Republicans take aim at risque jokes and romance novels with anti-sex bills

[Torie]

Republicans take aim at risque jokes and romance novels with anti-sex bills

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/republican-anti-sex-legislation-state-level

I put this up, because nobody, but nobody, offers up for one's reading pleasure the genre of cognoscenti put downs of miscreants and grifters better than the Brits.

What does exposure to porn do to impressionable teen minds, you ask?

“Eight states have justified their actions by saying that porn is “creating a public health crisis”. Louisiana’s bill claims that pornography “may lead to low self-esteem, body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages … impact brain development … shape deviant sexual arousal, and lead to difficulty in forming or maintaining positive, intimate relationships, as well as promoting problematic or harmful sexual behaviors and addiction.”

I think I get the “deviant” reference – even more queers, et al – but a history professor has a bit more to add:

“Historian Whitney Strub, an associate professor of history at Rutgers University, doesn’t think these ideas are well-founded. “Framing pornography as a public health crisis is not driven by serious engagement with the social scientific literature,” he said. “They’ve even got fake peer-reviewed journals that give the imprimatur of scholarship … It’s been a very smart rebranding of evangelical Christian conservatism.”

‘Why are all these bills being proposed now? Strub thinks it’s partly because of the overturning of Roe v Wade. “Abortion gave a certain coherence to conservative politics in the United States. And it certainly still does … but they’re in the position of Ahab if he slayed the white whale … I mean, there’s no more Moby-Dick.”

And there you have it. What more is there to be said? I guess you all will tell me.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Remember everybody, per that guru ElectionsGuy it's the Democrats who are the extreme authoritarian and prude party who will try to ban porn.

[DrScholl]

People are dying from not having healthcare and red states still refuse to expand Medicare. But that can propose useless bills like these.

[Landslide Lyndon]

If they want young men to consume less porn then they should legalize prostitution.
As the old saying goes, sex is better than masturbation because you get to know people.  

[Alben Barkley]

In Texas, a new bill requiring age verification on websites with pornographic content defines images of the female breast “below the top of the areola” as porn, potentially hitting at business advertisements. In West Virginia, a bill outlawing all sexually oriented businesses is on the docket, with a definition that includes art studios with nude models and wrestling arenas. In South Carolina a bill would criminalize using “profane language” related to “sexual or excretory organs or activities” in front of minors during performances. The punishment? Up to a decade in prison.

What the hell…?

I can at least see the logic behind trying to ban access to porn for minors, even if it’s a largely futile effort. But some of these bills are just beyond crazy even by Republican standards. Also clearly unconstitutional, especially the one about risque jokes. And I liked the part where the article pointed out that many of these states allow minors to marry and consent to sex but not watch porn. I guess they would argue the latter is more harmful than actual sex.

[Torie]

In Texas, a new bill requiring age verification on websites with pornographic content defines images of the female breast “below the top of the areola” as porn, potentially hitting at business advertisements. In West Virginia, a bill outlawing all sexually oriented businesses is on the docket, with a definition that includes art studios with nude models and wrestling arenas. In South Carolina a bill would criminalize using “profane language” related to “sexual or excretory organs or activities” in front of minors during performances. The punishment? Up to a decade in prison.

What the hell…?

I can at least see the logic behind trying to ban access to porn for minors, even if it’s a largely futile effort. But some of these bills are just beyond crazy even by Republican standards. Also clearly unconstitutional, especially the one about risque jokes. And I liked the part where the article pointed out that many of these states allow minors to marry and consent to sex but not watch porn. I guess they would argue the latter is more harmful than actual sex.

I guess art studios will become an endangered species in West Virginia. Thank heavens Dan's are in NY and NJ.

[Ferguson97]

Party of free speech btw

[I’m not Stu]

Republicans are extremely adamant about stripping away parental rights.

[VBM]

Remember everybody, per that guru ElectionsGuy it's the Democrats who are the extreme authoritarian and prude party who will try to ban porn.

Obviously Republicans are worse, but Democrats also have a prude problem

[Joe Republic]

Republicans are extremely adamant about stripping away parental rights.

Please do not use that disgusting word here, you deviant.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

If they want young men to consume less porn then they should legalize prostitution.
As the old saying goes, sex is better than masturbation because you get to know people.  

