Anatomically speaking, humans and animals are not made to have sex.  Sex is intended for unity and reproduction, and sex between a human and an animal will never yield reproduction.  However, I’ll argue that relationships between humans and animals certainly do create unity.  Some people, including my own uncle, relate better to animals than other human beings.  If I were to ask my brother who his best friend is, he would definitely answer with Hilton – our family dog. Animals become life companions for many people:  dogs are not labeled man’s best friend for nothing.  In response to the aspect of reproduction, this is now rarely seen in sexual relations between humans.  Reproductive sex between human beings is restricted by birth control, condoms, and other forms of contraception.  On the other hand, if the human does wish to reproduce, there are now other means of doing so.  For example, people in same sex relationships or heterosexual, sterile relationships cannot produce offspring either.  Now people can turn to other options, such as adoption, in vitro, or surrogacy in order to reproduce.  This option is also available for humans who prefer having sex with animals.

Sex should also involve intimacy and communication – two things that are very limited, nonexistent even, with bestiality.  The intimacy of sex has been removed by today’s hookup culture.  If sex between two humans does not need intimacy, there should be no difference between humans having sex with animals.  Communication no longer matters either.  People in dysfunctional relationships often lack proper communication, but still engage in sexual relationships with each other.  Although animals cannot speak, there are other forms of communication still visible with body language.  By reading the animal’s body language, it could be assured that that animal is enjoying the act.

Although an animal cannot verbally consent to sex with a human, animals also do not consent to being slaughtered and eaten.  This lack of consent may even allow a human with hedonistic tendencies to release his/her energy on an animal instead of a human.  In this case, at least the energy is turned onto an animal instead of a human.

All in all, a major aspect of life is being able to better oneself through relationships with others.  Our choices and actions contribute to the type of person we choose to become.  If a person who prefers to engage in sexual relations with animals can better him/herself while doing so, I could not disapprove this type of relationship.  In my point of view, to each his own.

5 seconds equals the time it takes for someone to open the internet, type in porn and have access to thousands of URL’s that bear titles such as: Free Porn, Sex, Tube Videos, XXX Pics, Porno Movies.

Click on one of these sites and you will not only be able to watch videos titled “big tits”, but you will also be presented with videos such as: Mom Wakes to Rape Son, Rape Women, College Slut Enjoys Being Slammed by Extremely Large Cock, Hot Teen Anal, Virgin, Mother and Daughter Watersports, Old Fart Licking Sleeping Teen Bald Pussy, and Ellen Saint Gangbang.

One website is titled: Exploited College Girls. Described on the first page is “Most come to ExploitedCollegeGirls.com to make a few bucks doing one video while studying for a normal career. These college girls do not plan on entering the porn business. What they are, are real girls that live normal lives as students trying to pay their bills and end up getting exploited.”

The man that runs the website feels “It’s just very hot to watch a young, inexperienced girl grow up sexually in front of you.”

He writes about one girl he coaxed into doing a video: “But then again, Chelsey obviously hadn’t checked out the site before she showed up, as evidenced by her surprised look on her face when we showed her the site (after the shoot was over, of course). I’m pretty sure had she done her homework on this she would have thought twice about giving me a call back.”

What I’d like to know is this: Is this a mutual experience of pleasure? Can exploitation ever be a mutually gratifying experience?

AND, more importantly, how is this legal? In our land of the free, in our land of justice and equality, how is exploiting people for capital legal? How is it sexy? How is it exciting and pleasurable?

Even more, this website is just one of hundreds of thousands that capitalize on the inexperience and naivety of young girls. AND this is just one site of millions that is easily accessible to minors.

The exploitation of the people in the video is simply one aspect of exploitation involved here. The exploitation of children that may access these images is another area I’d like more people to think about. How is it unlawful for someone under the age of 18 to go into a porno store or a strip club, when they can easily go online and have access to images and scenarios that are far more lewd, perverted and exploitative than anything they could ever imagine?

Images and scenarios can teach people how to perform sexually when the time comes. They can give people ideas.

The question I would like you to ask yourself is this: Do we want our children learning from THESE online depictions of sexual activity?

How do we protect them?

