Okay, so... According to a new bill proposed in South Africa, women are suppose to be protected from porn. Of course! why didn't I ever realize this before women would never watch porn, they are all nice ladies who would only have sex because they are good wives (please note my sarcastic tone.) This recent attempt to infantilize women as goody-two-shoes who should be mentally virginized (I know it's not a word, but couldn't think of another) is just pissing me off.
Sorry, I'm going on with my rant without the appropriate background info. A draft bill proposing a ban on sexual content on the internet and cellphones was submitted to the South African Department of Home Affairs in May 2010, it was developed by Justice Alliance of South Africa (JASA). The bill is claimed to be in the best interest of women and girls.
Fine, protecting children and all that jazz. But the thing is, women... they don't need to be protected. Yes, that's right, this activist here says that women do not have to be protected! And least of all from porn, given that a fair amount of my friends (those of the female gender) here in South Africa watch more porn than the average male; guess what, they actually enjoy it!
Women are not children, they don't need to be protected, instead their rights need to be respected; those are two very different things. Can't solve the issue of violence against women by just patching it up by protecting the women, rather look at the causes and do something about that. Censoring all pornography? Apart from infuriating my female friends and putting them on withdrawal, what will that do?
...censorship will, more than likely, be used to entrench content in support of patriarchy and stereotypical views of women
- Sally-Jean Shackleton
Secondly, freedom of expression is entrenched in the South African constitution; an African version of the Great Firewall of China doesn't really fit in. Censorship in this light, for reasons of virginilizing women, well... see my friend's quote above...
The Justice Alliance of South Africa's Honoray Director, having made quiet some homophobic comments(link, really need to get laid, properly and good, 'cause obviously they've been doing it wrong...
rant over...
Ref.
Shackleton, Sally-Jean. Justifiable protection or entrenching patriarchy? Pornography and the internet in South Africa. APC (2010-7-6). Retrieved 2010-7-9
South Africa Proposing a Ban on Pornography over the Internet, on Mobile Phones. Cellular News (2010-5-28). Retrieved 2010-7-9