Pornography & Techonology -WMW

This is an article I wrote for Women's Media Watch fresh out of College.It was around the time of the Bluetooth craze, back in the day when the Razor phone was king amongst cellphones in Jamdung. 

Danique Williams, Youth Writer, shares
her views. Pornography is defined in the
Oxford dictionary as ‘explicit presentation
of sexual activity in literature, films, etc, to
stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic feelings’.
Today, the ‘etcetera’ includes internet
downloads and the ever increasing
porno video clips readily available through
cell phones with blue tooth and related
technology.
Last year at a major sporting event, a clip
of a fourteen year old student performing
fellatio (oral sex) on her sixteen year old
boyf r iend, was
beamed to every
phone within range
with blue tooth technology.
This led to the discovery of a well
established child phone pornography industry
catering to the sexual whims of teens,
adults and paedophiles alike. For just J$30
to J$50 one can partake of flicks such as
‘Blue Tooth Express’ or ‘Chocolate Surprise’
filmed via cellular phones.
Increasingly, an integral part of the act
of rape is the viewing of pornography before
the act and recording the rape itself on
a cell phone for ‘posterity’. This raises serious
concerns: with advances in technology,
the sexual violation of the young is taking
on new dimensions. Pornography is illegal
under Jamaican law, but no specific statute
speaks to child pornography.
Pornography is viewed negatively when
it promotes unhealthy or socially inappropriate
sexual practices such as pre-marital
sex, unprotected sex, multi-partnering or
violent sex. Says one 18-year old: ‘I find
porn slightly disgusting—maybe it is because
of how I was raised. I have some
friends who see nothing wrong with it. It is
everywhere. Some dancehall lyrics are so
explicit—close your eyes and you can picture
everything.’
According to Dr. Victor Cline,
expert on sexual addiction, there
is a four step progression which
describes behavior of consumers
of pornography:
Addiction: Pornography provides a powerful
sexual stimulant, followed by sexual
release, most often through masturbation.
Escalation: Over time addicts require more
explicit and deviant material to meet their
sexual "needs."
Desensitization: What at first seemed
shocking becomes normal, acceptable.
Acting out: displaying
the sexual behaviour
viewed in porn.
The challenge in Jamaica
is that the ‘problem’ of
pornography exists in an environment
where people have different morals. Institutions
catering to youth are often fearful of
addressing the ‘problem’ in any formal
way. And for some, the sexual acts common
in pornography have become the
norm.
Studies overseas show that the effect of
pornography on the individual varies according
to factors such as social upbringing
or exposure to appropriate alternatives.
Local research is now needed on how pornography
is affecting Jamaica—and on
possible links between viewing cell phone
porn and students’ sexual behaviour. WMW