Pornography

There are a few subjects which I feel very strong about. The media's portrayal of women is one of them.  It honestly makes me sick.  Women are continuously degraded and objectified. Their bodies are plastered across all avenues. Magazines use women's breasts and bodies to sell products, and, well, to sell magazines. Television: though nudity and sexuality is more regulated due to the reach of television into our homes, talk of sex has been integrated into every story.  The use of women for the physical pleasure of men is innuendo-ed in every episode of most shows.  You will find crude jokes made at the expense of women at every turn.  Don't even get me started on movies.  I get a knot in my stomach when I think of the content of movies.  sex. BARE NAKED women strutting around.  EASY women who sell themselves. 


It is gross, and I die a little inside every time I hear about women showing their breasts in movies.  I feel violated every time a women shows her body (which is very anatomically similar to mine) to the world.  I feel as though every time a women displays her body with abandon I am lessened, my value is lowered and what I have to offer a man is diminished.  He sees a women with a beautiful body who is more than willing to pleasure him with it and he sees no value in her brain, and by extension, mine.  He begins to see me, and every other women, as just like her, as a object.


THE WORST PART 
is that they. think. it. is. ok. 
Men think it's O.K.  The negative effects of viewing this pornographic** (yes, it is pornography) are evident.  Men watch 'R' rated movies with abandon, not even blinking an eye when the content turns pornographic.  It bothers me. It really bothers me. The acceptance of this behavior is the most awful part.  There is no filtering.  I cannot fathom why this is has become so accepted.  What justifies this?  What makes this different than google searching "porn?"  I answer: nothing. 


Guys often say that this content 'does nothing' for them.  I don't know if this is true... but either way I have an issue with it.  If it does 'excite' them then it needs to be avoided as these feelings are to be saved for the intimacy and commitment of marriage and should not be aroused outside of this relationship.  If it doesn't, well that just shows how we have been desensitized as a society.  When a naked women doesn't excite a man it is because he has become so accustomed to viewing this that he doesn't experience the natural reactions.  What does this do for their relationships in real life?  Where does it put their wives who likely don't have the bodies like the movie stars?  How is she ever supposed to live up to their fantasies?  How is she ever going to please her husband who has become desensitized to the one thing she is alone supposed to offer him? 


Pornography is EVERYWHERE.  We can not be lackadaisical about our avoidance of it.  We need to actively defend our virtue.  We need to filter every movie we watch, ever show we support, every magazine we buy.  Be vigilant in protecting your eyes and your mind from the degrading and downright disgusting images flashed across the movie screen. Please.  For my sake.  For your girlfriends sake.  For your wife's sake.  For your daughter's sake.  


I'm not making this stuff up.  Research as been done.  But it's late and I don't have time to find relevant articles, but I will.  Stay tuned.  I'll have more to say too. But I needed to get this out.

** I found this bit here.  
       "Pornography is any material depicting or describing the human body or sexual conduct in a way that arouses sexual feelings. It is distributed through many media, including magazines, books, television, movies, music, and the Internet. It is as harmful to the spirit as tobacco, alcohol, and drugs are to the body. Using pornographic material in any way is a violation of a commandment of God: “Thou shalt not . . . commit adultery . . . nor do anything like unto it” (D&C 59:6). It can lead to other serious sins. Members of the Church should avoid pornography in any form and should oppose its production, distribution, and use.       Pornography is tragically addictive. Like other addictions, it leads people to experiment and to seek more powerful stimulations. Those who experiment with it and allow themselves to remain caught in its trap will find that it will destroy them, degrading their minds, hearts, and spirits. It will rob them of self-respect and of their sense of the beauties of life. It will tear them down and lead them to evil thoughts and possibly evil actions. It will cause terrible damage to their family relationships.

       Because of the addictive nature of pornography and the harm it can cause to body and spirit, servants of God have repeatedly warned us to shun it. Those who are caught in the trap of pornography should stop immediately and seek help."