Alison Whittaker Think of your child at about five years old. He is outside playing in the front yard near a very busy street. You obviously aren’t going to just let him run out and play without any supervision unless he has been taught about the dangers of the road. Some parents will put up a fence around the yard so that it makes it harder for the child to go out into the road. Other parents may stay outside with their child so that they can watch and make sure that he is safe. You don’t want your child getting hurt, right? Then you have to do certain things to protect him. Pornography is just as accessible and dangerous as a busy street. Children playing on the computer can find pornography as easy as they can find something good. They can also find mild pornography just flipping through the cable stations. Pornography can also affect our children by other people viewing pornography. Many psychologist believe that people who view pornography have a larger tendency to commit sexual crimes (Harmer 2). As parents, what are we going to do to protect our children from the damaging effects of pornography? No, it won’t run them over and kill them like an automobile, but it will have a lasting negative effect on them. Hundreds of people subscribe to pornographic magazines. They are in so many of today’s homes. Think of the tremendous effect that this type of invasion is creating for children, teens and adults. Anyone has access to it. One day I went to the mailbox and in it I found an advertisement for a pornographic magazine. It was in an envelope so I didn’t see any pictures, but what if my little sister or brother had opened it up. Unless you read the entire envelop very carefully you wouldn’t have known what it was? At first glance it looked like an ad for a Rainbow Bright doll. If my sister would have seen that she would have opened it right up. This type of thing has happened twice to my family. This type of thing happens to many people. Pornography companies by mailing lists from other companies to send stuff to people. These people did not ask for it to be sent to them. The pornography companies just sent them (Moore 4). This is just one example of how easily people can obtain pornographic magazines. Internet is another place where children can find pornography easily. Even kiddie porn, which is illegal, can be found on the Internet. The computer has made it possible for people to operate out of reach of the law. "It’s like the old betting parlor setups. You can get one going in no time and knock it down just as fast(Carcaterra)." Almost anyone can find these bulletin boards. This includes teachers, doctors, lawyers, and your children. Another major pornography industry is cable TV. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the Federal Communications Commission could not regulate the cable programming anymore. The billion dollar pornography industry did not begin by showing "hard core" triple "X" pornography, they began with "soft core" rated "R" shows. They have, since then, gradually started showing harder pornography. "This is borne out by the sampling of pornography available today versus 10 years ago. The nature of the material keeps getting more debased and more degenerative in order to satisfy it’s victims" (Harmer 7), commented Dr. Cline, a psychologist at the University of Utah. Cable TV is no longer safe for our children to watch unsupervised. You can’t think that because it is on TV it is all right for your child to see. You need to know that it is the pornography industry that rates the movies not your mother. "Movies which are unquestionably pornographic have long since found their way into the family room via cable broadcasts" (Harmer 7). Now think of your child one evening watching TV, flipping through the channels. Is this the type of thing that you want to risk letting your child see? So why don’t we want our children viewing this type of material? Is it really something that we need to worry about? The answer to this question is yes. Pornography is an addiction. And just like any other addiction, the dosage has to be continually increased to have the same effect. In an interview with Ted Bundy, a serial killer, Bundy remarks, "I would keep looking for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep craving something which is harder, harder¼ until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so far. You¼ begin to wonder if maybe actually doing it will give you that which is beyond just reading about it or looking at it" (Bender 142). In a study done by Dr. Dolf Zillman and Dr. Jennings Bryant at Indiana University, students who were exposed to massive amounts of pornography experienced a desensitization. It became less objectionable and offensive to them, and they had less compassion for rape victims even though they did not view any aggressive pornography (Harmer 2). Not only does pornography desensitize the viewer, but much of the pornography instructs how to do the acts and increases the likelihood that the viewer will commit similar sexual crimes. In 1978 Ted Bundy abducted and murdered a twelve-year-old girl. He also confessed to murdering over twenty-three women. It all started at the age 12 or 13 when he obtained some soft-core pornography from the local drug store. He and some of his friends would also occasionally find, in back alleys and dumpsters, a discarded magazine which was usually harder than the magazines that they would get at the drug store. As he got older the pornography that he viewed became more hard-core. He viewed what he called to be the most damaging type of pornography which is sexual violence pornography. Bundy didn’t blame pornography completely for his actions, but he admits that it was a key factor. Bundy commented that, "Violent types of pornography¼ [were] an indispensable link in the chain of events that led to the behavior, the assaults, the murders" (Bender 139). Pornography doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. It is not going to influence every person that looks at it to commit a sexual crime. Addictions are like that. They affect some