They want young men to believe the only way to get sexual fufillment is to buy in to the patriarchy, obey the patriarchs and treat women like livestock. Legalized prostitution, or any sort of sexual relations outside the patriarchy-approved, male-dominated dynamic, is forbidden. (Illegal prostituition is accepted because it provides a stigmatized release valve that reinforces the subservient position of women and the superiority of the official patriarchial modus vivendi.) They're the latest iteration of a cult/racket that is thousands of year old.

Renegade Mormon polygamists practice a much-more-obvious version of the same thing, if you want to examine a far less sophisticated example of the patriarchy-cult.

[DaleCooper]

We may see less gender polarization in future elections if Republicans keep going in this direction.

[Beet]

Both sides are becoming more authoritarian and anti-liberty. The future is dark.

[President Johnson]

Both sides are becoming more authoritarian and anti-liberty. The future is dark.

"Both sides bad" isn't really a convincing argument on being authoritarian.

[T'Chenka]

Republicans are extremely adamant about stripping away parental rights.

...except for the parents right to tell schools what they can and cannot teach their child, what pronouns they can and can't call them, and what "moral deviance" they can and can't expose them to.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What things are Democrats pushing for comparable to this? And Covid restrictions and mask mandates have been all dead for about a year now so that's not an answer.

[7,052,770]

What things are Democrats pushing for comparable to this? And Covid restrictions and mask mandates have been all dead for about a year now so that's not an answer.

I'm sure they've seen replies to a Tweet and decided that those unverified bots and trolls are representative of how actual Democratic politicians and voters think. Crazy, isn't it?

[Vosem]

What things are Democrats pushing for comparable to this? And Covid restrictions and mask mandates have been all dead for about a year now so that's not an answer.

There have been lots of efforts from the Democratic Party to counter what they perceive to be "misinformation", which is typically the word used when there is an intent to censor something. That link is to just one thing, but there have been lots at every level; the official website of the Democratic Party calls for organizations to police 'hate speech'.

This seems comparable, and I think there's a real discussion to be had about which of these is worse. (My perspective here is that the Democrats explicitly targeting political speech which disagrees with them is probably worse than Republicans targeting lewd speech for harebrained socon reasons, since it does more damage to the body politic, but the Republicans' efforts here are stupider -- less likely to succeed in their aims in like ten different ways -- and so more frustrating in that sense).

[darklordoftech]

a new bill requiring age verification on websites with pornographic content defines images of the female breast “below the top of the areola” as porn

I was just told that Americans don’t fear topless women.

[Badger]

In Texas, a new bill requiring age verification on websites with pornographic content defines images of the female breast “below the top of the areola” as porn, potentially hitting at business advertisements. In West Virginia, a bill outlawing all sexually oriented businesses is on the docket, with a definition that includes art studios with nude models and wrestling arenas. In South Carolina a bill would criminalize using “profane language” related to “sexual or excretory organs or activities” in front of minors during performances. The punishment? Up to a decade in prison.

What the hell…?

I can at least see the logic behind trying to ban access to porn for minors, even if it’s a largely futile effort. But some of these bills are just beyond crazy even by Republican standards. Also clearly unconstitutional, especially the one about risque jokes. And I liked the part where the article pointed out that many of these states allow minors to marry and consent to sex but not watch porn. I guess they would argue the latter is more harmful than actual sex.

I guess art studios will become an endangered species in West Virginia. Thank heavens Dan's are in NY and NJ.

They already are.

[jojoju1998]

At this rate, they're going to ban Game of Thrones. And HBO/Showtime/Starz as we know it.

[DaleCooper]

At this rate, they're going to ban Game of Thrones. And HBO/Showtime/Starz as we know it.

That's what they've always wanted. Never underestimate the disease that is helicopter parenting. Once the helicopter parents realize that they can't control every second of their children's lives (and other people's children's lives), they start demanding that the government do it for them.

[Mr. Smith]

Too bad they're the ones more likely to partake in either.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Does this mean that BLACK FUTURE will be illegal?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

At this rate, they're going to ban Game of Thrones. And HBO/Showtime/Starz as we know it.

What would be the loss? Game of Thrones is complete garbage ruined by two imbeciles and one of the most epic fail dumpster fires of all time. At least said imbeciles also ruined their own careers as well.