User:Kbrushett

=Boundary Disputes= "Boundary disputes are conflicts over the meaning and morality of sex" according to Steven Seidman, and they have caused many issues to arise in society over the years, issues that has raised many opinions. They are arguments that have surfaced over time that involves societies view on what sexual behaviours can be seen as appropriate. Seidman argues that most boundary disputes are political and deal with the morality of sexual acts. Because there are so many people in the world with many different opinions there will always be controversy concerning this idea. There are many boundary disputes that have surfaced and they focus on almost anything sexual, some of which include porn, sadomasochism, gay marriage and sex work. Boundary disputes are always in the attention of the public and are always political. This article will discuss these boundary disputes.

Porn
"Pornography refers to graphic sexual images that are meant to be sexually arousing" states Steven Seidman. During the Victorian age porn was viewed as highly inappropriate and also sex for any other purpose other than reproduction was also frowned upon. Now porn is available almost anywhere you look and it has become very well known that sex sells. Steven Seidman, an American Sociologist says that many see porn as a form of “free speech” but some also see it as a form of violence and male dominance. Porn is something that we have seen being fought in court for quite some time. The libertarians are looking to prove that porn should be a part of free speech and also prove that society should not be able to decide what images we can and cannot look at when we want. Another point of view is that of the Conservatives. According to Seidman, the Conservatives argue that if society sees sex as a point of pleasure they run a risk of supporting a “body centered and technique and performance orientated sexuality that is potentially demeaning” and unhealthy (6).

The porn industry has grown very large in the last several years and there is no end in sight for this business. It has developed as a very useful form of personal pleasure for most of society, male and female. You are able to obtain many videos and images from a wide range of categories to fit your personal style. Although very useful, many people see pornography as a negative thing. An age restriction has been placed for the viewing and purchasing of pornography, most adolescents and young children are still able to access it on the internet unless a parental block is placed. It is believed that pornography is teaching a negative lesson for thousands of children and young adults around the world. If these young individuals do happen to view pornography they run a risk of developing an addiction and having trouble developing serious emotional relationships later in their lives This same risk is also appropriate for adults if porn is used to frequently for their own pleasure. If people use porn too often it may cause them the inability to become aroused in a real life situation which could cause strain on their relationships. Seidman believes that the acceptance of pornography could mean a better knowledge of ones own sexual self, you are able to know your own wants and needs before becoming a sexual being (5). Many people believe that porn is a business directed towards men, and that may be, but according to Pornography in Contemporary Society: The Commodification of Sexual Desire by Peter Prevos, woman also get aroused while viewing porn, even if they say they do not. Prevos believes that the "increased availability of pornography is a sign of changing value patterns in Western societies." Society needs to begin to realize that something like pornography will never go away. Many business owners have also come to realize that sex does sell, therefore that is why we see pictures of half naked men and women selling products (5). We have also been seeing many different forms of pornography in famous paintings, video games, magazines, and also music videos. As society became more tolerant with the idea of sex and sexuality in the later part of the 20th century we also began seeing "home videos" being made by couples. Home videos are pornographic videos made by your average everyday couple with their own video camera, there is no producer, no famous "actors" and no script.

The first law against pornography was passed in The United Kingdom. This law was called the Obscene Publications Act 1857 and was for both The United Kingdom and Ireland. This law made the publication and retail of pornography a statutory crime and anything conviscated was to be destroyed immediately by the courts. Once the courts began to settle down a man named Albert Kirchner created the first pornographic film called Lear for Eugene Pirou in 1896. These two men were the inspiration to the beginning of the pornographic industry. Since then the industry has grown to make 89 dollars a second on sales (7).

Sadomasochism
Seidman explains that sexual acts have not always been tolerated. It is well known that in Victorian American sex was to be used solely for procreation when married. "Pleasure was at best a side effect of sex, not its aim," states Seidman. The Victorians even believed that pleasure had the power to corrupt young people and even had the possibility of causing serious mental and physical illness'. Pleasure brought an animalistic instinct to intimacy. Once eroticism was born in the early 20th century the body became known as a source of pleasure. Couples felt it necessary to explore new ways of achieving sexual pleasure. As the link between eroticism and romanticism were weakened, people began exploring even more ways of achieving pleasure, this is when S/M become just another sex act (6).