people more than they affect others" (Bender 144). Another danger that pornography presents is "it can fill a person’s head with unrealistic expectations for relationships. Pornography only offers the physical side of sex, absent the emotional and psychological components." This creates distorted expectations for future companions. They will expect the same stimulation that they get from the magazines and films. "Why subscribe to a lie?" (Thompson). Hopefully you are convinced that pornography is a major hazard for our children. So what can we do about it? In the case of pornography on the Internet, there are several things that parents can do. One is to show your children the child only net sites. America Online, Prodigy, Microsoft Network, and several other services have these sites. The extreme solution to Internet pornography is to not have Internet on your computer. Another thing that you can do is use a filter program. CyberSitter, SurfWatch, and Internet Filter are just a few affective ones. These filters may come with your Internet program, but if not, they are very inexpensive. You will still need to keep an eye on your children while they are playing on the Internet because even the best Internet filter, CyberSitter, only blocks out one-third of the pornography sites. There is another type of filter, Cyber Patrol, that only allows the use of pre-approved sites. This allows parents to put a tighter restriction on the use of the Internet (Parents… 3). "With the Internet becoming increasingly accessible to people of all ages, access to pornographic materials is a mouse-click away. The lack of regulation on the net and its relative newness mean the courts and Congress are trying to figure out how to regulate it." (Moore 4), but until then we should do all we can to protect our children by supervising our children and using filters. The second thing that parents can do is stand up for their rights. As citizens of the United States it is our right and responsibility to fight for a decent society. In my opinion, we have more right to voice our opinion about pornography than the pornographers do making it. The First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech, but that only stands true until you start infringing on another person’s rights. It is our right to have a decent society, and with all of the damaging effects of pornography on society, they are infringing on our rights. So let us exercise our right to free speech and speak out against the companies that sell and produce pornography. These companies will listen if we can unite together and show them how the majority feels. We need to ban together and not support stores that sell this type of material. Send around petitions to show the stores that we will no longer shop at their store if they continue to carry pornographic material. There is already a group in Utah Valley that is doing this. The group is called Utah County Citizens Against Pornography. This group was started by Michelle and Doug Brockbank in American Fork who realized the problem when their children, who were two and five at the time, walked into the adults only section at Movie Buffs. The section had a door on it, but it wasn’t very restricting. The bottom of the door was only about waist high and so little children could walk under and adults could see over. There were no signs anywhere that said that it was an "adult only" section. The mother saw that her children had gone in but didn’t really worry about it because she thought it was a play room for children. But when she went in to get them she found out differently. There was her two-year- old and her five-year-old staring at the pictures on the covers of the movies. Most of the covers were very pornographic in nature. She didn’t say anything to the manager that night, but the next day she called the manager and complained. She also did a lot of calling to find out what the law was and what needed to be done to change the situation there. She found that the law permitted the sale of only those that went along with community standards (Brockbank). Then, on October 25, 1996, the American Fork Movie Buffs was raided and 829 videos were confiscated. The couple then organized a meeting with their neighborhood watch to decide what they should do. The group decided to form a petition drive to show the government that the pornographic movies that were available at Movie Buffs did not abide by community standards. It was also used to show Movie Buffs how many people would not continue to shop at their store while they continued to carry that type of material. When the petition came back, they had about 5,000 signatures (Moore 2). Obviously the citizens of American Fork realized the problem and just needed someone to get them started. So far the group has been very successful. Right now the UCCAP is working with the new mayor of American Fork to get the standards on pornography raised so that pornography can not be sold in any stores. If you are interested in joining in this effort you can contact Doug and Michelle Brockbank. It is going to take a lot of people working together to actually change things. Another thing that has been effective in fighting pornography is to picket. In Mesquite, Nevada, Pure Pleasure Video and Book is no longer in business due to Dena Hoff who organized a picket line outside of the adult only book store. The group picketed 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 31 months. Finally, in March of 1996, the store went out of business. Since then, Hoff founded HOME which stands for Help Our Moral Environment. She has been key in organizing groups in other such situations. When LeMar’s, a bar in Provo, started advertising for exotic female dancers, Lisa Baldwin decided she would do something about it. First she went to City Hall. There she found out that a seminude dance club was legal. Remembering the situation in Mesquite, Nevada, Lisa called HOME and asked for help. Dena helped Lisa organize a petition and a picket. They lobbied for a stricter sexually oriented business law. Not long after, the city government