Been thinking Opinions on Sex vs Violence or Both

[James-Sensei]

Lately (Well just now) I was wondering which is bad Violence or Sex? The US seems to glorify violence over sex, in the media its pretty much easy to find around the states, however sex tends to be shunned, Adult Only games can only be found on the internet, to my knowledge. And censorship of Japanese imported games are sometimes censored due to sensitivity here in the states.

However in Japan (Maybe other parts of Asia) tend to shun violence, and approve of sexual content. A notable example is the Left4Dead Japanese cover, the thumb is censored, and its not even that graphic.

Anyways as a gamer censorship affects me, even if its changed a little, it would be nice to receive the game in its original state. The ages of Bravely Defualt, have been upped (does that really matter in a T rated game?) costumes have been changed (Though some do look better). Though if sex scenes are not handled well they are demeaning to woman/men.

Note Hell's Highway for the XBox 360 the woman would immediately have sex with you after you killed someone assaulting her in some way, in the same room right then and there.

Violence however can come off as mindless, bloody, and just crude if handled poorly. No notably examples come to mind.

I find that each have their drawbacks however both have their upsides.

PS: I'm trying to start an intelligent mature conversation. not start up anything up. Also I used gaming because that is where most of my understanding comes from, other forms of media are allowed to be discussed.

Also Voters are required to make a thought out post about their opinion!!!!

Edited February 6, 2014 by James-Sensei

[Tenshine]

I don't really mind them censoring risque images or scenes or whatever, but I guess you do have a point that violence is hardly censored at all and seems to have become a standard for video games. But what irks me the most is that they changed some of the dialogue in Bravely Default. I mean come on! Its god damn text! Surely adjusting the game rating a little bit would of been better than changing the dialogue, especially since it changes a bit how we view certain characters.

[Dark Desire]

Idk much about the censorship in games since i'm not really a console person anymore but when it comes down to what is worse it's kinda hard to decide

like i have nephew that plays COD and it's wierd having someone that young getting enjoyment out of killing people, it just seems wrong to me

and when it comes down to sex, i don't think its much more of an immediate problem but i kinda get tired of it being advertised in like everything you see nowadays and i don't think i can stand watching another season of 16 and pregnant

[James-Sensei]

@Tenshine Yeah pretty lame they changed text (Though I must've missed that), and yeah just add another reason why its T or just make it M, and they even changed a pokemon joke in Hyper Dimension Neptunia Victory, when they have a sadist. Pretty minor thing to censor in the grand scheme of the game, next to that character.

@DD there is a rating system, and that sounds kind of bad parenting especially if he enjoys killing things (Even if its a child), that where the parents really should come in. And Sex is a natural thing, though not a fan of H material and the like, and shouldn't really be shyed away from, its in our nature, though through varying degrees.

Edited February 4, 2014 by James-Sensei

[Magus]

“Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.”- Mark Twain

OK this is a topic I can really get into, so thanks for starting this. OK in the end neither are really bad, to explain this further, let's look at why these things are so common on T.V. It's ALL about the rating and money, I mean I stopped caring about the news that plays on my T.V and just started researching things that are relevant to me. OK so I sound heartless, but when I hear "Kid murders mom because of video games", I want to go outside, rip my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs because there is NO logic behind that. First of all why the hell was he playing an M rated game, there is a reason why there is an ESRB rating system, on top of that you can't even buy a game that is M rated without a parent with you. So if a parent actually put their foot down and decided to actually raise their child the right way and gave restrictions on what their kid plays, we can avoid so much heartache and needless violence. OK now sex, which is also relevant, as reasons before, more ratings on T.V, more money ect. It's in our nature to do that, and that's reasonable, but parents should go over safe sex, which is ironically being censored out of school. So if you can't learn it in school and the parents refuse to say it, then you have kids running a muck, and teen pregnancy is through the roof. So now censorship, which to say bluntly, I hate it. I can a list on why, but I'm going to give some I can relate with anyone who decides to read my rant.

