The Effects of Pornography

Remember when your parents told you that you could not watch certain channels, or went to the extent of blocking channels and shows that came on after dark. Although it may have been frustrating, thinking it was just another way for our parents to control us. In actuality our parents were just trying to protect us. They were shielding us from material that may be harmful to us. This is similar to what the government attempts to do with pornography and obscenity laws. Pornography is the portrayal of sexually explicit material with the intent to cause sexual arousal. Pornography is the display of women as sexual objects, enjoying pain, humiliation, rape or being physically harmed. It is also obscene material in the form of audio, video, pictures, paintings, and even in written words. Pornography is many things and can not be defined it to one single definition because over time the meaning changes. What is classified as pornography varies from culture to culture and with time. For example In Iraq the display of a woman’s cleavage or legs is categorized as obscene and explicit material. to a African Zulu tribe that wears just enough clothing to cover their genitals,would see that as normal. It all depends oon the context of that culture. Through history porongraphy ancient history that has been hundreds maybe thousands of years; in the form of sculptures, cave drawings and venus figurines. The first documented sexual depictions(porn) were printed in a Hindu manual on sexual behavior called, Kama Sutra or Kamasutran. Karma sutra was created around first century B.C. India by monks. The Indian monks had figurines of people having sex engraved into the temple walls. Though it wasn’t really conceived as porn but it was spiritual and part of everyday life. Also in ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome, sexually depictions were also part of their religious framework. Centuries later during the renaissance pornography prospered spreading across Europe