Youth Oppression
Speaking of changing when you turn 18, I find it pretty odd that in the one split second you turn 18, you suddenly become mature enough to handle adult material, therefore you can legally view it. Nobody will gain their maturity that fast.
Then again, the law was written not to be realistic, just to set some standards. There will always be people who are mature enough to view it well before they hit 18 and others who won't be mature enough for many years after they become adults.
I can't remember where in these comments I saw some people mention that they started looking at it around 13 (I think.) Anyways, here's my reply to those posts, wherever they may be:
I've been looking at it since I was around 10, and so far I've turned out quite fine. Sure, I'm a little more perverted than the average person (trust me), but I'm still doing fine.
In fact, hentai (along with video games) has helped me gain an interest in programming computer/video games, and pursue that interest to the ends of the earth. Without some of my obsessions/interests, I would probably spend the rest of my life working minimum wage jobs.
I saw somewhere once that the average person has already looked at porn somewhere around 10-13 years old. I guess I just started a little early compared to most people. Anyways, it's just a completely normal interest that is caused be several things. The two that come to mind are hormones (duh) and society's (at least America's) hang up over the naked body and sex, whether it is for reproduction or just for some fun.
Anyways, my cold is still getting worse, so I think I'm gonna go back to bed again. Just figured someone might be interested in my two cents
Also, as a side note, I am completely on both Spencer's side for trying to keep Sheezy out of legal trouble and every single minor's side for being suppressed (to a point) by adults. I hope that as I grow older I can keep this mindset, rather than lose it like so many adults out there have.
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Thanks, and I totally agree with you. While it is unfair to the ones who are ready before they turn 18, there are still plenty that won't be ready until they are 18 or even older.
The problem with it, though, is that there is not one way to prove someone is mature enough at whatever age they may be, mainly because people have different ideas of what it means to be mature. So, to make it easy they have to look for the average, and then use that for everyone.
This way the prevent a lot of the people who wouldn't be able to handle it before they turn 18 from "legally" viewing it until they are ready for it. Sadly, the rest of us who would be ready for it earlier just have to suffer and wait.
Sadly, the age limit is too high for looking at that type of stuff. Like I said, most people start sometime into puberty, meaning they might not even be teenagers yet. When you start getting those sexual urges, you're gonna try and find a way to release it. Porno is just one of the many ways people find to take care of their hormones.
Now, there is another thing that looking at that type of stuff can do for you, although this doesn't apply to everyone. For me though, it did and still does. It can help teach you about sex, the male and female bodies, etc. I actually never had sex ed, mainly because I was home schooled through all of middle school except for the last half of the eighth grade. Once I got back into school it was a private one, so they didn't really have anything like that either.
Neither my parents nor my grandparents have been very open about sexual matters, so porn was my only way to learn about it. Fast forward to now and I'm still a virgin. I know a whole lot more than a lot of people my age, including most/all of the risks involved. That comes from both movies and fanfiction.
Now, while it helped me out let's look at the opposite side of the spectrum. Their will be other people who will get false impressions from it. This will leave them pretty messed up mentally and give them a harsh reality check when they finally do decide to have sex. These are the kind of people that can be protected by these laws, and would be the main reason why I can find any use for them being set so high.
Finally, you have the people who never view it until they are 18, or sometimes they never view it their entire lives. If they were like me, then when the time comes to have sex, they will have no idea of the risks involved. They may not even know how to have sex.
I think several things really need to be done. One of them is properly educating children about sex, the risks, and ways to protect yourself from those risks. People need to be taught that sex isn’t anything to be ashamed of nor is it evil. The second thing that needs done is the age limit for viewing adult material needs lowered, at least down to sixteen and probably even a little lower. This way, once those hormones are kicking into high gear, people won’t feel as guilty looking at it. I know I felt quite guilty looking at porn for several years. I was feeling guilty from hiding it from my grandparents (who I live with), and I felt that it was wrong to be doing all of this.