Censorship impedes learning, take my example on sex ed getting removed from school, which in the end, it's just basic biology and instinctive motivations that we are built with. It is also a form of propaganda, it removes the truth of what is there and replaces it on what we want to be there. Take Hitler for example, first thing he did was censor out every Jewish work and removed it from his society. I can continue, but hopefully you get the picture.

Now as a gamer, censorship is scraping the deepest part of the barrel. I can see why parents are concerned with games, because yeah they can be bad, but they fail to realize that THEY have the power to say "No, you can not have this game." Just imagine GTA without guns, or CoD without kills, it just wouldn't be fun. While some games are bad (like Ride to Hell) it is our choice as gamers to play whatever we want without censoring, and the parent's job to make sure their kid is being raised properly. Well that is all I got, to those wh read this good job take a cookie, I'm out.

[James-Sensei]

Such good text wall. I totally forgot bout schooling XD But yeah if kids aren't educated about tit properly they'll be left in the dark and made huge life mistakes.And the ESRB rating thing is due to people NOT READING. Hm...yeah censorship in history along with Sex Ed is kind of enforcing that the winners write the history (Except for the Sex ED) But either way most people are left in the dark about the true scope of things, even if this is somewhat irrelevant (The history part).

[Shanco]

Neither is harmful - they are, in fact, both facets of life that we must embrace.

Everything else i wanted to say has been said by someone else already but I might still come back to this.

[Skullkin]

[Shadowfoxhound]

vi-olent sex can be very good, no offense but some girls want that o.o which suggests bondage but then again might be only my ex, I dunno.

[Summer]

not relevant to the topic

[James-Sensei]

This is about the effects of censorship in whatever form it may be, in society, not about sado-masochism

Also I'd like to mention that the best censor is yourself, don't like, don't look/click on

Please avoid immature responses too, that are unrelated to the topic, or I will report you just a fair warning.

Edited February 4, 2014 by James-Sensei

[Sutoratosu]

its a complete and total double standard.

it comes down to this, it doesn't matter which is more harmful, because both of them is an act that human beings have evolved to do.

firstly,

without sex, there's no reproduction, without reproduction, there's no human race. ergo, no sex= no humans

while it's a good idea to keep such topics from the ears of children due to them not being able to understand it at their age, it cant be put in the closet forever, as they come of age, eventually people will have to be educated about it, given information on the subject and then told:

"you've been taught all there is to know on it, what you do with this knowledge and whether or not you heed the advice of those who came before you is entirely on your head. Just know that no matter what happens, we will not be there to deal with the consequences of your actions for you."

Something that the schools are trying to do, but obviously failing at, as someone already posted before me "teen pregnancy rates are through the roof " despite the fact that most of sex ed occurs during the high school years.

Secondly,

Violence is an evolutionary trait inherent in every creature on earth, while mostly only ever witnessed in predatory creatures, herbivores such as rams have been seen partaking in the act as well.

it's all because of natural selection: the specimen most fit to survive in the situation, be it because of superior camouflage, thicker hide, better eyesight, or in our case, higher intelligence levels, will be given the most opportunities to reproduce and pass the favorable trait on to future generations, while those unfit are singled out and destroyed through various means.

the first stone tools developed by man were for violence, self-defense from predatory organisms, but violence nevertheless. over time we switched from defending ourselves from the predators atop the food chain, to being the top predators. And why? because with our superior intellect, we became more adept at violence than any species that we have known to walk the Earth, taking it from a brutal product of nature and turning it into an exact and horrifying science. Once we had the animal kingdom properly subdued, who was left for us to turn our talent for death dealing on? the answer is: each other. as time passes and agriculture is developed, people abandon the nomadic hunter gather life for life in villages and small settlements and communities. it is during this era that man first discovers the concept of loyalties and conflicting interest. and conflicting interest begets violence.

say two farmers from different villages are trying to hold trade, farmer A wishes for wheat seeds, but farmer B refuses to give it to them and offers another crop seed instead. now Farmer A can either: 1) go off and search for wild growing wheat since Farmer B reused him. 2) take Farmers B other offer instead. or 3) forcefully take farmer B's seeds as well as his life. due to evolution hard wiring the human brain to kill in order to survive, Farmer A is far more likely to chose option 3. which is where the concept of loyalties comes up. people from farmer B's village discover the body. the village is united in its outrage at the killing one of the members of the community, and sets to prepare for mass retaliation on Farmer A's village.

what follows is the discovery of the concept of Warfare, collective mass violence on others not out of survival, but due to feeling wronged in some way by the opposition. this concept goes on to shape the rest on human history up to even our own time.

