What would you consider a major "culture war" battleground?

[jt512]

Did they control for being self-reported and alcohol use to be underestimated?

I don't know what it would mean to control for self-reporting, and I don't know if they adjusted for underreporting, but there are studies that have done that that still show lower mortality for light-to-moderate drinking.

ETA: If drinking were underreported, then the threshold for harm would be underestimated; that is, it would be beneficial to drink more than the study results show.

 

[Samson]

I don't know what it would mean to control for self-reporting, and I don't know if they adjusted for underreporting, but there are studies that have done that that still show lower mortality for light-to-moderate drinking.

Interesting that you discover similar findings to those I am unable to citation from 20 years back.
I am thinking that this is a significant debate.
Moderate drinking may be the greatest contribut0r to mental health ever.

I do also enjoy the Lotus Eaters by Alfred Lord Tennyson, but probably for the ineffable language that is meant to be eradicated by the better instructors of western youth.

 

[Poem]

Porn and prostitution.

UN human rights expert Reem Alsalem, the special rapporteur on the causes and consequences of violence against women and girls, has issued a report advocating the abolition of prostitution. In addition, she calls for countries to abolish pornography and criminalize its possession and production:

"The perceived right of men to purchase a sex act normalises the systematic violence inflicted on women through prostitution, including pornography, because it erases the boundaries between what counts as sex and what counts as sexual violence."

https://youtu.be/9ROBOAZsstc?t=461

 

[d4m10n]

Porn and prostitution.

We've got more of both than ever before, at least in the western nations formerly known as Christendom.

What makes you think there will be a significant backlash?

 

[bruto]

Not that I'd be all that surprised at any level of hypocrisy from various icons of righteousness, but extending the culture war to porn and prostitution would, I think, severely cramp the style of some of them. I mean, how will our esteemed pass the idle hours if they cannot grab pussies and chat about the latest escapades of Long Dong Silver?

PS, I wish the type face here made a little more space between the "R" and the "N." I keep reading it wrong, and feeling I have to remind the poster that we haven't had a serious war against the pom since 1814.

 

[arthwollipot]

You can't ban prostitution. You can only ban safe prostitution.

 

[bruto]

You can't ban prostitution. You can only ban safe prostitution.

But that's true of a lot of things, and has never stopped the self-righteous from swinging the ban-hatchet.

 

[Poem]

Not that I'd be all that surprised at any level of hypocrisy from various icons of righteousness, but extending the culture war to porn and prostitution would, I think, severely cramp the style of some of them. I mean, how will our esteemed pass the idle hours if they cannot grab pussies and chat about the latest escapades of Long Dong Silver?

You're not wrong - Christians, for example, consume porn as avidly as non-believers. Even, that's no reason not to do the right thing.

 

[Poem]

We've got more of both than ever before, at least in the western nations formerly known as Christendom.

What makes you think there will be a significant backlash?

Indeed - and we've got children as young as nine watching porn. Showing porn to a child is illegal and yet society is de facto doing so. If that isn't a good reason to challenge it then what is? We also have a growing number of men (particularly young men) who are acting out in the real world what they see in porn. Ian Critchley, the UK's NPCC's (National Police Chief Council) lead for child protection, said sexual offences were predominantly committed by boys against girls, ‘exacerbated by the accessibility of violent pornography’ on smartphones.

The NPCC on CSAE (Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation) crimes:
There were around 107,000 offences reported in 2022 – a 7.6% increase compared to 2021, nearly quadruple what it is was 10 years ago. Evidence continues to suggest many crimes remains unreported.

There is a growing realisation that porn is creating a toxic culture...indeed a rape culture. For the UN to commission and platform Alsalem's findings is very significant.

Alsalem has sounded the alarm at how the perceived right of men to purchase sexual acts normalises systematic violence and erases the boundaries between consensual sex and sexual violence, having far-reaching impact on shaping the sexual expectations of men and boys. “The normalisation of prostitution, including pornography, creates harmful sexual expectations for men and boys and undermines the safe and equal participation of women and girls in society,” Alsalem said. “Many girls feel distressed by the pornification and sexualisation of women and girls, particularly in pornography.”

 

[Poem]

You can't ban prostitution. You can only ban safe prostitution.