Sadomasochism (S/M) is a form of sex that involves power and dominance. People tend to use bonds and it also involves physical violence such as slapping and whipping. There are also verbal acts like giving commands and orders to your partner to increase more pleasure. The whole point is to take control of your partner and to tell them to do what you want and when you want it. It was never very popular until recently when many movies and novels began introducing it more to society. People believe that S/M supports the role of male dominance, but lesbians have recently come out with a group called Samois that supports S/M. They believe that although it involves physical force and humiliation it also involves creating a very trusting relationship (6). S/M has also been known as "kinky" sex and is in continuous danger of being prosecuted according to Andrea Beckmann's article The Social Construction of Sexuality and Perversion: Deconstructing Sadomasochism.

Andrea Beckmann's article explains how most of society has developed the wrong idea about sadomasochism. She explains how many people have deemed it as "barbaric and uncivilized" but in fact when practising with S/M it is a well thought out and controlled experience. Many people frown upon this act, but they do not realize that both the army and Law Enforcement are trained in the act of S/M to retrieve useful information from individuals. They are able to use pain, force and acts of discomfort towards these individuals (1). Along with pleasure for some people, S/M has also many dangers. As previously mentioned S/M uses many acts of pain and abuse towards your partner in order to obtain optimum pleasure, some of these acts of abuse include choking, slapping, etc. When someone inexperienced gets into S/M they may take it to far and seriously injure their partner, or even worse, their partner may die. Therefore this is why most society has frowned upon this act, it is avery dangerous act no matter how experienced you are (1).

Another issue that has been raised with S/M, as previously mentioned, is that it is focused around male dominance. People believe that this is just a way for a man to have complete and total control over their spouse or partner, when in reality the role can go both ways. Many females are too shy to admit that they take the dominant role in these sorts of acts, or even participate in it at all, but this does not mean that they do not do it. When performing acts of S/M you do things you would never imagine, this mean if your spouse is usually the dominant role in your relationship S/M gives you the chance to take control. Many lesbian couples also take part in S/M which is how the group Samois was formed. Samois is a group of lesbians that fully supports the ways of sadomasochism (6).

Gay Marriage
"Gay" marriage was not an issue until the 1970’s when the gay movement was initially surfaced. In the 1990’s gay marriage became a key issue in social equality for homosexuals. Since they were not allowed to marry they were considered second class citizens. Marriage has been weakened by the right to divorce and many people believe that legalizing gay marriage would cause other people to demand the right to marry, such as polygamists (5). Gay marriage has been one of the most public disputes over the years and it has caused a lot of pain. Homosexuality has been so frowned upon in society that in the passed there has not been much sociological research done on the subject for the fear that they themselves would be thought of as homosexual. David Greenberg decided to research the topic of homosexuality and wrote an article on why people disapprove of homosexuals.

According to Greenberg's article The Construction of Homosexuality the reason that homosexuality is believed to be "evil, sick, and undesirable" is because people see it that way. The reason for its deviance is because people believe it to be deviant. Greenberg uses the example of murder to explain this; if people were to see no harm in murder, there would be no punishment. People could carry on taking each others lives as frequently as they wanted without societies judgement. Therefore if society were to no longer see homosexuality as a deviant subject, this subject would no longer be a boundary dispute. Most of these disputes over homosexuality are a part of the fact that homosexuals cannot procreate. In earlier centuries people believed that sex was only appropriate when the purpose was to procreate. This notion was brought upon society mostly through religions like Christianity and since homosexuals are only able to have sex for pleasure it is deemed innappropriate (2).

