I just started doing a little research to back on my claims. The first link I came across; from a feminist site no less gave me the following information which it would appear destroys most of the arguments used in your essay:of the statement "Sexually explicit material causes violence against women" the site, http://www.ffeusa.org/pornography.html, has the following to say:"No research, including the Surgeon General's report, finds a link between "kinky" or "degrading" images and violence. Exposure to such material does not cause people to change their sexual preferences or commit acts against their will. The derailed impulses of child abusers and rapists are caused by childhood traumas. ''They are not," wrote leading researcher John Money, "borrowed from movies, books or other people."Studies on violent pornography are inconsistent. Some find it increases aggression in the lab; some find it does not. Research also finds that aggression will be increased by anything that agitates a subject (that raises heart rate, adrenaline flow, etc.), not only violent movies but riding exercise bicycles. Agitation will boost whatever follows it, aggression or generosity.Dr. Suzanne Ageton, measuring violence out of the lab, found that membership in a delinquent peer group accounted for 3/4 of sexual aggression.Studies in the U.S., Europe and Asia find no link between the availability of sexual material and sex crimes. The only factor linked to rape rate is the number of young men living in a given area. When pornography became widely available in Europe, sexually violent crimes decreased or remained the same. Japan, with far more violent pornography than the U.S., has 2.4 rapes per 100,000 people compared with the U.S. 34.5 per 100,000."there we go... I will continue my research but that seems to me to be pretty conclusive...
- 28/02/2004
- 09:41:38
- Score: 3 out of 3 people found this comment useful.
I'm afraid I just can't stand this sort of essay... it resembles more propaganda to me than anything else.it is quite clear that on embarking on the subject you have decided which side you would defend and then show it to be unanimously accepted.How you got 98% on this essay is a mystery by all means.How you can say that counter arguments are disproved by single case-studies is unbelievable... I don't thinK I can truly express my anger at reading your essay in this comment... that it should be presented as an academic work is beyond me.Have you not considered that men with violent and sexual tendencies or even imaginations may just be more likely to watch pornography quite simply? This seems by no means beyond me...Furthermore, is it not possible that sexual violence, a social taboo, can be associated with pornography, simply because ridiculous social conservatism, religious fundamentalism, and antiquated moral grounds have turned pornography into a social taboo...I live in Britain, a state where one is encouraged at all levels to go out on a regular basis and drink to excess... this regularly leads to all manners of violence and social deviance... and yet it is an accepted social practice...how then... would the horny teen masturbating quietly at home in front of some porn more dangerous to our society? I'd rather he take it out on a fictitious film or magazine than out at a bar on some naive classmate. Or do you disagree?Sexual violence has always existed... it always will... whether pornography exists and is enjoyed or not.I'd like to direct you now to recent events within the Catholic Church. How in recent years hundreds of cases of child abuse within the Church... a Church in which priests must live a life of celibacy... in which any form of sex is unacceptable... once again... what would you rather have... some lonely masturbation... or say a sexual partner? or perhaps a poor kid traumatized for life by a lonely (and arguably as a result) perverted man?Another counter-argument. Japanese culture. Extreme violence and sexual openness in film, art, pornography etc... usually in art form.... why aren't they going around murdering and raping (though not necessarily in that order) each other as a result?Anyway... though I could continue all night... I expect many have got the idea....I'd genuinely be interested in a response here... and I mean a response that goes beyond "well this one study says". Psychology has said a lot of things... so many in fact that you can make it say anything you want it to... cheerio... two O'clock in the morning... gotta go to sleep...
- 27/02/2004
- 20:51:04
- Score: 5 out of 5 people found this comment useful.
I must say that I agree with many of the previous comments... but regardless...I just wanted to add a couple of my own pointsFirst of all I think you should have stressed your 3.A I think that the fundamental problem here is that state legislature is intruding on personal freedom here.The basic rule to a liberal society is the principle of liberty extended to the point of infringing upon another's liberty. America allows for the ownership of hand guns, an object designed with violence in mind, and yet weed is illegal? What scares me the most?Of course this argument can be extended to all drugs as far as I'm concerned. I don't see why the state has the right to stop me from actions that in effect remain self-destructive.Furthermore, if drugs are legal there are a series of other advantages (some of which I believe are vital to such an essay but were left out regardless).-If a drug is legal it is far easier to regulate: it can be taxed to help deal with the perverse health effects... addiction etc...-Most overdoses, even for the more serious drugs I believe result from impurities: if one is used to a shot of heroin which is 50% sweet 'n low :-) and then takes something much purer the likelihood of an overdose arises. State regulation of drugs would help avoid these problems.-It is a firm belief of mine that one of the more negative aspects of drug addiction is not necessarily a direct result of the use of drugs. Rather, if one has an addiction to nourish one will get a "fix" by any means possible. This will take time, effort, money... all of which often leads to stealing etc... and as mentioned in the essay, users will become unproductive members of society. I've heard of programs in Switzerland where heroin addicts were provided with a shot on a daily basis. This was done in healthy controlled conditions, and the participants I believe were provided with counseling etc... from the best of my knowledge, most of these individuals were working in under 6 months and were living seemingly normal lives.Many perverse effects of drug usage are undeniably a result of their illicit status.Anyway... I think I could go on all night... but I won't :-)Remember, most of what I mentioned is from memory only and I would advise against anyone using any of my comments without backing them up with sound research.
- 27/02/2004
- 20:14:58
- Score: 5 out of 5 people found this comment useful.
for some reason, although I selected otherwise, this essay is down as 13th grade. Just to point out, not that it really matters that it is a first year college/university paper... sorry...
- 27/02/2004
- 19:47:47
- Score: 6 out of 6 people found this comment useful.
this is definitely a good piece of writing especially when considering the school level for which it was written. I was very impressed.My one problem would be the relative use of such an essay for a registered user for their own study purposes.Nonetheless it remains a fun, good example of creative writing.
- 27/02/2004
- 13:41:47
- Score: 2 out of 2 people found this comment useful.
I'm afraid... whether someone is in 7th grade or not, this sort of essay should not be posted on this site. Forget about the grammar, the essay is written as if it were a factual text on the subject of gladiators. As it stands, the essay is based almost entirely on the film, which is quite obviously a fictitious account. for example the killing of Commodus, which to the best of my knowledge was accomplished through the hiring of a professional wrestler. Obviously I would expect most people to realise this. My fear rather is for the fellow 7thgrader that uses this false information as a basis for his own work. As a study tool I should hope that more effort would go into the verification of posted material.
- 27/02/2004
- 13:33:45
- Score: 6 out of 7 people found this comment useful.
hum... I don't really mean to be mean to some kid, but I don't think this is the place for this sort of essay.I think people come here looking for essays of an academic nature, not some piece of over patriotic propaganda... in which most of the facts are biased or just plain wrong....
- 26/02/2004
- 18:35:51
- Score: 2 out of 2 people found this comment useful.
I just felt it necessary to point out that this users essay should not be read alone but with the user's other essay which compliments it with the contrary opinion, providing a more balanced ar guments.Furthermore, although I agree with many of the author's comments, and though it may be an opinion based essay I feel many of his arguments to be biased and unresearched.
- 26/02/2004
- 18:24:16
- Score: 9 out of 9 people found this comment useful.