And so it was that the poster-child of violence is born: it's name war, and it's sustenance death and suffering. and as time marched on away from the early days of humans, eventually our rise above any other creature that could threaten our dominance over the planet was complete. which posed an unforeseen problem: how would natural selection carry out it's work with man if there was no potential predators? viruses and pathogens? maybe, but history has shown that natural selection never settles to use the pen of disease to get the job done, when the blade of carnage and bloodshed is available. but mankind, being the simple geniuses we were, came up with the answer almost immediately without even thinking: "we shall do what no other species has ever done. we shall become our own predators." thus warfare became a perpetual thing for man, unable to discard it because it was now as attached to us as an arm or a leg. with this method, NS now worked on a mass scale rather than an individual one. now it was which ever nation was most fit to exist was given more and more opportunities to prosper and grow(eventually collapsing under their own weight however). this is the world cycle that history has followed. whether or not we cast it out remains to be seen. that's how we return to the present argument: which is more harmful, sex or violence?

read the evidence and logic ive provided above, and come up with your own oppinion and answers. but heres mine:

it doesn't matter two shits which of them is more harmful, they both exist because at some point, people decide to commit one or the other and just not care of the consequences. trying to catergorize them based on level of potential harm is like trying to ask "which is a more pleasant way to expire, Burning to death or freezing to death?" in which case, it doesn't matter, because, no matter the scenario, you're still dead at the end. in other words, the answer doesn't matter.

as to why sex is more censored than violence is because we are all utter slaves to the latter. we must make oursleves aware of it at all times, so that we may carry out NS's job. this is why there are so many movies, tv shows videogames and books that glorify violence. whether we know it or not, subconsciously, our minds worship the concept, and that results in our society doing the smae unknowwingly.

thats just my two cents, take it with a grain of salt, or don't.

[Bearadactyl]

I honestly don't think either are really all that bad.

I mean, we have rating systems for a reason. If someone is offended or has a problem with some form of sexual content or violent act, no one is holding a gun to their head and telling them to buy the product that contains it. Censorship, in a whole, eliminates freedom from my stance. The freedom of choice is severely limited in these cases, and in all honesty it annoys me.

It seems the US may be the only country that I know of, that sexuality is more shunned than violence. I mean, what is the point of having a rating system if we still censor everything? "Oh, I'm offended by that!" And, I'm offended by the concept of my purchase being censored due to your offense.

If you're offended, don't buy it. It isn't that difficult of a concept to grasp, but then again many have the mentality of how others are "supposed to live their life." It isn't up to you, or anyone other than said person to decide how they wish to live their life or what they may want to look at and/or play.

It isn't a big deal. Censorship is pointless, and restricting from my view point. I could go on for ages about this, and I could go off on multiple tangents such as how "man up" and such and the typical expectation of masculinity amongst males has a severe impact as well. I could write a damn book on the entire subject of other's exectations of the lives of other people.

But, for now I'll stop.

[Jory]

This is the goddamn United States of America. I don't have to justify my vote to anyone but myself.

[Gyaradoskiller]

Violence. Because it usually ends up with arrests and death. Sex can be dangerous tith an STD involved, but you can avoid it be taking a test at the doctors to find out if you or your partner has one.

But then again, the individual is responsible and can make decisions to avoid them both and the consequences. Go abstinence!

Edited February 14, 2014 by Magikarpkiller

[James-Sensei]

Karp this is in MEDIA!

