...if restrictions on sexuality in the media were as lenient as those on violence. The cultural anti-Puritan uprising in the US in the 1970s was built around resistance to limitations on sexuality, and if a new uprising is building now this will be an important part of it. Any increase in sexual liberty in American society will filter through to youth, benefiting them immensely and us indirectly. Current obscenity law in the US seems to be enforced exclusively in the context of either exposure to or depiction of minors, probably because the "Miller Test" (link below) makes so little sense that hardly anyone would support its use in any other context. There are academics who recognize how deeply the notion of obscenity compromises freedom of speech. During the 1970s the government was forced to use obscenity law in attempts to stifle various artistic, political and commercial types of expression related to sexuality. This set up conflicts between Puritan and anti-Puritan forces which resulted in permanent changes in the boundaries of acceptable public speech concerning sex. For a while the anti-Puritans were gaining a lot of ground, and eventually they gave a lot back, but the net gain was remarkable. A new battle on this terrain may well take place, and result in further gains, possibly forcing the government to give up using obscenity law at all (which for some time it pretty much did, I think). The notion that obscene speech should be exempted from First Amendment protection makes no sense under the Miller Test or probably under any other rationale that can be imagined. This would become pretty obvious to everyone if it had to be used more broadly. The PG-13 movie rating sort of notifies parents what level of exposure to sex and violence the state considers appropriate at what age. If you vary from that at home, you are likely to be considered a poor parent by many. That isn't enough exposure to sex to be healthy for most 10, 11, 12 and 13 year olds. We're sending the wrong message to parents about their kids' sexuality there. hugzu ;-p [@nonymouse] [Guardster] [Proxify] [Anonymisierungsdienst] |