Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site harvard.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!hplabs!hao!seismo!harvard!draves From: draves@harvard.ARPA (Richard Draves) Newsgroups: net.books,net.women Subject: Re: Pornography doesn't degrade women ...(re: E. Leeper) Message-ID: <287@harvard.ARPA> Date: Sun, 13-Jan-85 16:17:15 EST Article-I.D.: harvard.287 Posted: Sun Jan 13 16:17:15 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 17-Jan-85 13:12:45 EST References: <243@looking.UUCP>, <11300010@smu.UUCP>, <4560@cbscc.UUCP>, <354@ahuta.UUCP> <4585@cbscc.UUCP> Organization: Aiken Computation Laboratory, Harvard Lines: 32 Xref: watmath net.books:1233 net.women:4111 > }> Defenses for porn are often couched in the rhetoric of free speech > }> and press. But I think porn makes a mockery of these freedoms. > }> All too often it is my suspicion that such rhetoric is used as a > }> justification by men for their own use of the stuff. > } > }Freedom of speech is freedom of speech. I find Nazi propaganda more offensive > }(by several orders of magnitude) and demonstrably more harmful in the long run > }than pornography, but I would not ban Nazi propaganda. > > I used the example of kiddie porn. May I replace "Nazi propaganda" in your > statement with that and you would still agree? I did recognize that freedom > for expressing political ideas is essential in my article. But you're > obviously not reading it very carfully anyway. > > }> What > }> real contribution to our basic liberties is made by porn? We have > }> an essentially free press without it. > } > }The same could be said for Nazi propaganda. My support of its right to be > }heard still stands. > > Kiddie porn too? If not, why the difference? Please read my comments > on that again. I think there is a very real difference between kiddie porn and "normal" pornography. I don't think any kind of sex between consenting adults should be banned; similarly, I don't care what happens between a porn actress, her producer, and his customers. The key phrase there is "consenting adults," obviously this is lacking in the case of kiddie porn. Rich