[Gyaradoskiller]

Karp this is in MEDIA!

I do wonder..... what's the link to this MEDIA?

[Deleted User]

In either situation it really comes down to the initial sanity of the person being exposed and how they are taught (or in many cases) not taught to properly interpret and manage the concepts. However, corruption of the mind is inevitable for all people. The main difference is some let it consume them.

[Felicity]

Neither, Violence in games more often than not has a purpose to give the player moral justification or vindication. Even in games that have virtually no story, Battlefield, COD, you're are fighting whatever government/Terrorist organization (sorry not played a campaign in a LONG time) and in each bioshock game, games famed for being philosophical and morally ambiguous, you are still trying to rescue a young girl.

As for sex in media, it tends to be used for massive romantic connotations, obviously, and tends to be associated with 3 things: Scandals, Comedy and actual love. 2 out of 3 of those are positive and sex is accepted in society so long as it is kept private

Of course, there will always be examples of outrageous uses of sex and violence in media, but most of the time media has a legitimate justification for utilizing sex and violence so neither is bad most of the time.

[Shamitako]

Eh, I really don't see the point to censoring anything. If it's going to be there it's going to be there, no matter how hidden it is. I always find it pretty easy to see through censors and tell what was originally supposed to be there, even if it isn't technically actually there

[Ojama Yellow]

This depends: it is forced sex? If it is, then it is without a doubt worse than violence. Hell, it is violence over the top. Otherwise, I guess violence is worse.

[Yash]

I would say it is violence that is more harmful.Violence, while being an inbred and natural phenomenon is directly harmful to both parties in the altercation. Sex should not be considered as harmful, provided it is consensual between the two people and they are aware of the risks associated with it, as in these cases it generally is safe sex. In India, any sexual conduct that is not related to reproduction is considered as a criminal offense. While not affecting heterosexual couples to a great extent, this effectively criminalizes homosexuality. In contrast, cases involving wife beaters generally go unregistered or are registered in family courts.

Regarding censoring however, I do not agree with censoring of violent and/or sexual content. My chain of thoughts in this case are as follows..

Violence is widely viewed either in games, movies or even news broadcasts regarding war and crime. While the purpose of censoring either of these is to protect children, they will ultimately be introduced to them around the age of 10-12 through a variety of alternatives including their peers who have already been exposed to the same as well as a general sense of awareness that begins to develop at that age. Further they are also influenced greatly by the family atmosphere and as such end up seeing and/or experiencing violence at times. Considering that the censorship is to protect these age groups only there does not seem to be much effect from the same.

In public forums and media the discussion and presence of sex is widespread. It is also a widely prevalent theme in songs, movies etc. and even books and can even be seen mildly and vividly in the various works of Shakespeare. While there is censoring present in these cases as well, the direct or indirect influence is present when it comes to children. The banning and censoring of sex education in schools is a ridiculous concept for me. While teaching abstinence is not necessarily a bad idea, children should also be taught about safe sex.

I would like to add that considering the impact of combined violence and sex such as rape etc. being profoundly detrimental to the psychology of not just children and women but also other family members, in India at present, there are an increasing number of news broadcasts about rape cases, as well as special episodes in various shows related to the same matter. These shows are watched not only by kids but by the entire family together. There however seems to be no problem letting these episodes and news items play.

@golgothasTerror.. The US is not the only country where sex is censored more than violence. It is the same in India. In fact there are greater restrictions on sex in India then in the US. Only recently has the censorship on sex slackened in India, that too till the extent that people have begun to discuss it. Being a deeply religious and morally self-righteous nation sex has been considered a taboo in India for a while now, which is ironic considering that it is the land that produced the Kama Sutra. A further irony is that this increased acceptance in sex has come from a perception that the US does not censor sex.

To give an example on the same, while surfing channels I recently saw a drama show being promoted where a woman's husband is shot in front of her and she is then apparently kidnapped, that too by a member of the police/armed forces. However something small like even a kiss is rarely shown if at all and most often being censored by changing camera angles and/or hiding it using props.