From: Brad Griffin (b.griffin_at_cqu.edu.au)
Date: Wed May 05 2004 - 19:28:57 PDT
Hi all (from a lurker)
Can I add one or two things before this thread heads off-list? Thanks!
>
> I never denied the human race as being sexual... it's a
> matter of abusing that sexual nature.
> That sexual nature can be a most wonderful gift, but when it
> becomes an addiction of fantasy and lust, then the value of
> that sexual nature has just been depreciated. You can justify
> by saying, "what's wrong with appreciating a woman's body?"
> but what value has that given to the woman, and to the
> beautifulness.. it's become nigh unto a drug.
Fortunately for the human race, values and perceptions of what is
'right' and what is 'wrong' vary as much as the human species does.
> That sexual nature can be a most wonderful gift, but when it
> becomes an addiction of fantasy and lust, then the value of
> that sexual nature has just been depreciated.
That's your opinion based on your 'cultural capital'. Others do not see
fantasy and lust as something that devalues sexuality. My cultural
capital leads me to believe that sexuality is something that should not
be suppressed for the sake of sparing the sensibilities of people from
different backgrounds. The whole concept of admiring the opposite sex is
fundamental to us all. If we can't openly admire the opposite sex, I
believe we run the risk of having a society where more and more people
become obsessed with their thoughts and feelings that are forcibly
suppressed by others. This suppression (or oppression) may lead to more
sex related crimes by people who might otherwise not commit these
crimes. History shows that more often than not, sex crimes and crimes
against women are carried out by males who have had their own sexuality
repressed by their peers and elders.
> One other issue with allowing yourself to fantasize, is that
> it reduces the appreciation of the woman (or man) you're
> with. Because you raise all these expectations, the chances
> of yourself being pleased and satisfied has just been reduced
> (this has caused many marital problems).
I feel this is another opinion based statement (or possibly something
read from a text maybe?). As a healthy human, I fantasize as much as the
next man most likely does. I have *never* had any negative effects
resulting from over fantasizing about someone. In fact, you will most
likely find that all your fantasies about something will pale into
comparison with 'the real thing'.
>
> ok, you know, I'll get off my soapbox an save it for someone
> who cares...
> if you want to keep this conversation going, email me or something...
> this is a list about Newtons, not the battle of porn vs. values.
Thankyou for reading a small snippet of my opinions on this subject. I
hope they do not lead to any flame wars or further online discussion.
I'd be happy to jump into any offline discussions on the subject (now
*that* sounds suspect...).
Cheers,
Brad
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