It wasn’t because I was misinformed; it was because I wasn’t really informed at all. Finally my mother and grandmother confronted me and my sister, and told us it was perfectly alright, as long as we did it alone. We had viewed it together for a short while (don’t be a pervert), so that’s what spawned the confrontation. Anyways, what happened was a great weight being lifted off of my chest. I’ve been quite happy since, without a shred of guilt for the most part.
This is what I mean with there being problems with the law. I’ve just told you some about myself and my past, and it shows you some of the problems that I’ve been talking about, only with a real world example. Like you were saying ralesk, age limits are quite idiotic for the most part, but sadly there isn’t an easy way to do anything about it. Age restrictions for other things though make perfect sense, but this isn’t one of them. I know someone is going to have a heart attack when they hear that I think the age limit should be lowered, but when you really think about it you can see it makes sense.
Now, even though I plan on bitching about this, I’m not gonna complain about Spencer’s choice. There is nothing wrong with his choice, and I agree with him on it completely. What I will complain about is the law though, or at least that law. Sorry that this is so long, but I am just trying to beat certain points that I fell strongly about deeply into the minds of anyone who reads this
Wow, if I needed to right a report on something that would be 1,000 words long, I’d be really close with this post! This post is just 78 words short of 1,000!
Comments
kitty lee Says:
.......... wow....
Greater words have never been spoken.
ralesk Says:
Thanks for posting it :) And you found a good picture to go with it, too.
Now I can fav it, unlike a comment, which I can’t ^^
Spubba Says:
Nice thoughts on the 18+ debate.
The unfortunate thing about all this, is that the law MUST be followed. The law says a certain thing about people under 18 shouldn't look at porn. I agree that if a child is raised properly, with a healthy outlook towards sexuality and open discussions with a parent about human sexual behavior, he or she may be more prepared to see "hentai" images at an early age.
However.
Not all parents are good at raising their kids right. Some kids are NOT ready to handle "adult" topics even when they hit 21 (or above.) Some kids (like myself) were raised by parents who believe discussing sexuality is a sin, and essentially can't handle it when exposed to certain things for the first time. I think this is why the laws were written the way they were, making a standard that everyone can follow. We all know that once you turn 18, it's not like you flip a switch and become a mature adult. But there has to be some kind of cut-off point.
Law is law, fortunately or unfortunately. If there was some law in place saying you can't wear a blue shirt, then not many people would wear blue shirts. It would have nothing to do with whether or not you think blue shirts are ok... it has everything to do with you don't want to go to jail for something as stupid as wearing a blue shirt. And if enough people think the no-blue-shirt law is dumb, they'd protest and write their congressman to get the law changed.
I agree with SA on enforcing the age policy. Not that I personally care about the children myself, but I *do* care about the administrators and owners staying out of trouble. That's what matters to me.
Nikuramon Says:
I'm sorry to hear that you're still sick.
I like the way you wrote this; you supported you position clearly, and made some good points.
I am against censorship of any form. If someone doesn't like what they see, they don't have to keep looking.
I do think that it's better for the admins to follow the law though, rather than get into trouble later on.
A similar example of the maturity issue is violent video games. Some children are mature enough, some are not. Just because you play a violent video game, does not mean you will do violent things.
People do not like to accept responsability for their actions. That's why dungons and dragons, the Matrix, violent videogames, and porn get blamed for the actions of adults who knew better.
..and I don't really see how porn can mess up a child anyway - (well, there was some stuff from japan that I saw one time, that made me want to burn out my eyes)
Cree Says:
this is really a great piece of work.
Awesome job on this
-Cristina
amtrack88 Says:
I, for one, believe the brain doesn't truly mentally mature til' between the ages of 30 to 40.
Some points I agree with you and some I disagree. But there is a law, and SA is required to follow it, or face penalties.
Nice work!