These Companies Benefit From Sexual Exploitation, and You Probably Use their Services at Least Once a Day

[Third Hour]

Each year the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) releases their “Dirty Dozen List.” The list names and shames the top companies and organizations in the United States who profit from sexual exploitation. But a big corporation can be pretty far removed from the individual, though, right? So what’s the purpose of the list then? According to the NCOSE’s website, the list is “an activism tool that gives back power to individuals who want a voice in the culture.” “Activism tool” might sound extreme to some. If you barely have time to juggle your day-to-day responsibilities then you're not exactly signing up to join an activist group are you? Well, maybe you should be. NCOSE’s site says it perfectly: “In today’s world, corporations drive our culture. They influence how people communicate, how they dress and what information they receive. When a company makes a positive change to stop promoting sexploitation, it has a ripple effect that influences countless lives.” And if you don’t want to take the word of experts on the...

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[NeuroTypical]

"1. Amazon   After a recent backlash against the company, this one may not come as a huge surprise. The company prohibits the sale of explicit pornography, but NCOSE argues that many of the products found on the site, including on Amazon Prime and the Kindle e-reader, promote child pornography and sexual commodification of women."

 

lol

[Guest Mores]

I'm all for de-sexualizing the culture we live in as much as anyone.  But looking at what qualifies for this list is not really impressing me.  Hollywood in general or just about any movie studio would be much better targets to point the finger at.

Massage Envy?  Ok, that description really was offensive.  But the rest? Amazon?  Really?  And the description they give?  Who is NCOSE made of anyway?  Sports Illustrated makes the list, but Playboy and Penthouse don't?  There's this thing called PRIORITIES, folks.

[Guest MormonGator]

13 minutes ago, Mores said:

but Playboy and Penthouse don't?  

Do those magazines even exist anymore? Honest question, not a challenge. 
 

[unixknight]

This list isn't particularly useful or informative.  I'm surprised they didn't include Verizon/Comcast/Cox/etc. for being Internet service providers which can be used to download explicit material.  They didn't include Dell/Apple/HP/Lenovo since, you know, they  make devices you use to download stuff...

Oh, Netflix is on there because of movies with nudity?  Guess what?  Better get Hulu, YouTube (Yes, Youtube has full movies on it and some of them are 'R' rated for nudity.) and whoever else streams movies on there.

Not just streaming, right?  What about Redbox?

See what I mean?  You look at a list like that and if they're putting up Netflix and Amazon on the grounds that they can be used to get at explicit material, then the standard is so loose it can include hundreds of culprits at all stages. 

 

[anatess2]

Well, if you want to know who NCOSE is.... they’re not your right-wing Christian fundamentalists who were the puritans back in the day.  Rather, they got started by social liberal Catholics (even aligned to the DNC) who are feminists trying to counter the sex-positivity slice of the feminist pie.  A lot of them identify as sex-negative feminists which can get confusing because it makes them sound like the old Christian puritans which they’re not.  They tend to hold this modern feminists idea that “there’s a patriarchy and men are either rapists or rapists in training especially in college campuses, women can’t be rapists because they don’t have power in a patriarchy” and this thing about “Just because a woman initiated foreplay doesn’t mean the woman consented to sex”, etc etc.  NCOSE has successfully taken video games out of circulation through their activism because... “they’re a training tool for young men to engage in sexual assault.”

Disclaimer:  I neither agree nor disagree with NCOSE’s ideology.  I just get tired of groups calling my sons rapists in training.

[Guest Mores]

11 hours ago, MormonGator said:

Do those magazines even exist anymore? Honest question, not a challenge. 

Wikipedia says that as of 2016 the print version would be shuttered and would go all digital.

[Just_A_Guy]

This article feels like political advocacy dressed up with a fig leaf of moralism.  Which is fine, ordinarily; it just seems a little out-of-place at 3H.

[anatess2]

37 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

This article feels like political advocacy dressed up with a fig leaf of moralism.  Which is fine, ordinarily; it just seems a little out-of-place at 3H.

There's several of these articles which, I'm assuming, are written by naive young'uns.

[Vort]

:eyeroll:

Amazon is evil because some people use it to sell smut. Google is evil because some people use it to spread smut. The USPS is evil because some people use it to mail smut.

