Patrick's Right To View Pornography In A Public Setting

Patrick’s Pursuit of Pleasure Patrick should have the legal right to watch pornography in a public setting. There are many who disagree. They cite various reasons, some of which can be somewhat convincing, as to why Patrick’s right to view should be restricted by law. They suggest that it is, among other things: immoral, offensive, a public nuisance, bad for business, a bad influence for youngsters and degrading to women. While these are indeed good points, further examination will help us to see the flaws in each of these arguments. Those who support Patrick’s legal right to view argue that Patrick is causing no harm, nor is he disrupting the public

Morality, though, is a somewhat subjective concept. What constitutes moral verses immoral varies from religion to religion, culture to culture and even over the span of time within a culture. For example, Christianity permits one wife per husband. Polygamy is considered immoral (and illegal) in the United States. Whereas in Islam, a man is permitted to have up to four wives and it is considered moral and acceptable. Also, certain sex acts (oral, anal, and homosexuality) that were previously considered immoral by society as a whole, have now become “acceptable” . These acts are no longer considered immoral by western society, in general, though there are segments of society, mostly religious, who still view them as such. Incest , another example, while taboo in western culture today, is considered acceptable in other cultures. In Europe, incest was common during the medieval period all the way up until World War I. It is clear that what is deemed as immoral is not clearly defined and can change over time. Therefore, due to its constantly changing nature, morality cannot effectively be used as grounds to argue against Patrick’s legal right to watch pornography in a public

We can certainly agree that degrading porn is degrading. But, we must be careful not to speak in terms of absolutes. It is neither black or white; in fact, there are shades of gray in between. The question that should be asked becomes, “is all pornography degrading to women? Most certainly, there is pornography that is very degrading to women. It depicts them in a most submissive, and demeaning manner often being the victim of some act of violence. But, one could just as easily argue that there are many pornographic films depicting men in a similar fashion. They are depicted as dumb, unemotional and often violent “studs” devoid of emotion and having even less intelligence. They are usually abusive and even outright violent with their partners and seem to derive a great deal of pleasure from their inhumane behaviors. Certainly, most males would object if their “significant other” viewed them in this manner. Furthermore, one must take into consideration, the pornographic films that actually depict women and men in healthy relationships. In these films, women are not degraded or beaten into oblivion before the sex act; they are simply willing (and equal) participants. At the end of the day, they walk away unharmed. As for pornography being responsible for the male abusive behavior, it would be difficult to blame this