Pornography is any direct portrayal of sexual act in any medium. I personally believe that anything that shows nudity and simulate sexual intercourse can be considered a pornography. But if we look at the history, pornography has different forms and meaning depending on culture and belief.
As of today pornography is not only available in magazines and films it can be seen in video games, animation and the Internet. During this information technology era people are become more open and expose on sexual topics. One of the most influential/used medium for pornography as of today is the Internet.
The Internet is the most accessible medium in viewing pornographic materials. People mostly choose the Internet because they can anonymously access and view pornographic materials privately. As the most accessible medium, minors usually can access or view (accident or not) pornographic materials easily.
Internet provides commercial and free pornographic materials. There also sites that allows users to upload and download pornographic materials which they call amateur content. It also offers a large content of media formats, ranging from images, video files, streaming, web cams, text, and even audio files.
Pornography is part of booming sex industry around the world. Online pornography is a money generating form of pornography which can earn billion annually. Pornographic actors or porn stars cannot be considered prostitutes because they are not paid by the person who engage with them during sexual act on the film. They are actually same as Hollywood actors that are paid through talent agency or studio.
Any medium that is produced and distribute is somehow affects the economic activity of a certain region or state. Thus, pornography is legal, but should be under restrictions and monitoring. As the pornography generates billions, some expert says that banning them can have a major economic impact.
The rules that are governs pornography is different from region to region. I compile some of the important principles of legality of pornography:
1. The material is available for purchase to 18 years old and above.
2. The materials should be sold only in adult stores/web sites.
3. The actors should be 18 years old and above.
4. Pornography should only include human to human sexual interaction, bestiality is prohibited.
5. The pornography should not be obscene based on the legal context of the country/region/state.
6. Pornographic materials should not involve minors.
7. Pornographic materials should not be displayed to minors.
There are also some controversial principles:
1. In Azerbaijan pornographic materials are defined as work of art.
2. Bulgaria some authorities tolerate illegal selling of pornographic material and TV shows after 11 pm.
3. People can buy or rent pornographic materials in convenience stores in Denmark.
4. Finland allows to sell pornographic materials in any store.
5. There is a special VAT for pornographic materials in France.
6. In Greece materials can be seen in magazines, kiosk, convenience store, and even deck of cards.
7. You can watch pornographic film on adult cinema in Portugal.
8. Pornographic magazines in Romania must be placed on enclosed bags with small red printed square.
9. Japan is the largest producer of pornography in Asia.
There are mixed result on the effect of pornography to crime. According to some studies viewing pornographic materials may increase a person a tendency to do sexual crimes, but on other hand several studies shows no effect at all.
There are a lot of people and organizations that against pornography. Feminist argued that pornography humiliate women, very degrading and exploitation of women’s body. They believe that pornography promotes violence against women. Religious organization considered pornography as lust, sinful and grave offense. They believe that it removes the intimacy of sexual act between partners. They also say that sex is only for married couples and indulging or use pornography is an immoral behavior.
In my personal view, pornography can be legal, but should have restrictions. Possession of pornographic materials should always be private and personal use and should not be shared to minors or even other people. Pornographic materials should only include human to human (not bestiality), no minors and should not show any sexual violence against women or men. We should start to educate and guide our children, we should tell both sides of story and should not be biased. We should not influence them on our beliefs, but rather let them see and learned how to decide about moral and immoral. Don’t get me wrong when I say ‘let them’, they are still minor and needs strict guidance.
In our country, production and distribution of pornographic materials is illegal. Despite this, we are lacking of laws regarding online pornography. These materials can also be seen on markets and even malls. If our government is serious about prohibiting online pornography, we should start from cleaning up our markets and malls then continue to improve laws regarding online pornography. Other countries somehow successfully banned most of the site the explicitly shows any sexual act content, but still people who want to view online pornography still have many ways to bypass the web filter and software site blocker.
Making an act as illegal on laws does not mean we can prevent such act, it must be strictly implemented. As the all-or-none law principle states ‘the law applies to all or none at all’.
It always boils down on ourselves. Even though pornographic materials explicitly shows sexual act, we should not view it as a bad influence, but as an entertainment like other artistic medium. I still remember one general rule states that “what you do, what you hear, what you see, when you leave, leave it here’. Pornography is like that, after entertainment, then perhaps you forget about it and move on.
Lastly, I don’t agree that freedom of expression should be favored over censorship.
Geeks, Freaks And The Lost Pencil 