Second I want to say that it's a real pity that no sassy girl who likes being dominated has shown up to speak out for their point of view. I've already been perhaps more revealing of myself than I'd have liked, so I do understand. I also have to say that one girl in particular whom I've had to do with who liked that stuff was one of the most interesting, intelligent and beautiful women I've ever been lucky enough to squire. Talking to her, you'd never know.
However, in the interests of full disclosure, I have also to say that she thought she might have been abused by her uncle. She had worked as a stripper for a while and she did say that a fair few of the girls she had worked with told similar stories.
(On an unrelated note... she also said she thought that she and her brother had been abducted by aliens. They were out in the countryside and she remembers seeing this thing that looked like a car's headlights, but up in the sky... and then nothing until she and her brother came home. I mention this a) because it's ATS and b) it illustrates a really interesting point that people who are interested in UFOs might take on board. I met her at a time I was researching the subject for a book I never got around to writing, but I'd come across a really cool suggestion: just ask people, anyone you meet - if the situation presents itself - whether they've seen a UFO. I was amazed at the responses I got.)
At any rate, there may be a link between child abuse and a propensity to work in the sex industry. However, as far as I know there's been no actual studies done so it would be incautious to start throwing around causal relations. not that that will stop some people.
It's also possible, as previous posters have mentioned, that those people who've been abused are working out their inner conflicts. It's their choice and those people who say, "well, those girls should be in therapy" need to understand that therapy can only work when the subject is ready and willing to face up to their demons.
There's a great Zen parable that works in this situation as well as many others:
Q: A goose egg is placed in a botthe and the chick hatches out. How do you get the goose out of the bottle without touching the bottle or the goose?
A: You keep feeding the chick until it's big enough to peck its own way out.
And Rapacity, great post and an edgy name to bring to this thread in particular. It's always nice to come across people who can think and write.
Originally posted by Rapacity
I accept some people look to porn for the instruction they ought to be given by society through schooling, parenting and mentoring; but this does not equate to them disregarding right and wrong with regard to non-consensual and extremely violent sexual behavior toward others.
Not surprisingly, Holland has a very good sex ed programme that starts in primary school. The subject is handled in a very down-to-earth, guilt-free way and teenage pregnancy and STD incidence has fallen to among the lowest in Europe.
so those activities will never stop but under prohibition will assume the greater luster of taboo.
Just wanted to remark on that very nicely turned phrase. Quality.
To me, the fact we need to legislate suggests the majority of people are incapable of civilized behavior (isn't it strange that we must pay people to enforce the laws we require to protect us from ourselves - how fickle and a sham is the surface of human society?).
Another nice idea, beautifully put: however, I've just been looking at a Michael Parenti lecture on "The Gangster Nature of the State" and his take on it, which I find very persuasive, is that the state is simply a convenient mechanism to allow the powerful to use violence against the rest of us.
Basically the conflict is between those people who want to use society's surplus production for the good of people within that society, and those who want to grab all that surplus value for themselves. As he says, capitalism works only for those at the top of the pile. All those gains that we've enjoyed in the industrial society have come about through organizing ourselves and making sure that our labour is bought for a fair price. But of course the corporations don't want to spend profits on things like decent wages, maternity leave and all that stuff, and therefore we have the rise of globalisation. Now that's coming back to the US and we're seeing the "third worlding" of America. Wages have fallen steadily in real terms since the sixties: the corporations want to roll things back to 1900... and we're letting it happen.
Sorry about the politcal diatribe.
If you're interested you can find Parenti's lecture here.
Rich23, couple of stars handed out to you.
Right back atcha.
As a society, I personally feel we are getting worse and worse for a culture that is supposedly so enlightened and progressive. If we protect
the right of those to victiminze another individual, we're a lot more backwards than we realize.