In 2004 Canada became the fourth country to legalize "gay" marriage nationwide, they follow behind Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. This is a drastic change for todays society. According to an article on same-sex marriage in Canada by Jay Makarenko there was no acceptance of "gay" marriage in the 1960s. When a man was found guilty of homosexual acts he was often given criminal charges and put in prison. The article discusses a case about a man, Everett Klippert, who was arrested for arson but later convicted as a dangerous sex offender. This case caused mass debate in Canada whether a gay man should be imprisoned for his acts of homosexuality (4). This lead to the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969, see below:

"In 1965, Mr. Klippert was held and interrogated by police as part of an arson investigation. During his interrogation, Mr. Klippert admitted to having homosexual relations with several men during a two-year period. When doctors determined he was unlikely to stop engaging in these activities, Mr. Klippert was charged and convicted as a dangerous sexual offender and sentenced to an indefinite term of imprisonment. The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Mr. Klippert’s appeal in 1967, upholding the government’s legal ability to imprison men convicted of homosexuality."

Now we see in the Civil Marriage Act the inclusion of same-sex marriage. The legal definition of marriage is now "Marriage, for civil purposes, is the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others. (4)"

Sex Work
Another subject that has boundary disputes is sex work. This trade involves strippers, prostitutes, porn actors and models, etc. all trading sex for money. Should sex work be considered and treated as a regular job or should it be different because it involves sexual activity? It raises a dispute over the “relationship between sex and commerce.” If society is going to allow porn, should we not also allow the buying and selling of sex? Not allowing the same benefits to sex workers as other workers in society causes many dangers in this form of work (6). Sex workers are unprotected and risking theirs lives to make a living and should be able to obtain the same benefits as others.

An article by Anna Kontula, The Sex Worker and her Pleasure, discusses how sex workers are unable to develop relationships, she states that they are "alienated from their sexuality." When you are working as a sex worker Kontula believes that you are unable to experience real sexuality. A large part of prostitution is associated with violence and crime. Many myths have arisen over the years about sex workers, therefor Anna Kontula was able to find 25 sex workers who were willing to be interviewed. Many wanted to do it just to disprove these myths. One myth that was assumed by society was that women cannot enjoy commercial sex, but they can and most times it is without any emotional involvement. So why have these disputes formed? Many believe its so society can protect themselves and their families from the truth of sex workers (3). This truth being that many sex workers actually enjoy what they are doing.

Groups have formed such as the social conservatives that have become morally opposed by the sex working industry. They believe it is a crime and see all forms of sex work as prostitution. Recently there has been advocates fighting for the rights of sex workers, the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour is looking to legalize the sex working trade. This would give these individual many opportunities. They would be able to form unions as professional business men and women, they would be able to cross boarders to work and most importantly they would be protected by labour and employment laws (8). In Steven Seidmans book The Social Construction of Sexuality he makes a very clear point about sex work. He argues that blue-collar workers, professional athletes and famous actors all sell their bodies for money. Blue-coller workers and professional athletes both sell their strength and endurance to earn their wages, and actors sell their attractiveness. He asks "is selling particular sex acts not similar to marketing physical strength of beauty? (6)"

=References=
 * 1) Beckmann, Andrea (2011): The social construction of sexuality and perversion: Deconstructing sadomasochism. Psychology & Sexuality, 2:1, 103-106. (1)
 * 2) Greenberg, D., F.,(1990). The construction of homosexuality. http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=RKhFRgR-1awC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=homosexuality+&ots=SXH0B8OH_B&sig=2eH-81mjH4GPwFUj4Ob7IdNRz9s#v=onepage&q&f=false (2)
 * 3) Kontula, Anna (2208). The sex worker and her pleasure. Current Sociology. DOI: 10.1177/0011392108090944 (3)
 * 4) Makarenko, Jay. (2007). Same-sex marriage in Canada. http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/same-sex-marriage-canada (4)
 * 5) Prevos, P. (2006). Pornography in contemporary society: The commodification of sexual desire. http://prevos.net/ola/pornography.pdf (5)
 * 6) Seidman, Steven. (2003). The social construction of sexuality. United States of America: W. W. Norton & Company (6)
 * 7) http://techcrunch.com/2007/05/12/internet-pornography-stats/ (7)
 * 8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_worker (8)