The mainstreaming of porn continues this Sunday morning
By Tom Quiner
“50 Shades of Grey” continues to be a best seller as it mainstream porn to moms
I went to Mass early this morning. There, I spent some good time with Jesus on this beautiful, summer morning.
At about 9:15, I sat down with my first cup of coffee and the Des Moines Register and my reverie was broken. There it was, right in the IowaLife section, a nice, warm-fuzzy article about porn.
Specifically, Register columnist, Mike Kilen, paid homage to the New York Times best seller, “Fifty Shades of Grey.” He wrote about it in the context of the book as a cultural phenomenon.
Quiner’s Diner wrote about this ten days ago in an essay titled, “Is porn good for Moms?”
The tone of Kilen’s piece was accepting, not condemning. It presented quotes from “experts” who explained the success of this piece of smut as simply a natural evolution for enlightened women. Said Amy Popillion, a prof at Iowa State University who teaches “human sexuality”:
“I think women are talking about (sex) more. Maybe they are catching up with the pace that men talk about it. A common example is masturbation. Men have always joked about it but you didn’t hear women sitting around joking about it. We are seeing that shift. They are talking more about desire and pleasure.”
Is a book about sado masochism really talking about women’s desire and pleasure?
Is a book about a woman who sells herself into bondage to a man for him to use as his plaything really the next step in women’s liberation?
Kilen quotes the owner of Beaverdale Books, Alice Meyer, who says:
“We can’t keep it in stock.”
For the record, this bookstore is just a few blocks from my house.
Ms. Popillion says women’s education on sexuality used to focus on risk, but now has shifted toward pleasure.
Is S & M really pleasure?
Ms. Popillion seems delighted with the whole novel:
“Every single sexual encounter included discussion of contraception. Those sex scenes were very explicit, but they made the whole process of using a condom sound seductive.”
This is the mindset represented in one of our state universities.
Kilen quoted women who are reading this novel and watching increasingly explicit cinema. They feel no shame. It is harmless fun.
They were emphatic: this type of porn is okay and doesn’t cause irresponsible sex in real life.
The mainstreaming of porn continues.
It’s telling that every time women try to masculinize themselves, they copy the worst aspects of men while ignoring the best ones. “You know what will make us more liberated, ladies? Talking about masturbation and spending more time cheapening sex.” UGH. Any woman who falls for this crap will earn nothing but contempt from the kind of men who would rather treat women with the respect they deserve as fellow human beings.
It gets worse. In Target and BJs they’re now selling the “Sleeping Beauty” trilogy by Anne Rice. She wrote them in the 80’s and they make 50 Shades look like a children’s book. Mainstreaming indeed.
The column is spot on….the comment by “J” even more astute. Kudos to you both!
Although this comment is not directly addressing Tom’s blog, I felt it had enough in common to re-blog this from Walter Hoy/Issues4Life: Pastors: “Many feminists insist that abortion is necessary for women to participate freely and equally in society. Anyone who disagrees, they argue, has merely adopted patriarchal standards and accepted women’s ‘place’ in society. Yet this argument demonstrates how deeply the roots of sexism run in our culture. Its premise is a sexist one–that women are inferior to men and that in order to be equal, we have to change our biology to become like men—wombless and unpregnant at will. What other oppressed group in history has had to undergo surgery in order to be equal?” Marilyn Dickstein Kopp is right. Brothers, we need to talk. ~~End quote.
The similarity is that women used to draw the line, established the standard. Let’s face it: women civilized the beast–aka–man. Now, women, rather than raising men to their level have debased themselves and fallen to the level of an anything goes morality. Trouble is, women aren’t emotionally the same as men. Something breaks in a women emotionally when they give themselves over and over to different men. They will never find satisfaction for what they are seeking which is emotional security. It will never be found in one night stands or a cheapening of morals in order to be considered ‘equal’ to men.
I find it interesting that the feminists in my era (ancient history now!) balked, dare I say rioted, at being considered sex-objects. However, it has not gone unnoticed and clearly by men, that women today are used as sex-objects as never before! They dress like hookers, they are coarse, vulgar, putting their bodies on display and then pretending it’s all their idea! Yet, women today are more exploited sexually that ever! For instance, a man can causally impregnate a woman and truthfully tell her as he walks away from her and the child they created, “Your body, your choice”.
Women need to wise-up and regain self-respect and stop thinking that sex is just a party game with no losers. The losers are, 9 times out of 10 women. And that’s just the way it is, girls.
Most men are predictable. Women would be smart to use that predictability to their advantage by withholding the “marriage act” until marriage. Women are happier when they do; so are men; and so are their children!
Truer words were never spoken…. 🙂
And Anne Rice is a Catholic. Or was. And was not before that.
Obviously confused, writing about topics ranging from vampires, sadomasochism, witches, and the life of Jesus Christ. But then I would venture to say that most people who came out of Haight-Ashbury in the 60/70s were confused!
Anne Rice represents the challenge to heterodox Catholics: who is your Authority? She specifically rejects the Church’s 2000 year old revelation on human sexuality, opting instead to base her views on her own feelings and those of the Culture, with a capital C.
I would encourage you to contact Beaverdale Books and share your feelings. Let her know how some customers feel.
It’s tempting to never pay for the Des Moines Register again. And it looks like Beaverdale Books has lost my business too.
Al Kresta said it best: 1st comes the curiosity, which leads to the book purchase. 2nd, the reader is captured by the eroticism. Lastly, the reader becomes emotionally invested in the characters and story, at which point they are either unable to stop, and/or justify it even when encountering the most extreme content.
For more intellegent discussion than what the Des Moines Register has to offer, here are two links to Al’s archive:
http://avemariaradio.net/archive2/2012/07/kpm_20120709_1.mp3
http://avemariaradio.net/archive2/2012/07/kpm_20120709_2.mp3
Great insights. Thanks for sharing.
You pay for the Register? 😉
Guilty!