Explain the nature of pornography and give your reasons to why we should/should not exercise any form of censorship in this area.

Pornography, based on the random house dictionary, refers to obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, especially those having little or no artistic merit. Its primary purpose is for sexual arousal. It is portraying nudity or sexual acts through imagery or any other media. Pornography has both its supporters and critics, with equally strong arguments on each side. For those who see no harm in pornography, base their arguments mainly on the fact that pornography can be referred to as a form of art, similar to Erotica. Erotica is a form of art that deals with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions. Though it can be argued that the two are different, we cannot deny that there is similarity between the two, and pornography can be Erotica if viewed from different perspectives. On the other hand, those who are against pornography base their arguments mainly on the fact that it degrades the role of a woman to that of a sex object. A woman is no longer human then. A woman's role will be to cater to male desires. Hence, there is strong basis for the need to exercise any form of censorship of pornography for both sides.


Firstly, let me explain the reason as to why censorship of pornography should go. Pornography, to some extent, can be referred to as Erotica. Erotica, as explained earlier, is a form of art. Though it suggests and encourages sexual fantasies, it is widely accepted unlike pornography. The reason being that it encaptures formal elements of art, and drawing on other historical artworks. Hence, the point to be made is, if pornography is close or similar to erotic art, why can't pornography be accepted by the public? Though it can be argued that pornography differs in terms of the way it is portrayed, it still serves as a piece of art. The purpose of pornography is ultimately decided not by the creator, but the audiences. It is them who chooses to see it as an art or content which caters to men desires. They decide if it is art or the stereotypical harmful thing that most people view it as. Hence, since the purpose and effect is solely dependent on the mind of the beholder, there is no need for the censorship of pornography to stay, because the person ultimately responsible for themselves are themselves. Another reason for pornography to stay is that there is in fact a drop in crime rates. In 20th century Japan, there was increasing pornography use. Instead of encouraging sexual assaults, Japan have been experiencing a significant drop in rape and other sex crimes. This further proves the existence of pornography as healthy and not harmful.


However, there are also solid reasons for pornography to be censored. A very good argument is the fact that it humuliates women. It degrades women to sex objects, for fulfilling men desires. We must reach this point that women are not born to serve men. This is still so if the woman did it on her own will. No one is born an unequal, and more importantly no one deserves to be treated unequally. Moreover, there are also religious objections to pornography. Most religions either see sex as a sacred, highly-pleasurable activity or as something limited to its purpose of breeding. Hence, the unconstrained idea of pornography is strongly objected by many religions. In addition, though it is true that in japan the sexual crimes decreased, it is not necessarily the same for the rest of the world. In fact, pornography had made the situation worse, by conveying the message that all women really want to be raped. A study done on rapists found that the assailant had the wrong conception on sexual activities, and insisted that "the victims not only enjoyed rape but also extreme violence." Clearly, the sex predators got the misconception that victims will like what they do to them. This is especially so for those who watch pornography. Another study conducted examined the exposure to and the usage of pornography in the histories of 38 rapists and 26 child molesters. Rapists and child molesters were reported to be "significantly more likely" to use pornographic materials prior to and during their offenses. Moreover, pornography is very addictive. With more people having access to it, it is no surprise that the number of sex offenders will increase. Furthermore, with no restriction on internet pornography, pornographic materials are easily sent from home to home, causing greater harm to the society. In an article on New York Times, a Florida man was caught offering to trade nude pictures of his young daughter and other forms of child pornography in an Internet chat room. This person had exploited the use of the internet, for the entertainment and enjoyment of himself and other dirty men. He is not the only one. There are many others who abused the internet for similar reasons. This explains the plethora of pornography material online, many of which were not even uploaded by the 'actors' themselves. Therefore, with all these harmful effects going on currently with almost no restriction, there is concrete basis for pornography to be censored.


Though there are strong arguments on both sides, i am more supportive of censoring pornography. Though there is healthy sides to pornography, I feel that pornography has more harmful effects. We must understand that pornography is not something good to us to begin with, especially to individuals with absolutely no self control. However, it is ultimately up to the individual to decide if pornography is good for them. Similarly, after making their decision, they would have to bear the consequences. It is completely up to them to choose their path. They chose what they did and they have no one to blame but themselves should trouble arise.