I miss you, Scope magazine

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“To hear many religious people talk, one would think God created the torso, head, legs and arms, but the devil slapped on the genitals.”  – Don Schrader

I love porn. There, I said it. But not for the reasons you may think.

I think explicit imagery is important as a contrast to the majority of mainstream representation of women’s sexuality.

The prevailing message women receive is that sexual aggression is unfeminine, that a woman’s primary sexual role is as regulator of male desire — to say yes or no, but not to pursue desires of their own.

Girls are still taught that sexy is the same as “pretty,” that it means dressing a certain way and then waiting to be approached. feck films show women being sexually aggressive and powerful in a way that sometimes isn’t pretty, but is definitely sexy.

Because we live in a country that actively censors ideas no matter how popular, we are unable to better cultivate our own individual belief systems.

This is because one of the ways we learn what we believe in, and become mature opinionated adults, is by encountering language and imagery that we disagree with or have strong reactions to – the best ideas come out of confronting the unfamiliar.

Human desires evolve out of our varied, complex experiences in the world. Sex is so basic to our humanity, and sexuality is an arena (like dreams) that connects us to the parts of ourselves we don’t always fully understand or have words for.

This is what makes sexuality fascinating and endlessly variable and certainly worth exploring (extensively). But with any exploration, be it of one’s self or environment, there has to be moderation, common sense and respect for others.

I wouldn’t bring a copy of Playboy to supper at my mother’s house, not because Playboy is obscene, but because it would be out of context. But sitting on my coffee table? The context fits, because the choice is mine.

Bottom line is, if you don’t like porn or Playboy, fine. Don’t try and impose your moral aversion to pornography on the entire world – just try not to watch it.

Leave that to me.

Published by Joe Black

42 Replies to “I miss you, Scope magazine”

  4. Catty, is there some implication in your statement there that ‘real women’ don’t confess to being porn fans?

  6. I liked the first ten lines and the last three, the in between bit ah well….The post would have looked odd if it was 13 lines long. Good topic, refreshing!

  8. Dion, you have to go deeper … into the subject. LOL. Seriously, ponder the serious questions, instead of looking for the punch-line 🙂

    Mos Nav: Sex on television is fine, until you fall off.

  9. By being real l mean being true to yourself and being able to say it out…skeletons out of the cupboard! Most men dating/married would NEVER admit that they like to watch porn. Then when they experiment a new move on you…you wonder has he been cheating on me…. Would you openly confess that you like porn Eleanor? Though l wonder Joe how your woman feels about you liking porn?

  10. I’m sorry, but I’ma have to play the Feminist card on this one, and strongly disagree. Don’t get me wrong, I think morals are over-rated, and part of the reason there is such as thing as feminism, and women have every right to be sexual beings without being judged. But it should be on their own terms. Given the exploitation issues, sexualisation of young people and objectification of women that comes with porn, I think the whole porn thing is fucked up. It porn blatantly objectifies women and send the worng messages about their status in society, and we don’t need young boys thinking that that is all women are for, their pleasure.

    I hope I don’t need to say ‘I’m just sayin!’

  11. Why not be open about it, Catty? And to answer your question about how my woman feels about me liking porn … how is that relevant? If I like porn, I like porn. That’s my choice, and nobody else can arbitrate your likes and dislikes.

    Tara, you rush to talk about feminism and exploitation, sexualisation etc – firstly, who is being exploited? The performers? What, you see (generally) young women pleasing (generally) older men and it’s exploitation?

    Have you ever considered that these performers are well-paid to do what they do? That maybe they choose to do what they do?

    It’s easy to play the exploitation card, but in the legit industry, contracts, working conditions etc are all legit, that’s why you’ll find lots of women volunteering to work in this very legit business.

    Secondly, all well and good putting your feminist hat on, but to what effect? You make no point that I can see.

    So what if it ‘objectifies’ women? See, the women in the films (the VAST) majority are willing to take money to be objectified – who are you to judge them?

    And if it teaches young men that women are only there for their pleasure, and these young boys go around treating women like objects, they’ll never get laid.

  12. (TMI alert)@ Catty, yes, I like porn. As a sexually active adult, with a healthy appetite for life and other things, I don’t think there is anything wrong with watching other consenting adults get their freak on. Like JB said, they get paid a fair load of money to entertain other adults. I am an adult, I am entertained. And as for freaky moves, a lot of the porn is very middle of the road, and it’s up to you to choose the level of freak you want to ascend to. But I like to think that I can do better for them than any porn flick would do, I am an actual real live warm body with all my attendant warm inviting bits. I have watched porn with a couple of my partners and it’s a great aid in shaking things up a little. And yes, I am cognisant of the ‘slut’ label being bandied about for a woman who openly admits to having bordering on raging carnal desires. But it’s not the mice that are getting to play in this scenario, it’s the kitty cat herself. To borrow from James Brown, I’m black, I’ma slut and I’m proud. LOL.

