I agree that the sexualisation of children, young girls especially, is a huge epidemic of abuse and must be addressed.
I also agree that the pornification of media is an insidious influence on society.
However, I disagree that all forms of sexualisation of consenting adults is nefarious. The majority of porn is abusive and coercive, misogynistic and objectifying. However, the concept of erotica itself is not inherently thus. Thus not all porn is bad. I’ve seen amateur porn by real life couples in love which is absolutely beautiful and sexy, and not degrading at all. I’ve read erotic literature and seen erotic art, even scenes from movies, that are likewise. Dancing sexy is not inherently bad, if an adult wants to do it. Sex can be one of the most beautiful activities in an adult’s life, and people should not feel ashamed of having sexual feelings. The problem with porn is not with the concept of material that arouses sexual feelings in the viewer but that in the majority of instances it does not reflect healthy, respectful sex — rather it panders to the lowest common denominator, shifting the “overton window” if you will, of sexuality in society towards the violent, the abusive, the objectifying, the misogynistic.
The corruption and commercialisation of sex by capitalism has shifted sexuality into a public performance, that all women are expected to participate in, and young girls especially are becoming expected to perform. That’s deeply disturbing.
I agree that parents need to take a stronger role in keeping their children away from adult material. There is no need for a kid to have a device. They don’t NEED Youtube at that age. And what parents are letting their kids wear stripper heels and latex? Bad parents.
I think we need
- Better parenting
- 2. A more healthy societal perspective on sex because it seems currently caught between a culture of shame (all sex is bad, purity means abstaining) and a culture of excess (all sex is good, no matter how degrading)
- Social media being better at protecting children from predators