changed the law making it necessary for LeMar’s to relocate if they wanted to continue with the exotic dancers, or stay in their present location without the dancers (Moore 1). It is not only important to let the producers and distributors of pornography know that we don’t support what they are doing, but to let those that don’t sell or produce pornography know that we support them. When we see channels that show good wholesome shows we need to write to those companies and let them know that we appreciate what they are doing. If the company knows that they have support in the things that they are showing, then they will continue showing those types of programs, and they will be less likely to show things that are unsuitable for children. The Disney Channel is a very good example of a family oriented cable channel. Channels like these are not going to risk losing customers by showing movies that their customers aren’t comfortable with (Harmer 11) Wal-Mart is an example of a store that we should show our support to. The nationwide store has the policy that they will not carry any "CDs, albums or other forms of music with explicit lyrics or a potentially controversial cover. Wal-Mart does not accept music affixed with the recording industry’s ‘parental advisory’ label" (Romboy 1). Wal-Marts policy is one that needs to be implemented into every store. It will probably be a long time before there are any laws requiring such a policy. Until then we need to only patronize those stores that do not support the pornography industry and try to get the other stores to adopt a similar policy. Targeting individual stores one at a time is the best solution we have available. These are just some of the effective things that parents have done and can do to protect their children from pornography. But the most important thing that parents can do for their children is actually be a good parent. "Parenting means helping your kids grow into adults. Parents have to take charge. They have to know what their kids are doing on the Internet, just as they have to know what the kids are reading or watching on TV" (Parents 1). There are several filters out there to help parents keep their children away from pornography, but "technology is not a replacement for good parenting" (Parents cut smut… ). Parents need to build a trusting relationship with their children. If parents talk openly to their children about pornography and about the dangers of pornography, then the children will be less likely to view pornography. This topic is very taboo in many household and so the children don’t realize what they are getting into because they never talked about it with their parents. Parents need to start early talking to their children, not necessarily about pornography at first, but about the things they are doing. Children love to tell people about what happened in school that day or the fun day at their friend’s house. The important thing is that they feel comfortable talking to you. The more you talk the easier it will become. Then when your children are older they will be comfortable talking to you about more adult topics. One thing that you need to let them know about is that chat-rooms on the Internet are not always safe. "Wolves do, in fact, occasionally lurk in chat-room sheep. Chances are they already know this; what’s important is that they know you know it" (Burr 2). When it comes to the TV and Internet, you need to also discuss rules with your child so that both you and your child agree on them. "Part of growing up is learning to live responsibly in a free society. Proper adult limitations on a child’s Internet access is part of that maturation" (Parents 2). We have been given many freedoms in this country, but we have to use them wisely so that they don’t lose them. James Madison said this about the constitution: "We base this whole experiment upon mankind’s capacity to be self-governing" (Harmer 24). It is our duty to voice our opinion. That is our right as a democracy. This is a self-governing democracy, we can’t let it be a pornography ruled society. Benjamin Franklin’s response, when asked what kind of government we would now have, was similar to Madison’s. He said, "A Republic. This republic which we have given you by this Constitution will end in despotism, as other forms of government have done before it, when the people become so corrupt they are incapable of any other form of government" (Harmer 25). If we work together we can keep the United States from reaching that point where we are so corrupt that we lose our freedoms. There is one other thing that we need to discuss, and that is apathy. Apathy is a big problem in the world to day. In a recent poll, 80 percent of Americans want obscenity law to be more strongly enforced. 68 percent thought that the federal government is not doing their job enforcing the law (Moore 1). So where is this 80 percent who want stricter laws? Why aren’t they speaking out and doing something about it? Dena Hoff of HOME said, "Silence implies consent. Apathy reigns nationwide. Most people stand by and watch rather than get involved" (Moore 3). Do we want to be considered one of those that consents because we don’t say anything? If we don’t say what we believe we are being cowards. Intense opposition is the honorable thing to do (Harmer 27). It is for our children that we must speak out against pornography. Whether it be through Internet, magazines, or cable TV, pornography is causing a tremendous negative effect on society. We can filter the Internet, boycott or picket stores that carry pornographic materials, and most importantly be better parents to our children. We show our choice of society that we want by what we do. "One can choose not to participate in these kinds of things, but one can not choose to be unaffected by them. Sooner than later the whole community will be effected and infected" (Harmer 28). "It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a communist or a Mormon, if there’s a pothole in front of your house, you want if fixed" (Moore 2). Let’s not let pornography escalate out of control. Let’s fix it.