  13. It’s too compicated for me to come up with a decent response without taking time to figure out how to articulate it. But for the record, I am not judging the women. They are the ones I think are being exploited. And on the objectifying, assuming the women indeed like the job, which I can respect, my issue is that it spills onto the street to women who aren’t in porn. And on the young men, they’ll never get laid? Seriously?! And just to add, young women may be sent the wrong message, that it is alright for men to treat them that way.

  14. If a woman becomes a slut from watching a porn movie then by the same argument she becomes a video ho by watching BET.
    And if a guy disrespects women after watching porn then i guess all white people turn racist after watching Roots.

    Monkey see, monkey do. But are we monkeys? The bold and clear 18 age limit is there to separate the monkeys from the discerning adults.

    Come on. Lets leave lame logic to the Catholic church and its “condoms make people promiscuous” type vacuous reasoning.

    Porn is ADULT ENTERTAINMENT.

    They assume you are an ADULT (and sane too) and know that it is staged for your entertainement.

    p.s. a woman averse to porn and all things freak-like is a major turn off for me.
    jussayin …

  16. I so agree with Mos Native. This stuff about porn being disrespectful,objectifying women blah blah is rubbish! The women(actresses) in adult movies do it VOLUNTARILY and are very well paid for it (some even earn more than the men!),would you rather they be standing on your street corner. Adult entertainment actresses have homes families and pay tax just like you and me. They own their sexuality and more women should do the same, choose to be open minded you might just learn something, if not you might just be entertained, if not well one can’t please everybody. I’m not too sure but I don’t hear any men complaining about being compared to “Dirk Diggler” and his long schlong or something like that. Women should stop playing the victim card.

  17. Et tu, Mos_Native?! You just broke my heart. 🙁

    The use of the word voluntary implies that these women deserve what they get. The word ADULT suggests the assumption that adults are never impressionable. Also, you assume that because it is called the Adult industry, that non adults have absolutely no access to it. Also, can you honestly tell me that every woman in porn likes being a porn actress. You really want to tell be that porn is a choice and about their love for sex? You dont suppose that for a lot of these women, the world forced them to come to conclude that all they were good for was that industry. That some of these women may have got so desperate that it came down to the choice between porn and the street and that they may feel trapped in it. I aint preaching that people should not watch or enjoy porn. It aint a morals issue for me. I merely object to the suggestion that it is a feminine thing and that it shows women being powerful, as if to suggest that it it something women can aspire to. Porn, in the main, is made for the benefit of men, usually by men. I aint meaning to pass judgement here.

    And one need not have seen porn to be an animal in bed, Mos_Native.

  18. No, the word voluntary does NOT imply that these women “deserve what they get”. What do you mean by that? What do they get? A cum-load to the face? What, is that some form of abuse? What are you trying to say.

    Your tone suggests that all these women are an abused class, getting mistreated and such, and that no woman “deserves” it.

    You can’t seem to accept that some women make a conscious choice to do what they do. Is it because YOUR ethical code tells you it’s no repulsive, so degrading that YOU would never do it?

    Tara, aren’t you imposing YOUR moral test to what these women do, thus reaching the conclusion that no sane, unabused woman with choices would never stoop so low?

  19. Tara is simply saying she likes her porn the same way she likes her star bucks coffee- fair trade! Considering the niche for fair trade coffee market I suppose there should be fair trade porn. I do not like porn personally, but I will defend the rights of those that enjoy it. Banning Scope in Zimbabwe did not suddenly make Zimbabweans more morally upright. Infact it only serves to increase the price of porn on the black market, and this premium diverts the nation’s resources. Prohibition as exemplified by America in the 20’s is an earth scourge policy by Moralist to force march people into moral concentration camps.

    To Joe, having explicitly advocated for porn, and making it legal in Zimbabwe, how about mbanje? Surely a consenting and discerning adult who enjoys a responsible puff should be given his rights, equal rights as the wanker?

  21. Acm, thank you. That is exactly (half of) what I was trying to say! Fair Trade!!!

    JB, I am not averse to the probability that there are women out there who genuinely love being actresses in he industry. But, until the industry, and the world at large, starts taking women seriously, I’m keeping it in the same box I keep MacDonalds, Primarni (Primark), and Nestle, etc. Am just saying that no woman, whatever her mental state, should ever find herself in a position that makes her feel that porn, just like with prostitution, is the only way to go.

