things mentioned. It does help to objectify a body. When you hear someone say that they'd like to "have a piece of that" you can't tell me that they didn't just objectify the person they were speaking of.

Personally I didn't get the impression that he was saying that one look here or there and these will happen, but even my husband agreed with me that it could possibly lead to a misconception of how women are viewed and ultimately treated. JMO.

[EROS]

RIDICULOUS .

TRASH PSYCHOLOGY AT ITS WORST . We're talking about THEORIES of behavior here. No clinical studies. No science. Poor garbage:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: . We've been hearing the same fire and brimstone routine for centuries; hey, it wasn't that long ago that boys were told that they'd have hairy hands if they masturbated.

Similiar arguments have been offered by the anti-gun lobby about the "violence" perpetrated by legal gun ownership. Hello.......... the guns don't kill on their own, they have to be fired by a murderer.

Sure, there are unstable people who are preoccupied with pornography. There are also unstable people who are preoccupied with fast cars. Perhaps we should just take alllllllllll of the hot cars off the road. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Goofyposter]

Thanks Dan for postin this! :)


:sniff:...:sniff:....:sniff:....I smell something wrong? :confused:

[CRB#33]

Those of you that live in or near Philadelphia, know that last week a 6 year old girl was taken out of her bed by a friend of the family in the middle of the night. She was at a sleepover.

This young man was downstairs watching porn. He snatched the girl, raped her and killed her and dumped her body. Six years old.

I'm not saying that porn leads to these behaviors, but it triggered something awful in this person and that alone should speak volumes about the harm this can cause. One death too many.

Just ask this little girls mother.

You can check this story at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

[SilverLily]

If someone is capable of raping and killing a 6 year old girl, those tendencies have probably always been there. It may be that he used porn to satisfy some of his urges to rape and kill, but was finally tempted to act on them when the option presented itself.

I don't buy the whole "porn made me do it" or "violence in movies made me do it" story. Those are cop outs for underlying tendencies they had.

[EROS]

Well, ya got trouble, my friend.
Right here, I say trouble right here in River City
Why, sure, I'm a billiard player
Certainly mighty proud to say,
I'm always mighty proud to say it
I consider the hours I spend with a cue in my hand are golden
Help you cultivate horse sense and a cool head and a keen eye
Didja ever take an' try an' give an iron clad leave
to yourself from a three-rail billiard shot?
But just as I say it takes judgement, brains and maturity
to score in a balk-line game
I say that any **** can take and shove a ball in a pocket
And I call that sloth,
the first big step on the road to the depths of degreda-
I say, first- medicinal wine from a teaspoon,
then beer from a bottle
And the next thing you know your son is playin'
for money in a pinchback suit
and listenin' to some big out-o'-town jasper
Hear him tell about horserace gamblin'
Not a wholesome trottin' race, no,
but a race where they set down right on the horse
Like to see some stuck up jockey boy sittin' on Dan Patch?
Make your blood boil, well I should say
Now, folks, let me show you what I mean
You got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table
Pockets that mark the difference between a gentleman and a bum
With a capital 'B' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for 'pool'

[helenabear]

I seriously doubt this article is saying "porn made them do that" actually I think the following is what he was trying to say True, only a small percentage of individuals who view pornography develop addictions that lead them to violent behavior. Pornography, however, does pose subtle dangers worth considering.
These aren't tendencies for killing, but I have to agree that repetative and regular viewing of pornography can help one get a distorted image of the opposite sex and distorted ideas of what a real relationship with a living being should be like.

[Beauty]

I do have to say that pornography does not bother me. I am not talking XXXX rated but I guess what you call Soft Core. Playboy, Playgirl, movies on Cinemax etc. Heck sometimes its even quite fun...I know TMI!! But I can honestly say that I don't think our marriage could be any better. John and I are as close as I think humanly possible. I think that people like are mentioned in this have more wrong with them than just the pornography. I actually see nothing wrong with trying new things like the pornography as long as it is kept between the husband and wife only in their marriage bed. I can say John and I would have a pretty boring marriage if we never tried anything new. But to each his own of course....as long as a husband and wife are happy and there is trust than that is all that matters.

I do agree that when it comes to animals, children, bringing in other people and things like that then yes there is a huge problem!!! Just had to clarify!

[EROS]

Now I know all you folks are the right kind of parents
I'm gonna be perfectly frank
Would you like to know what kind of conversation goes on
while they're loafin' around that hall
They'll be tryin' out Bevo, tryin' out Cubebs,
tryin' out tailor-mades like cigarette fiends
And braggin' all about how they're gonna cover up
a tell-tale breath with Sen-Sen
Now one fine night they leave the pool hall
headin' for the dance at the Armory
Libertine men and scarlet women and ragtime
Shameless music that'll grab your son, your daughter
into the arms of a jungle animal instinct- massteria!
Friends, the idle brain is the devil's playground, trouble!

[one_cat]

Since when does a monster like Ted Bundy become an expert in sexual disfunction. The idea that a well known and respected person like Gary Brooks or James Dobson would buy into the copout that "the pictures made me do it" is beyond rediculous - it's frightening. Does anyone really believe that ridding the land of porn would rid us of serial killers?