We've banned slavery and it's still with us. There is some overlap with prostitution and slavery.

 

[bruto]

You're not wrong - Christians, for example, consume porn as avidly as non-believers. Even, that's no reason not to do the right thing.

The thread is about the culture war, though, not about the right thing.

 

[Poem]

The thread is about the culture war, though, not about the right thing.

I'm not following your argument.

Arguments about whether a trans man has the right to walk into a female only space is all about what is right and what is wrong.

The fact that porn suggestive of sexual activity with children has been normalized on mainstream porn sites should be a issue for parents (at the very least). It's not in dark corners of these cites - it's rife.

Issues of rape culture and porn:
https://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370195

 

[Poem]

The thread is about the culture war, though, not about the right thing.

Porn would come under censorship which is a culturally divisive issue.

 

[bruto]

Sure much of the culture war is about what certain people are convinced is right or wrong, and the reason it's a culture war is that not all are agreed. Which is why trans rights are at issue but not murder and robbery. But whether this coincides with what you or I consider to be right or wrong is largely coincidental. I mean, right now there are prominent cultural warriors who would contend that it's right to carry a loaded gun into a public meeting but wrong to wear the wrong kind of clothes.

Certainly some aspects of porn and the like are included in some culture war agendas, and other agendas as well that are likely so agreeable to all that they don't count as part of the culture war in question. But I do not think pornography as a general class is likely to be singled out as an issue for overall prohibition. Even though I'm sure there are many evangelical types as well as many feminists and others in between whose monochromatic approach is "ban it all," I don't think it's an issue that would go down with any majority or any party.

 

[Poem]

Sure much of the culture war is about what certain people are convinced is right or wrong, and the reason it's a culture war is that not all are agreed. Which is why trans rights are at issue but not murder and robbery. But whether this coincides with what you or I consider to be right or wrong is largely coincidental. I mean, right now there are prominent cultural warriors who would contend that it's right to carry a loaded gun into a public meeting but wrong to wear the wrong kind of clothes.

Certainly some aspects of porn and the like are included in some culture war agendas, and other agendas as well that are likely so agreeable to all that they don't count as part of the culture war in question. But I do not think pornography as a general class is likely to be singled out as an issue for overall prohibition. Even though I'm sure there are many evangelical types as well as many feminists and others in between whose monochromatic approach is "ban it all," I don't think it's an issue that would go down with any majority or any party.

You are stating the reality and I can't really say you are wrong - however, porn should be an issue. When child experts and children's charities said two years ago that it causes 'severe harm' and that we should not be waiting for age verification measures but act now, it remains shocking that nothing was done.

Again, showing a child porn is illegal - it is in fact sexual abuse - but that is what is happening. Did you know that most child sexual abuse in the UK is carried out by children? Boys are acting out what they have watched online. Adult society's legacy....it's a disgrace.

Whilst I care about the dignity of trans people, they amount to less than 1% of the world's population. How many children are watching porn that is severely harming them? A lot more.

If the trans issue is (and should be) a culture war battleground then so should porn.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

We've banned slavery and it's still with us. There is some overlap with prostitution and slavery.

thanks for agreeing with arthwollipot

 

[arthwollipot]

We've banned slavery and it's still with us. There is some overlap with prostitution and slavery.

Where prostitution is illegal, and controlled by organised crime, yes. But it's possible to mostly fix that, as discussed in this thread dedicated to the subject.

 

[d4m10n]

Porn would come under censorship which is a culturally divisive issue.

Ok, but who is hoping to censor it now? Is the Federalist Society scheming to overturn Reno v. ACLU^WP and related cases?

 

[mumblethrax]

Ok, but who is hoping to censor it now?

The Heritage Foundation.

 

[TragicMonkey]

At the risk of looking like I'm trying to be overly clever, I'm going to say the biggest "culture war" battle is the notion that there even is a "culture war". Every individual has a set of opinions on things, and most individuals can group themselves into sets with others who agree with them on at least some of those opinions. But most of the time these groups can do nothing but talk (or complain). Until and unless anybody can actually take action and cause change (or prevent change, of course) it doesn't make a difference (except possibly with people's blood pressure as they lose their tempers).

Just because you feel a certain way about a certain thing doesn't make it true, or important. Or even interesting.