  22. Yeah, you state in no uncertain terms that the industry doesn’t take women seriously … what do you mean? Explain yourself.

    How is it that the porn industry doesn’t take women seriously? Or are you just under the impression that they’re somehow being exploited.

  23. Tara might be confusing porn with being trafficked for prostitution. Think of porn as just another job, one that these women excel at and take pride in. Granted some of the ‘scripts’ or ‘plots’ are abjectly poor, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that they are providing an essential service. Maybe not quite on par with the fire department, but they are keeping a lot of married fires burning. Or maybe they are just strippers who finished college, after paying for it in ones, and now want to further their education. 🙂

  27. porn…. ah yes porn is good!
    The ‘actors’ do a job just like regular folks…. well in principal.

    They get paid to do the nasty for the amusement and pleasure of millions of men and women alike, if not for themselves. So if anyone feels bad for them, stop it right now!

    do you feel bad for those dudes from Broke Back Mountain???, surely that cant have been a pleasant experience for them, but they took on the job of their own free will and got paid for doing all that mess.

    and what the hell does ‘take women seriously mean?!?’

  28. Elle, I read this article when it went live; my only problem is that this Dines woman is a legendary ding-bat, a crazy anti-porn vigilante whom even I know about.

    “To think that so many men hate women to the degree that they can get aroused by such vile images is quite profound … Pornography is the perfect propaganda piece for patriarchy. In nothing else is their hatred of us quite as clear.”

    What?

  31. Throughout history, humanity’s eternal fascination with watching people fuck has manifested itself in every available medium. We have graphic depictions of sex acts on paintings, pottery, wood carvings, statuary, papyri, scrimshaw, sketchbooks, plays, novels, tapestries, poetry, song, comic books, etc. Not to mention photography, audio recordings, motion pictures, digital images, and interactive computer games.

    But if we have always had pornography, then there also have always been those pushing for its eradication. Porn has been the subject of restrictions otherwise applied only to heretical and treasonous works. Which is only to be expected, given the nearly ubiquitous taboos against nudity. So most societies throughout history have classified pornographic works as contraband, subject to confiscation and criminal penalties.

    Interesting reading from the rotten library…

  32. So you saying you come in someone’s face to show them how much you care?! (STRICLY RHETHORICAL)Let me ask you this, why do it? I mean the purpose. What’s in in for him, and what’s in it for her? And before you say coz it’s hot, why?! Is it something that without porn would have been ‘popular.’ Is it not possible that Porn normalised something that mayhave started with a handful of individuals? And just looking at those individuals, could it not be the case that they liked it because of the pleasure of doing something ‘dirrty’ like that to women? How did that first woman feel about it back then. Okay, going off on a tangent and I am setting my self up for the ‘where’s the proof’ argument, but I get where Dine’s coming from.

    For good measure, if men get to come in women’s faces, what do women get to do that genuinely measures up, other than the pleasure of someone caring nough to do it to them?!

  33. @Tara – according to legend bukkake parties started as punishment until it dawned on the law enforcers that some women did not view it as punishment 😉

    True or not, and against your sensibilities, point is there are women whose sexual preferences are … to put it mildly … exotic. I like them. What you may consider offensive and demeaning, may well be just what gets some girls rocks off.

    To answer your last question – BDSM. “Tie me up Scotty!”

  34. While we are on the subject, don’t forget that porn also caters for just about every dark fantasy man has dared dream up (and i use the term man for all humans Tara), and those that lean towards the dark side of the force have been lapping it up since the kinky ones crossed over from using a feather to using the whole chicken!

    spare a thought for the guy who likes to have he’s tender regions kicked, crushed and set alight, he, like the bukkake fans, may be considered a nut case for he’s extreme fetish. for crying out loud! there are women out there that get their rocks of playing out rape scenes.

    The point is, porn doesn’t make you a weirdo any more than watching Roots makes white folk racist as Mos_Native Says.

    Bottom line here is, humans are far more freaky and prone to ‘strange’ fetishes than we care to admit. Leave anyone alone for long enough and you may well be surprised at the unbelievably imaginative things people can think up ALL BY THEMSELVES!!. The porn industry probably turns over BILLIONS of dollars feeding peoples fantasy’s, just like anyone who has ever eyed a broom handle lustily has proven to be like manna from heaven to the dildo maker, everyone, men and women alike are getting their rocks off one way or another.

  41. Anyone seen the one with Lawrence fushburne’s daughter. She says she Is doing it to further her acting career in the same way Kim kardashian did with the sex tape. I

  42. Yeah, well they haven’t released it yet … it’s just screen captures. But … man!

    What a spectacularly bad life decision, Daughter of Morpheus.

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