[EROS]

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Oh, we got trouble

(HAROLD)
Right here in River City

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Right here in River City

(HAROLD)
With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for 'pool'

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
That stands for pool

(HAROLD)
We surely got trouble

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
We surely got trouble

(HAROLD)
Right here in River City

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Right here

(HAROLD)
Gotta figure out a way to keep the young ones
moral after school

(TOWNSPEOPLE chant 'trouble')

(HAROLD talking)
Mothers of River City,
heed this warning before it's too late
Watch for the tell-tale signs of corruption
The minute your son leaves the house
does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee?
Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger?
A dime novel hidden in the corncrib?
Is he starting to memorize jokes
from Cap'n Billy's Whizbang?
Are certain words creeping into his conversation?
Words like... swell?
And... 'so's your old man'?
Well if so, my friends...

[Buckalew]

Hey, whatever blows your skirt up...

I wouldn't assume that just because someone thinks porn is wrong or destructive that they think sex is dirty or wrong. I am sure that each of us who opposes it doesn't think of sex as dirty or wrong.
And even if you don't watch porn or look at that stuff on the Internet or read trashy romance novels, it doesn't mean you never try anything new. ;)

[EROS]

Ya got trouble

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Oh, we got trouble

(HAROLD)
Right here in River City

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Right here in River City

(HAROLD)
With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for 'pool'

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
That stands for pool

(HAROLD)
We've surely got trouble

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
We surely got trouble

(HAROLD)
Right here in River City

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Right here

(HAROLD)
Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule?
Oho, we got trouble
We're in terrible, terrible trouble
That game with the fifteen numbered balls is the devil's tool

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Devil's tool

(HAROLD)
Yes, we've got trouble, trouble, trouble

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
Oh, yes, we got trouble here, we got big, big trouble

(HAROLD)
With a 'T'

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
With a capital 'T'

(HAROLD)
And that rhymes with 'P'

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
That rhymes with 'P'

(HAROLD)
And that stands for pool

(TOWNSPEOPLE)
That stands for pool

(HAROLD)
Remember my friends, listen to me,
because I pass this way but once

(TOWNSPEOPLE chant 'trouble', etc.)

[Smee]

gee...wasn't Professor Harold Hill (the Music Man) a
con-man?:confused:

[Ricola]

Dan, I do think the points in that article are interesting. However, I believe that censorship seldom, if ever has its desired effect, whether it is the stifling of speech or the burning of books and records.

If you don't like porn, don't buy it.

[Nikole]

I think this is the which came first the chicken or the egg debate.

Did porn cause the effect?

OR was that effect always there?
OR do these people view porn because they already have a problem? OR is there no problem and porn caused the problem?

I have a rough time believing that porn causes people to lose control resulting in rape and murder.

[EROS]

Originally posted by Smee
gee...wasn't Professor Harold Hill (the Music Man) a
con-man?:confused:

Precisely, SMEE;) ;) ;) . He set about to convince the good people of RIVER CITY that their children were heading to hell and damnation because of their immersion in..........POOL.

In the same fashion, Drs. Dobson and Brooks are using pornography as a straw man. There ARE sick people out there who commit TERRIBLE acts such as murder, rape, and child molestation. However, it's NOT the pornography that "makes them do it".

[EROS]

Originally posted by Buckalew
Hey, whatever blows your skirt up...


I don't know if Marilyn was into porn, but she looked GREAT with her skirt up!!!!!;) ;) ;) ;)

http://images.allposters.com/images/130/009_220-071.jpg

[Ricola]

EROS - One question:

Do you do Man of La Mancha too?????


:teeth::teeth::teeth:

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by helenabear
I seriously doubt this article is saying "porn made them do that" actually I think the following is what he was trying to say........

True, only a small percentage of individuals who view pornography develop addictions that lead them to violent behavior. Pornography, however, does pose subtle dangers worth considering.


These aren't tendencies for killing, but I have to agree that repetative and regular viewing of pornography can help one get a distorted image of the opposite sex and distorted ideas of what a real relationship with a living being should be like.

Quoting Elaine above, I honestly think this is what Dr. Brooks was trying to get across in the five subtle dangers he put forth. I don't think he was saying that 'a look' or 'looks' is/are going to make one a psychopath or a rapist/killer. As said above by a poster, it possibly could lead to pushing someone to that point, given that they maybe had those tendencies to begin with. Regarding Ted Bundy, I don't think he was being made to be an expert in anything, just repeating his statement that he thought his 'addiction to pornography fueled his violent behavior'. That type of violent behavior is certainly less common, though very real, than the subtle consequences put forth in the writing. Those consequences can be seen, IMO, (and that of many) in RL, and even in 'cyber-life'. Just take a look at some of what is posted here on the DIS regarding women. Now, some may think it fine, on the other hand, some may not. I tend to agree with the fine doctor, Dr. Brooks. JMO.

[EROS]

Originally posted by Dan Murphy


Just take a look at some of what is posted here on the DIS regarding women.

OK, I get the message:). I don't want to send any male DISers "over the edge". Forget Marilyn. Forget Heidi. Forget Sports Illustrated. :cool:


http://a1259.g.akamai.net/f/1259/5586/1d/images.art.com/images/PRODUCTS/shdws/large/10040000/10040369.jpg