Perhaps the very reason that the injustice of the Human Trafficking industry is ignored even today is because in many ways, sex is still a taboo topic in our culture. That may seem like a controversial statement, especially given the extent that sex influences our culture. Yes it’s true that sex is everywhere, in films, music videos, television, magazine ads, etc. However, when it comes to such topics of pornography, sadomasochism, bestiality… these are sexual practices, that while for more people than one might expect, are practiced routinely, but since they are still considered to be extreme and taboo, they are often not discussed openly. Similarly, the idea of human beings being sold for sex is, in this culture at least, generally considered to be morally wrong and is a practice that many people, when they hear about Human Trafficking, assume that it only happens in remote countries overseas. They often believe that such a practice could not possibly take place in the United States, since this nation is generally considered, at least by its citizens to be a pillar of the promotion of human rights. However, as seen in the feature film, “Human Trafficking,” young women and girls are shipped to the United States, from Europe and elsewhere for the sole purpose of being used as sexual objects by the hundreds of men in the United States that pay for their services.

So how should Americans respond to this glaring fact that such a human rights violation is being committed on our soil? Perhaps it is time to recognize the fact that even though the idea that so many contribute to an industry that enslaves young women and girls is shameful, and discussing the fact that this does occur would require some to admit that their sexual practices include sex with human beings who are being bought and sold, it is entirely necessary to address this issue in order to end the Human Trafficking industry.  This is why, despite the fact that our culture is over-sexualized, that if sexuality was discussed in conversation and in academic or an intellectual setting, such as universities, that society’s taboos regarding sex might begin to be eliminated. Or at the very least, if people felt that they could discuss their sexuality more honestly, than perhaps people would not be so desperate as to fulfill their sexual fantasies by supporting an industry of human sex slaves.

The majority of the dolls are made for men to personalize and then purchase.  Details ranging from eye color to pubic hair appearance can be altered to an individual’s personal preference.  Some critics of this industry might say it is the creators of these dolls who are to blame.  Yet, in Levy’s article, it becomes clear that the industry develops at least partly from the demands set forth by consumers.  One example of this is evidenced by Matt McMullen’s current situation.  Before 1996, McMullen worked as a Halloween mask sculptor in California.  He received inquiries from people asking him to create and manufacture sex dolls.  When consumers express a desire for something, an industry will inevitably develop to satisfy it.  What accounts for this shift in the perception of human sexuality?  Why are people demanding, and thereby perpetuating, an industry that manufactures synthetic sex?  Perhaps this sex doll industry can serve as a sort of mirror, revealing the values and desires that constitute our society today: automaticity, superficiality, efficiency, impersonality.

A similar argument can be made in reference to the porn industry.  Ross Douthat’s article “Is Pornography Adultery?” offers various perspectives on the way porn influences marital relationships.  Some justify their position as a consumer by claiming that pornography is not a form of adultery because no physical contact occurs.  They see themselves as merely engaging in a harmless habit.  Douthat uses the Merriam-Webster definition of ‘adultery’ to demonstrate this argument.  Adultery is defined as “voluntary sexual intercourse between a man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband.”  This argument is essentially based on the idea that a computer or television screen provides enough of a filter, making pornography acceptable.  Yet, is a screen really a legitimate barrier to the mental stimulation that occurs?

Douthat reminds us that the most important consideration is the ever-blurrier line between fantasy and reality.  He explains that this “binary feels more appropriate to the pre-Internet landscape than to one where people spend hours every day in entirely virtual worlds” as evidenced by social networking sites like Facebook and video games as well.  Furthermore, people are demanding realistic, hardcore porn rather than Hollywood-esque fictional porn.  He urges the reader to look at this new form of pornography as it relates to a “continuum of betrayal” instead of simply answering “yes” or “no” to labeling it as adultery.  If we view it in light of its closeness to reality, we may see how easily it can carry over to real relationships as an agent of destruction.

Since the majority of the consumers are men, this industry seems to provide the perfect outlet for husbands and singles alike who simply want to satisfy their insatiable sexual urges.  The most damaging byproduct of pornography is the visual objectification of women.  It is a visual objectification that is being mass produced to sell as easier-to-deal-with versions of the real thing.  It is as if women are only desired as receptacles for men gain personal satisfaction.  Women are being used like tools or seen posing like perfected mannequins for the sake of men’s proximate sexual desires.  If we view the porn industry as a separate world of sexual fantasy, we ignore the seemingly inconvenient message it reflects about our societal values in general.  The reality is that these images are not created in the minds of a select few pornographers.  Rather, the pornographic objectification is a mirror image of the way women are perceived in society.  The images of women submitting to the power of a male who can violate every aspect of her humanity are so common in the porn industry that our society has become desensitized to it.  It is clear that in the realm of sexual pleasures, a porno flick can produce a satisfying climax.  However, I believe that the mutuality and love existing between two humans can never be replicated by an interactive DVD.

