Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Denver Mods 7/26/84) 6/24/83; site drutx.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!drutx!slb From: slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) Newsgroups: net.women Subject: Re: Pornography and Censorship, a woman's view Message-ID: <439@drutx.UUCP> Date: Tue, 10-Sep-85 11:37:43 EDT Article-I.D.: drutx.439 Posted: Tue Sep 10 11:37:43 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 11-Sep-85 06:35:28 EDT Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver Lines: 54 I have been catching up on my netnews after a vacation, and have come across the debate on pornography in this newsgroup. I probably wouldn't add my 2 cents, because lots of people have said what I believe quite well. However, I noticed that most of those people are male. Considering that this is net.women, I think my duty is to add a woman's voice on that side. I am absolutely against any censorship of any information whatsoever. No matter how disgusting, how worthless, how silly, how potentially harmful I may think it is. Pornography can be all of those things. But that is not the point. The point is freedom. I have seen women gain so much during my lifetime. Much of that gain was aided by our freedom in this country to get information to others. If censorship is started, one of the first books to go (and this has already been attempted in some places) would be "Our Bodies, Ourselves". Once the machinery to ban materials is in place, you can bet that it will be taken over by those with their own purposes--which will not be to aid feminism. I'm not sure whether written materials promote violence. I have only one experience with such a case. A man in a mental hospital where some friends of mine worked was there because he had read a verse in the Bible which said something about making oneself a eunuch for Christ. He proceeded to do just that with a razor blade. By the reasoning of some, this proves that the Bible is a dangerous book, and should be banned. Not being a Christian, I might agree with the first statement (:-). But no book should ever be banned just because some sick person takes it wrong. Yes, there is violence in much literature, and in much of the rest of the media. But that is because there is violence in life. Art follows life--not the other way around. I would rather be free to read and think as I like, knowing there are people who may think of me as a sex object, than to have no one think of me that way, and be restricted in my mental horizons. I have discovered that outer obstacles are easier to surmount than inner ones. -- Sue Brezden Real World: Room 1B17 Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb AT&T Information Systems 11900 North Pecos Westminster, Co. 80234 (303)538-3829 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your god may be dead, but mine aren't. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~