This is an excellent response, thank you.
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Originally Posted by Itse
And also like with junkfood, there's nothing harmful about sometimes just filling a need.
Also like with junkfood, the border to art is really hazy. Sometimes what we call "junkfood" can actually be nutritionally quite alright and even tasty, and sometimes what we call "porn" helps people relax and process their thoughts and fantasies in a safe and comfortable way. (Like art.)
(Also, there is some evidence that the availibility of porn has a decreasing effect on the number of rapes, although I don't think the data is conclusive yet.)
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I think that you have quite clearly articulated the problem as near as I can see it from the opposite side. How far beholden are we to antiquated perceptions of sex in our contemporary definitions of human relationships, and also to issues of morality?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
As for the rest of the topic, as a polyamoric atheist I am so far removed from the OP's worldview that I just don't know what to say.
However, I think the polyamory FAQ might be an interesting read for people interested in this topic, because it looks at the issue from a very different angle.
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/polyamory/faq/ |
Great. Thanks for that.
Based on a cursory read of the FAQ, it seems to me right away that there is much more an emotional issue than anything. This really is not about sex specifically, but the emotions generated within sexual relationships. Modern monogamy is founded on a long-standing tradition of fostering envy as a signifier of love and commitment, and is it any wonder why, when the Jewish / Christian God consistently and repeatedly affirms his own jealousy?
How strange... On the one hand, we are admonished as a society to restrain from harbouring and acting upon jealousy, while on the other hand we encourage it as a fundamental component of a "healthy commitment". I've never thought of this issue in these terms, but it seems to me that this adds a whole other wrinkle to the discussion:
Is envy a necessary component of humanity? How much does this emotion separate us from other animals, and to what degree—if at all—should we foster this as a speciated (is that even a word?) distinction.