In the film the older mechaphile, Edward, owns and is in a relationship with a 1950s, off-white, Volkswagen Beetle which he named “Vanilla.” I was surprised by my own emotions when halfway through Edward cheated on Vanilla with another car. I was bothered that he used a different car to masturbate with.  This was confusing in itself; I cared that Vanilla had been betrayed, and thus must see some validity in their relationship, but how can this be a functional romantic partnership if Vanilla could never cheat on Edward back? Many sources online describe mechaphilia as a fetish as opposed to an orientation, only the men in the film were not attracted to people and vehicles, they were strictly attracted to vehicles.

But then do others in our society practice mechaphilia as a fetish? I contemplated this idea and in no time I answered my own question. Yes, they do. Cars, motorcycles, and several other types automobiles are often times referred to as women, or at least given female pronouns. Often times, cars are described as “sexy” or “hot.” Most of us will remember the scene in “Grease” which John Travolta singing “Greased Lightning” while dancing about a car his friends wanted to fix up. In fact that entire movie revolves around the idea that cars are attractive. “Grease 2” similarly focuses on motorcycles. I then thought back to a few advertisements I had seen on television the year prior. They depicted an attractive woman driving a 2008 Cadillac CTS. She states, “The real question is when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?” Now this commercial did stand out to me, it didn’t simply blend with the social expectations I have for car commercials, and that probably was the point. But scantily clad women are often shown next to cars in magazines and even in car dealership commercials. I believe the idea behind mechaphilia is a lot more prevalent in our culture than we recognize yet.

I always thought that I knew what it meant to be transgendered. It was simple; a boy who is just so attracted to men and so effeminate that he wants to make a choice to become a girl, and vice versa. I thought it had much to do with someone being attracted to the same sex, just a glorified form of being gay. After watching “Boys Don’t Cry,” I came to realize that the struggle of a transgendered individual has much more depth to it. Brandon Teena’s struggle with his sexuality had a great deal more to do with how he felt as a whole person rather than what gender he was attracted to. Many women are attracted to women, but are also extremely comfortable being women themselves. It is difficult enough to be attracted to same sex. Brandon was indeed attracted to women, but the gender that he was born with did not feel natural to him; he felt comfortable in the skin of a boy.

I’ve had an identity crisis. I’ve struggled with who I am, what my values are, how much I will stand by my faith, what I want my personal style to be, how much I did or did not identify with my parents as far as their values, tastes, and personalities.

I certainly wasn’t the only person who dealt with an identity crisis during my adolescent years; in fact, I believe that most people go through it during that crucial, awkward time of life. However, none of the usual components of an adolescent identity crisis can pale in comparison to Brandon’s. I can’t even pretend to relate to what he felt. I can’t imagine seeing yourself as one thing, but your body reminding you every day of your life that you are something else altogether. The closest comparisons I can come up with are: being told after many years of not knowing that you are adopted, and converting to a different faith tradition than you were raised in, but still feeling roots in the tradition you were born into. I actually don’t think either of those comparisons rival the crisis of sexual identity; that may be the hardest form of identity crisis that there is.

In her book Just Love, Margaret Farley discusses the difference between monism, the idea that mind and body are one, and dualism, the idea that mind and body are two separate entities. For someone who is transgendered, I am willing to bet that the concept of monism is something that is very hard to wrap one’s head around. Mind is saying one gender, while body says another. Therefore, mind and body could not possibly be connected.

This brings me to the solution of reconstructive surgery. I personally don’t agree with reconstructive surgery as I feel that it is tampering with organs that God intended to be a certain way. However, I can understand opposing arguments to my “God theory.” I know it’s difficult to conceptualize God as a being that has time to think so closely about how individual human beings decide to change their biological makeup through surgery; in fact, God is bigger than we can imagine, and the truth is that we have no idea how God intended someone to be, both mentally and physically. The only possible proof that we have is the Creation Story in the Bible, which is enough for me, but I understand if it’s not enough for most. One thing about the Bible: we need to interpret it in today’s context. In Adam’s and Eve’s day, people were not born with two sex organs, and if they were, it was a taboo to even speak of it. People also did not speak of a sexual identity crisis. Both predicaments are ever prevalent today, and perhaps we ought to forgo the Biblical standard of Man And Woman…maybe it wasn’t there to begin with. God may just want people to be happy…even if that means acknowledging their identification with a gender that they weren’t born with through a seemingly unnatural surgery.

