Murray Davis’ Smut, Erotic Reality/Obscene Ideology Essay, Research Paper
Murray Davis’ Smut, Erotic Reality/Obscene Ideology
In the book Smut, Erotic Reality/ Obscene Ideology, by Murray Davis
(1983), the author expresses the idea that the best source for studying human
sexuality objectively is “soft core”, rather than ?hard core? pornography.
(Davis p. xix). The purpose of this paper is to critique Davis’s claim and to
study what understanding of human sexuality someone might have if they used some
other resource that is available today, in this case the Internet.
Davis argues that, “hard core pornography is usually more abstract and
less explicit than soft-core pornography”. (Davis, p. xix, 1983). Davis doesn’t
go on to explain how hard-core pornography can be less explicit than soft-core.
However he does explain that hard-core pornography is more abstract in that, it
depicts the sex act only and not the emotional or personal characteristics of
the people involved in the act. (Davis, p. xx) He believes soft-core
pornography is describing “a sexual experience”, which conveys characteristics
of the participants that are not described by hard-core pornography. Hard-core
pornography describes “sexual behaviour” which involves more of the act of sex
rather than the characteristics and feelings involved with sex. (Davis, p.
xix) Although Davis admits that the vocabulary of sex is changing (Davis, p.
xxv), he also states that hard-core pornography uses considerably more vulgar
terms that are associated with lower-class activity, such as, “prick, fuck, and
suck” (Davis, p. xxiii). Davis believes that hard-core pornography, induces
imaginative behaviours by using these lower-class, four-letter words. The
stories use phrases such as “First we sucked, then we fucked.”(Davis p. xix,
1983), to allow the reader the tools to imagine the scene actually taking place.
The reader is lead by the author through the story by using words that may be
more understood or common in the readers’ everyday life. He also accuses hard-
core films of being “behavioristic” and “abstract” because they often fail to
“fully inform the audience about the characters personality types and social
categories.”(Davis, p. xx, 1983) Soft-core pornography, on the other hand,
often depicts “the subtle phenomenological effects that result when a
character’s sexual behaviour clashes with his or her personal and social
characteristics.” (Davis, p. xx, 1983). In short, he study’s literature or
films that involve characters with personalities that are developed and conveyed
to the audience. In these stories the characters will have sex, but the sex may
or may not be the main focus of the story, but rather something that is bound to
happen when personal and social characteristics clash.
I believe that Davis is somewhat correct in assuming that soft-core is a
more objectively reliable source for studying human sexuality. When I hear the
words soft-core pornography, I tend to think of Playboy, or films and movies
that depict a story about a person or group of people, and within that story the
characters engage in sexual activity. This sexual activity is shown or described
to the reader/viewer but is not done in a graphic nature. That is, the actual
sexual penetration is not shown or shown very minimally.
Hard-core, on the other hand, is shown or described more graphically.
The dialogue usually includes, as Davis states, four-letter words. The story
seems to have less of a plot and less character development. The main purpose
of the work is to show or describe sex. So it is in this sense that I agree
with Davis.
However, I firmly believe that there is not one single resource that is
the best method of studying human sexuality. There are many sources which are
helpful when studying sex and human sexuality. They can range from textbooks,
entertainment magazines, television programs, to movies and novels. In my
opinion the most reliable and important resource for studying human sexuality is
personal experience. The actual hands on, if you will, of sex. All the texts,
magazines and movies can show what happens and maybe guide your learning process,
but the only real way to learn is to experience for oneself. I feel that if a
variety of resources are used when studying human sexuality, an individual will
understand and learn all aspects of sexuality in greater detail. Having learned
all aspects of sexuality a person may develop a sense of confidence in their own
sexuality. This may allow for the person to have more respect for sexual
orientations or practices that the individual may not take part in. For
example, a person educated in human sexuality at a university level may realise
that homosexuality is normal and should not be shunned. Whereas, a person not
as highly educated in this field may think homosexuals are not right, or
confused. If an individual uses a mixture of hard-core pornography, soft-core
pornography, educational texts, and any other source of information that is
available, the base for their knowledge will be broadened.