Annotated Bibliography Bender. David ed.. Is Pornography Harmful?. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1989. This book looks at several different view points of pornography. It shows why and why it shouldn’t be censored. Brockbank, Michelle. Personal Interview. 15 Nov. 1997. Interview with the founder of UCCAP. Talked about strategies of getting rid of pornography in our community Burr, Ty. "Ding Dong, The CDA is Dead. Now What?" Entertainment Weekly. 18 July 1997. IAC Searchbank. Online. 15 Oct. 1997. Available:http://sbweb3.med.iacnet.com/infotrac. This article is about the ruling on the CDA. With out the CDA there is not censoring. Parents must take on that responsibility. Carcaterra, Lorenzo. "A Warning on High-tech Pedophilia." People Weekly.
3 May 1993. IAC Searchbank Gutmann, Stephanie. "Waging war on sex crimes and videotape." Insight on the News. 3 May
MacKinnon’s idea that pornography is sexual discrimination. Harmer, John. To My Neutral Friends. Publishers Press, 1984. In this book, Harmer looks at the cable industry and problem of pornographic movies that it shows. Lacayo, Richard. "Assault by Paragraph." Time. 17 Jan. 1994. IAC Searchbank. Online. 15 Oct. 1997. Available: http://sweb3.med.eacnet.com/ifnotrac. This article was about MacKinnon’s argument that pornography is discrimination to women.
Leo, John. "Censors on the left." U.S. News and World Report. 4 Oct. 1993. IAC Searchbank. Online. 15 Oct. 1997. Available: http://sweb3.med.iacnet.com/infotrac.This article cuts down MacKinnon’s ideas about pornography and women. "Parents Can Cut Smut with Web Software." The Daily Universe. 2 Dec 1997 vol. 51 issue 65. Associated Press. This article talks about the filters that parents can use on the internet to filter out pornography. It also talks about the parents responsibility of protecting their children from pornography. "Parents Must Take charge of protecting children against Internet porn." Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. 6 Oct. 1997. IAC Searchbank. Online. 15 Oct. 1997. Available:http://sweb3.med,iacnet.come/infotract. This article talks about what parents can do to keep pornography off of the Internet that is coming into their home. Moore, Carrie A.; Romboy, Dennis. "Fighting Smut." Deseret News. 18 Oct. 1997. Deseret News Archives. Online. 20 Oct. 1997. Available: http://www.desnews.com. This article show many examples of groups that have fought to rid their community of pornography. Romboy, Dennis. "Criminal Charges filed against Movie Buffs trio." Deseret News. 10 Dec 1996. Deseret News Archives. Online. 20 Oct. 1997. Available: http://www.desnew.com. This article is about the charges that were filed against Movie Buffs. Romboy, Dennis. "No Anti-Porn Pickets at Wal-Mart." Deseret News. 21 Nov. 1996. Deseret News Archives. Online. 20 Oct. 1997. Available: http://www.desnews.com. In this article, Romboy tells us that we need to support those companies that do not support the pornography industry. Teitelbaum, Richard. "Playboy flunks feminist fund test." Fortune. 29
Nov. 1993. IAC Searchbank.
Thompson, Joy. "Awaken your conscience to dangers of pornography." Knight-Ridder/Tribune New Service. 15 Oct. 1997. IAC Searchbank. Online. 15 Oct. 1997. Available: http://sbweb3.med.iacnet.com/infotrac. This article makes you look at what pornography is. It shows you that pornography in not how it is or should be in real life. |