I have more sympathy now for the transgendered prospective. I can understand why a transgendered person would want to have the surgery; they would be able to believe in the concept of monism, and achieve the mind/body unity that they truly desire. My reflecting does not mean that I am going to change my opinion on the issue, as I still don’t believe in reconstructive surgery, but I have certainly gained some perspective. If I were transgendered for a day, I might very well change my mind completely.

Another solution is the idea that there should be more than two genders. Farley also discusses the possibility of the introduction of more genders; however, she discusses them from a biological point of view. “Gender for a third sex is not one (man or woman), and not always two (intersexed man and woman), but more often neither woman nor man (Farley, p. 152).” If this is a biological possibility, why can’t another ‘social gender’ be a possibility as well?

I have also been publically humiliated and have felt powerless in situations of humiliation. What I felt is only a microcosm of the humiliation that Brandon went through, particularly during the scene of the film where he is stripped by his peers, John and Tom, in a small bathroom, and also during the scene where Brandon is raped also by John and Tom. In a posting to an online forum by a classmate, the practice of “correcting” lesbians in Africa by raping them was addressed, and my classmate equated John and Tom’s raping of Brandon to this practice. John and Tom very well may have been trying to “correct” Brandon, but they also may have been so uncomfortable with the idea of being in the company of a transgendered individual. That being said, they should have known how NOT to react…and that was doing exactly what they did. No human being should have to deal with that sort of inhumane humiliation, or have their life ended, whether they are transgendered, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, or born with both male and female organs. Those are fundamental human rights that they had no business violating.

To sum up, Farley makes an excellent point about the lives of transgendered individuals: “The stories of persons’ lives are more complex than labels can accommodate (Farley, p. 155).” Society’s gender roles make life for transsexuals to be a test of strength by virtue of both identity crisis and humiliation from others. We ought to be more accepting of these individuals.

To be honest, I never completely disagreed with the idea that sex effects more than just the two people immediately involved, I just thought that, coming from a secular standpoint, the idea of looking out for one’s sexual morals didn’t apply. After two weeks of thinking about it though, I realize that this is exactly the problem, this was written for Christians, and it makes much more sense now.

It all started when my one of my roommates kept disappearing for hours on end, even for overnight, and not informing any of us living with her where she was going, what she was doing, or even the fact that she wasn’t coming back for a while. We all realized that she could be living a whole life outside of our knowledge, or even could be killed on the side of the road somewhere, and none of us would have a clue. It was a scary and sobering thought. We all realized that as roommates, we have an obligation to one another to look out for each other. Now, this is the same idea when it comes to Christians. When one chooses to join the Christian church, they are joining a group, gaining a set of “roommates” if you will, people who will support and look out for them, and they in return agree to do the same back. They are agreeing to look out for one another’s souls, and the relationship each other person has with the group and with God. That is what being in a church is rather than just being a Christian on your own, it’s about the community.

Even if you step away from the concepts of the “soul” and “sinning”, if we think about it, society or government tries to look out for the general ethical well-being of the people within it, including in the sexual realm, hence why in the United States you can’t legally “consent” to sex until 17 or 18, or how you can’t buy pornography until 18 or 21, depending where you live. Christians were the first ones to understand that the things one does in private can have an impact on the community as a whole, and that has been adopted into secular society. In this post-Nietzschian world of relativism, we are confronted by two conflicting ideas, the godless secular idea that people are entitled to do whatever they choose without judgment, and the traditional Judeo-Christian idea that we must look out for one another as human beings, because occasionally one does make the wrong decisions which can hurt not only oneself, but also others.

To conclude, my roommates and I sat down with our other roommate and explained to her why we wanted her to keep us informed about her whereabouts, and she still does not tell us. I think in a way this is what Winner is asking of the Christian community, she is reminding the members that they are just that, members, of a group that pledged to look out for one another, and that entails some responsibility on one’s part to be honest about their “private” lives. In a way, those non-Christians are part of a society as well, but it will be much harder to break them out of the mindset that “what I’m doing has nothing to do with you and therefore I don’t have to tell you what I’m doing and you have no right to ask”.

