From the whom, through the birth canal, yanked into a room with razor sharp lights that sting and pierce the eyes, we're born.
And in the loving arms of a loved one, nestled close to warm flesh, the constant thump of a heartbeat bringing comfort, slowly, after a few waking blinks, the fuzzy picture before us becomes more clear.
Colours burst, sounds line up with images, and shapes begin to take on texture and temperature. It's crazy how the brain makes everything fit, like an endless puzzle, and the download never ends.
And as most of us are plopped in front of the mad box, flicking through images, ingesting what life should be, our tiny brains begin to sum up the reality of what is. But in this age the Mad Box is not alone...it has a friend. A more private friend.
Even as little as 10 years ago our eyes have seen less, our memories less rotted. At first it was a matter of convenience, where information could travel in seconds. Anyone could partake in the exchange. Not everyone was a part of this world, unlike now, where it's challenging to escape.
With the cyber world at our fingertips, most everything is a mere click away. It's easy to get lost, to wander and explore. I'm not against exploration, education and communication, not at all. But some interests can unearth a more perverse hunger: The interest in skin.
Before cyber porn became accessible to the masses, it was considered a dirty little secret. A lurid place disguised from public view, despite the life-size XXX signs that shielded the world from such adult behaviour. Innocence still had a fighting chance.
Unlike now. When typing in the word "boob" will lead you down the lusty trail to a world where flesh is for sale. Willing or not, someone's making money.
Few want to call it what it is: the seed to an illness. And slowly, where at first you just want to take a peek, it can easily become something more. That's the hook. Candy Man comes, offering up sweet treats, indulging your senses with a deformed idea of sex.
But it's pleasure!?! No one's getting hurt? It's not bad. Right...?
For some it is just a simple pleasure, I guess? Maybe there is no shame in watching it. So then why not discuss it openly, in public, say... at Timmy's 5th Birthday Party, your parents wedding anniversary, a baptism, or freely in the lunchroom at work where your Supervisor hangs out...
It's not just sex. Not that at all. Somewhere in the mix of all the naked images, the gasps, the moans and slapping skin - someone, whether they know it or not, is being victimized. In front of the camera or watching it in the privacy of a bedroom (phone) someone is paying the price.
It makes sickos get sicker, and the healthy run the risk of becoming ill. And it all begins with a titillating peek. Whether a stash of filthy mags hidden in the closet, which I must say, when spoken about with utmost honesty between men and women I know, when they happened to come across it at a tender age - it took away their innocence too soon.
And it's not like yesterday. Porn shops hardly exist today. It's all online. And with such variety out there, the corruption is endless.
I'm not saying that porn watchers are corrupt, but it does corrupt a perception of reality. It isn't real. It's only there to pleasure the senses. But some watchers take it a step further.
As a woman I fear for my safety, now more than ever. Never used to be that way. My friends share the same fear. We also notice a change in many men. It's slight, but it's there: The objectification.
If porn nurtures a fantasy, in time, a watcher may wish to take it a step further. And pending their degree of self confidence... that's where the trail of innocent victims pile up. Young, frail, or just going about your business - it happens. We hear about it on the news everyday: a sexual assault on a female.
But no one seems to be getting to the root of the issue.
Even Ted Bundy, the famed serial killer of the 70s confessed that despite his upbringing which was in a loving home, his interest in porn, that later turned to a deviant lust, is what corrupted him. It all started with an innocent peek.
So, when little Ted was growing up, a time when pornography was a serious no-no. You couldn't get your hands on it without being seen as a pervert. Unlike now... just a mouse click away. No one has to know.
Victims breeding more victims.
...I don't know what else to write, because I don't know how it will end. I don't see an end. Perversion is lucrative.
Most lawmakers are men. Perhaps if we hear of how many men are being raped everyday, at the same rate as women...it would just make more victims.
Perversion is lucrative.
