Pornography - Definitions

1. Pornography is addictive like alcohol and drugs, and even more so.
2. Stages of pornography addiction*:
   1. Addiction - The addiction effect causes a porn-consumer to get hooked and once involved in pornographic material, they want more and more.  The material provides a very powerful sexual stimulant or aphrodisiac effect, followed by sexual release, most often through masturbation.
   2. Escalation - With the passage of time, the addicted porn-consumer needs rougher, more explicit, more deviant and "kinky" kinds of sexual material to get their "highs" and "sexual turn-ons."
   3. Desensitization - Pornographic material which was originally perceived as shocking, taboo-breaking, illegal, repulsive or immoral, though still sexually arousing, in time comes to be seen as acceptable and commonplace.  The sexual activity depicted in the pornographic material (no matter how antisocial or deviant) becomes legitimized.
   4. Acting Out Sexually - This fourth phase is an increasing tendency to act out sexually the behaviors viewed in the pornography that the porn-consumer had been repeatedly exposed to. This behavior frequently grows into a sexual addiction which they found themselves locked into and unable to change or reverse -- no matter what the negative consequences were in their life.

             *  From Dr. Victor B. Cline, "Pornography's Effects on Adults & Children."

2. What is "Soft-Core" pornography?

1. "Soft-Core" pornography is "mere nudity" which is protected by the First Amendment.
2. "Soft-Core" pornography is not prosecuted by law enforcement even though it is more harmful than hard-core pornography.

1. "Hard-Core" pornography is sexually explicit material depicting actual sexual activity and includes actual penetration, lewd display of genitalia and/or simulated sex acts.
2. "Hard-Core" pornography includes:
   1. Child pornography.
   2. Group Sex, including two-on-one or multiple partners and sexual activities.
   3. Incest pornography; i.e., mother seducing son, daughter seducing father, older brother seducing younger sister, etc.
   4. Material which presents massive amounts of misinformation or gross distortions about human sexuality.
   5. Sexual activity which humiliates and degrades women and their sex role in man/woman relationships.
   6. Sexual activity with animals.
   7. Sexual activity that contains bondage, torture or violence.

1. The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment:
   1. 1957 U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Roth v. United States - obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press.
   2. There are many other kinds of speech and expression also not protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment such as slander, libel, perjury, false advertising, conspiracy, yelling "fire" in the crowed theater, contempt of court, copy right violations and child pornography.
2. Private Possession verse Public Market Place:
   1. 1969 U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Stanley v. Georgia - private possession of obscenity is protected by First Amendment; but private means private.
   2. 1973 U. S. Supreme Court Decision, Miller v. California - obscene materials are NOT protected by First Amendment when brought into the public market place.
   3. This landmark decision explains what is prosecutable in the public market place and gives each community the right to apply community standards - in the form of a three part test - to all pornographic material brought to a jury or a judge.
      1. "Taken as a whole, would the average person believe the material appeals to the prurient interest in sex - shameful, morbid or lustful?
      2. Would the average person believe the material contains sexual conduct in a patently offensive way?
         • Patently offensive representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated.
         • Patently offensive representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, and lewd exhibition of the genitals.
3. Taken as a whole, would a reasonable person believe the material lacks any serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value?"

1. What raises community standards is prosecution of material that meets the elements of the crime, not necessarily winning the trial. As long as merchants chose to pander prosecutable pornography, the law must be enforced so juries or a judge can decide if the material is obscene and in violation of community standards.
2. Failure to enforce state obscenity laws is the only way community standards can be lowered.
3. This takes action on the part of law enforcement and prosecutors to diligently and     rigorously investigate and enforce state obscenity laws; upholding their sworn duty and oath of office to serve, protect and enforce all state laws.
4. The attitude of a community toward soft-core pornography sends a public policy       message concerning all pornography.  The road to high community standards begins with a strong message that soft-core pornography is unacceptable.

1. Shelves and display cases containing the sexually explicit materials out in the open.
2. A separate or back room with signs stating you must by 18 or older to enter.
3. Peg boards containing I.D. rings with numbers corresponding to numbers in a     notebook binder containing hundreds of titles of sexually explicit videos.
4. Notebook binders containing hundreds of titles of sexually explicit videos on a counter or display case.
5. This same type of notebook binders kept behind the counter and is available upon request or for "preferred customers" or "members".