 Focusing on advertisements, sex is everywhere.  One of the top ads that prove this point is in lingerie.  One will typically see a Victoria’s Secret commercial on a given night and many households receive the catalogue.   Each VS angel is obviously wearing nothing more than a bra and underwear, unless they are wear something even sexier.  A vacuum ad for a company in Germany shows a man tied up and a woman in fishnets and black high heels.  The vacuum they are selling is the last thing a person would notice, as it is in the corner or the advertisement.  Other ads were for toilet paper used as underwear for a man, a public health announcement showing the benefits of milk which was portrayed by a naked women being slashed with milk and a men’s body wash which was advertised by a woman in a bathing suit who was dripping wet with the words “wash me” on her stomach.  Some of the advisements get worse and even more suggestive.  A car commercial for Volvo has the slogan “We Are Just as Excited as You Are” with the emergency brake in an upward position, which was obviously meant to symbolize a penis.  The final one that I was appalled with, that definitely brought sex too far was an advertisement for Puma shoes.  This ad was of a man from the waist down and a woman on her knees. As if it was not already obvious she was giving him oral sex, there is what appears to be semen on her leg.   She is wearing Puma shoes (which are hardly noticed) and fishnets as well.  The liquid on her legs puts the ad over the top and brings the ad to a pornographic realm.   

 Some may not see a negative side to sex within the media.  However, it causes people to be desensitized to sex and have skewed ideas of sexuality.  Having sex in the media, in limited and controlled ways may be needed to sell some products, as shown though Victoria’s Secret.  One more ad that claims sex sells was a man and a women laying in what appeared to be a bed.  They were both fully clothed and it was selling condos.  I think this is absolutely fine to show and may prove to be helpful.  I saw the ad as a cute couple jumping on their bed because they have a house together, I did not seem like they were in a sexual situation. 

 The following link shows the “15 Ads that proves Sex Sells”, many of which were described above. 

 http://inventorspot.com/articles/ads_prove_sex_sells_5576?page=0%2C0

For example, we watched a film called Dream Worlds 3 which exposed the hyper-sexualized nature of rap and hip/hop music videos. Now, I will not deny that I occasionally listen to certain rap and hip/hop music. I watched TRL (Total Request Live) religiously when I was younger. I enjoyed watching the music videos and waiting to see who made it to the number 1 spot that day. However, after seeing the film Dream Worlds 3, I have realized how greatly these music videos degrade women. Women in this “Dream World” were merely used by men for their bodies. They were treated solely as sexual objects and possessions. Turn on MTV or VH1 and you will see exactly what I mean. Most of us probably listen to rap songs or view music videos in our everyday lives, but I feel that few really examine the message that these rappers are sending out to their audiences. Take for example the typical rap music video. A man is usually presented with women surrounding him, begging for his love, his attention, etc. These women are usually depicted in skimpy bikinis, dancing around their man, or dancing/engaging in sexual activities with the other females there. These male rappers are making millions by devaluing and exploiting their female counterparts.

My hope is that more people will begin to analyze how women are portrayed in current rap and hip hop music videos. Furthermore, I think that perhaps young adults need to consider what these videos are actually saying about American sexual morality. Do girls and young women believe this is the way they deserve to be treated by men or that this is the way they should act themselves? Are these rap and hip/hop videos shaping the sexual morality of future generations?

            The most common religious opposition to having pre-marital sex is that the Bible, and ultimately God, declares that it is wrong. Though I understand where people who feel this way are coming from, I think that a lot has changed over 2,000 years and it’s hard to look at everything in the Bible and everything that is taught in religion as ahistorical. There are so many different aspects and arguments in the equation, but I’m going to focus on the main two I feel are most important: age of marriage and sex as a natural part of life. People living during and around the time that the Bible was written were getting married at much younger ages than people are today. When humans go through puberty and development, we become more aware of ourselves and our sexuality. We become attracted to other people, engage in relationships, and desire to be sexually active with them. A long time ago, it wasn’t as hard to wait until marriage because people were marrying soon after this development of becoming aware of our sexuality. Things are different today because people do not marry as early in life. As far as sex being a natural part of life, God created us with the capabilities of having sex and enjoying it. Our bodies are sacred units made to connect with others. As long as we are respecting ourselves and others—by not being sexual in a way that results in feelings of shallowness, guilt, disappointment, or could cause harm to ourselves or another—sex is an important part of life that deserves to be experienced. If sex is performed for the “right” (meaningful) reasons, waiting for marriage today should not have to be a guideline.

            In the movie He’s Just Not That Into You, Beth and Neil are a couple that has been dating for seven years and are still not married. Though Beth wants to get married, Neil doesn’t want to. He explains that he loves her and he’s committed to her, the only thing they don’t have is a marriage certificate legitimizing their relationship. They have been together for a long time, they love each other, and they’re committed to each other; all that is missing in their relationship is a certificate confirming their union. In this situation, does a document make that much of a difference? Is it really that important to wait for marriage to have sex if the person you have sex with is someone you care deeply for and are committed to? Even further, is it that important to wait if the person you want to have sex with is the person you plan on being with (monogamously) for the rest of your life?