With this broadened knowledge base an individual can draw their own
lines for limits in their sexual practises. A person may indulge in sex in
similar manner to hard-core pornography. That is, they may enjoy watching the
penetration and using four-letter words during sex. Or an individual may enjoy
sex in more of a soft-core manner. For example they may like the
lights off and be more romantic in their sexual escapades. I feel that a
combination of the two, or even a mixture of many different resources can be
more beneficial to the individuals sexual experience. That way the individual
could use the ?hit and miss? method to explore human sexuality. Which means
they could try different things until they find something that they are
comfortable with.
I believe that soft-core pornography when used alone is much too vague
when studying human sexuality. All aspects of human sexuality are not dealt
with. The individual would not learn the “plumbing” aspect of sexuality, other
than what is seen or described in soft-core. (i.e. breasts and penis).
If an individual only used hard-core pornography to study human
sexuality they may believe that sex and sexuality are all about the act of sex.
They may not learn the idea of love or the responsibilities associated with sex
and sexual activity. The use of only one resource in studying anything,
including human sexuality, limits the quality of knowledge gained about the
particular subject.
One example of a restricted or limited view would be if a person was
only using a resource such as the Internet to study human sexuality. The
Internet, or the net, as we all know, is a vast source of knowledge for
virtually every topic imaginable. I believe that a person would have a very
limited view if using the Internet for information on human sexuality. This
would especially ring true if the person did not know how to conduct advanced
studies on the Internet. That is, the person would simply type ?human sexuality?
into one of the many search engines on the net. The resulting ?hits? or ?sites?
(places to find information) would be a wide range of topics. They would likely
range from journal articles about human sexuality to adult oriented articles,
which would likely be hard-core. Another type of hit the “surfer” (a person who
browses the Internet) may find is the adult oriented commercial sites. These
sites advertise free sex pictures or live phone sex.
The problem with using the Internet and only the Internet as a resource
for study is that the information found can be so vast that one may not know
where to start. The more attractive and marketed sites may get more attention.
The key words in the description of the site may draw one’s attention to that
site and the less attractive sites may be by-passed. The problem is that the
less attractive sites are usually those from universities with an abundance of
credible information. The other sites are basically selling sex not the idea of
the total package of human sexuality.
Another problem is deciding which search engine to use. A search engine
is a tool that one can use to find specific topics on the Internet. Different
engines have different specialities and a different number of sites that are
explored. If a person only used one search engine when looking for sites
dealing with human sexuality, an important site that is catalogued in another
search engine may be missed.
With any topic as broad as human sexuality the Internet can be more
overwhelming than it is helpful. As with human sexuality itself, I believe
that the best way to learn how to search the net is by trial and error. By
learning how to narrow down topics that are being searched the individual may be
able to find a few sites that fit the characteristics they are seeking.
Now, the problem is, which characteristics should one look for when
learning about human sexuality? This is another decision that if not made
properly could lead to someone having a limited view of human sexuality. In
order to narrow down a search one must know a little bit about what they are
searching for. For example if an alien came here and tried to research human
sexuality, it may not know any aspect of our sexuality to add to the search.
For example, love plays a role in our sexuality. If someone did not know this
they would enter ?human sexuality? into the search engine and again may be
distracted by flashy, hard-core, sex-sites and may not find anything on love.
The over-all understanding of human sexuality would be limited according to
which sites were looked at.
Although I agree somewhat with Advisee’s claim that soft-core, rather
than hard-core pornography, may be a better resource for studying human
sexuality. I feel that using only one resource for information can limit the
view and even sometimes distort an individuals ideas of human sexuality. When
using a resource such as the Internet, one may be overwhelmed with information
and marketing tactics may win the attention of information seekers and take away
from the sites that actually offer factual information regarding human sexuality.
Therefore, I believe that an individual should use all resources
available to them when studying any topic, especially a topic as complex as
human sexuality.
References
Davis, S. Murray. (1983). Smut erotic reality obscene ideology.
University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
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