What role does fantasy play in your real life?
To that end, I've read/researched/studied many various learned opinions/ideas...perhaps because I realize if taken to an extreme of acting out destructive fantasies, it will bring grief to all concerned. It might, in fact, be emotionally/psychologically dangerous to engage in even reading about certain kinds of sexual fantasies that society deems 'taboo'.
Why?
Well, in some less emotionally stable people, there may develop a compulsive obsession that drives them to act out their deepest, most primal instincts -- and humans are capable of horrendous cruelty when it mingles with sexual appetite. I need not remind some of you that Ted Bundy, as well as a few other notorious sexually sadistic serial killers, claim to have been addicted to reading/watching hard-core pornography depicting acts that, sooner or later, they became unable to resist acting out themselves.
This, if nothing else, should give readers pause for thought; and erotica writers/video/photo distributors, a reason to develop themes/plots that have an inherently social, psychological or emotionally significant meaning within their material. Otherwise, it's possible to contribute, albeit inadvertently, indirectly, to creating monstrous damage. Is an erotic work, taken as a whole, worthy of imparting a social/psychological redeeming message? If not, it is clearly suspect in intention -- it is, perhaps, quite blatantly pornographic. Therefore, this is why I gave serious thought to this issue.
Though some erotic themes may disturb readers/viewers, once the whole work has been digested, it may have a theme that should save it from being simply a sexually stimulating piece. I don't know what all erotica authors/artists/film-makers have in mind when they create art; I only know that there is NO subject off-limits if presented in an artistic manner with a redeeming theme. An example that comes to mind is the literary classic, "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov; this story has a topic that would, even today, be unacceptable to some. Yet the rendering of a man's carnal craving for a forbidden young girl is such that one can understand the human depravity...and sense that he is doomed, to be pitied -- perhaps even gaining insight into such a man's sickness. And the plot does show us that only tragedy can result from this kind of situation. This novel is a clear example of why we must always protect freedom of speech -- because it is precious and to silence what some term 'unacceptable' material can soon lead to censorship.
However, there is potentially a very thin line between art and pornography; and trying to define pornography is indeed near impossible. Yet, I tend to think we know hard-core pornography when we come across it; and keeping minors away from this material is becoming an increasingly troublesome issue on the Net. Even though many programs, likeNet Nanny and Safe Surf can block out most of the offensive sites...what about the blatantly provocative ads of nudity being circulated freely -- or used as bait to draw in customers to the paying sites?
There is an attempt being made right now to pass a law wherein the nudity would be prohibited as ads -- and that would require all entry to adult-oriented sites to require age verification. If you're interested, you can read more about the current status of this bill at EPIC. This is the website of The Electronic Privacy Information Center -- a good site to keep abreast of the latest legal battles about such issues -- there's also an email newsletter. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is another excellent source of online legal and activist information. And you can read about the new CDA legislation by going to this URL: S. 1482
I found an excellent excerpt about the role of erotic fantasy in our real lives from a book by Andrew Greeley, 'Love and Play'...which rather eloquently demonstrates how I perceive the role of fantasies in real life:
"The fantasy world is disordered and chaotic. It draws the line at no sexual behavior, because it has not learned, like the ego, that certain kinds of sex destroy relationships, society and civilizations. Incest, rape, bestiality, sadomasochistic orgies are all completely undifferentiated in the raw and primal imagination.
Are sexual fantasies evil? As fantasies, surely not. They become evil when we attempt to accomplish all of them (which happens usually only among the unbalanced), or when we permit them to substitute for relationships in the real world. Some fantasies are safely carried out, others give us critical hints about our personality and our needs. Still others can provide a richness and a variety in our sexual relations that may substantially improve our emotional life and our psychological well-being. Finally, sexual fantasy has profoundly religious overtones. It is part of the pre-conscious self that produces both sexual and religious images.
Sexual fantasies are part of the human condition. To pretend they are not is to ignore the facts. They tell us something about the nature and destiny of humankind.
What then are fantasies besides entertaining ways of passing the time? They are first of all a way to release emotional and psychic energy, dangerous only if they become so compulsively important that real human relationships and responsibilities are ignored, or if one seriously begins to turn the fantasies into reality.
But these fantasies also reveal to us, if we are not ashamed to consider their implications, that we are creatures with powerful, deep, complex hungers. We can restrain and control these hungers, but we cannot eliminate them completely. It is a mistake to try. Fantasies can be safety-valve mechanisms in which some of the raw force of our primal hunger can be discharged in a framework of safety and support.
Fantasy, then, does not provide a detailed outline for reality, but it does open up some interesting possibilities. What possibilities will be pursued depends on the people involved."
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