To get just a bit meta: How best to approach individuals such as the author? This is pretty much par for her course. On the one hand, if she were my daughter, I would hope people would not savage her or mock her or otherwise be unkind. On the other, frankly much bigger, hand, when she is writing as an influencer and advocate to masses of people, her words are important. If she writes stupid things, those words can do much damage, and need to be called out as stupid.

Though of a different caliber, this is not unlike how I have felt about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I don't want to be nasty toward her or about her, even if she is nasty. But she's a politician, which is an influential position, and is seeking to increase her sphere of influence. If no one is willing to point out her stupidity (which thankfully is not the case), it will go on unchecked, growing larger and more damaging.

Someone should take the author aside and help her see the holes in her articles. This really shouldn't go on, for the sake of the readership and frankly for the sake of the author.

[NeuroTypical]

1 hour ago, Just_A_Guy said:

This article feels like political advocacy dressed up with a fig leaf of moralism.  Which is fine, ordinarily; it just seems a little out-of-place at 3H.

Another article by 3H's own New Media study-er intern who brought us Black LDS History: A Crash Course.

 

People get to show up all zealous and idealistic in college.  It's a great place to get some of that tempered with a touch of reality.  We can only hope it's working.

Edited March 20, 2019 by NeuroTypical

[NeuroTypical]

Full confession - I once chose to fail a class in college rather than turn in a required essay, because I did not respect the professor who had assigned the topic.  (I would hope that's the most extreme example of my zealously idealistic college dumbness, but it's possible there are other examples I've just repressed or forgotten.)

I came to college a brainless idiot, full of dumb reactionary ideas based on my own feelings and what sounded good at the time.  I'd like to think I left college a slightly less brainless idiot.  

[Guest Mores]

27 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

People get to show up all zealous and idealistic in college.  It's a great place to get some of that tempered with a touch of reality.  We can only hope it's working.

I don't blame the author.  She's just got the case of the younguns.  I do wonder what is motivating the organization that created the list in the first place.  It is clearly misguided.

@anatess2,

Thank you for your research.  That sounds like an organization with some mixed up priorities and mixed up values system.  Are they all stuck in their college days?

[pwrfrk]

On 3/19/2019 at 5:00 PM, Third Hour said:

Each year the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) releases their “Dirty Dozen List.” The list names and shames the top companies and organizations in the United States who profit from sexual exploitation. But a big corporation can be pretty far removed from the individual, though, right? So what’s the purpose of the list then? According to the NCOSE’s website, the list is “an activism tool that gives back power to individuals who want a voice in the culture.” “Activism tool” might sound extreme to some. If you barely have time to juggle your day-to-day responsibilities then you're not exactly signing up to join an activist group are you? Well, maybe you should be. NCOSE’s site says it perfectly: “In today’s world, corporations drive our culture. They influence how people communicate, how they dress and what information they receive. When a company makes a positive change to stop promoting sexploitation, it has a ripple effect that influences countless lives.” And if you don’t want to take the word of experts on the...

View the full article

When I returned to college back in 2015 I did a paper on prostitution.  Based on the data I collected, I have to question NCOSEs validity.  I'm not confident in their work.

[Vort]

On 3/20/2019 at 7:27 AM, NeuroTypical said:

People get to show up all zealous and idealistic in college.

 

On 3/20/2019 at 6:10 AM, anatess2 said:

There's several of these articles which, I'm assuming, are written by naive young'uns.

 

On 3/20/2019 at 7:58 AM, Mores said:

I don't blame the author.  She's just got the case of the younguns.

I guess I find that reasoning unconvincing. If my seven-year-old says something silly, that's one thing. Sydnee is a real, live adult, not a seven-year-old. I can understand and sympathize with naiveté, but not so much with stupidité. Virtue-signaling by any name still stinks as rank.

When you're writing articles for mass consumption, you have to be ready and willing to face people who test your claims. Playing the "young 'un" card seems dirty pool—which, by the way, Sydnee didn't do. So let her answer (or not) for her own writing.

[NeuroTypical]

10 hours ago, Vort said:

When you're writing articles for mass consumption, you have to be ready and willing to face people who test your claims. Playing the "young 'un" card seems dirty pool—which, by the way, Sydnee didn't do. So let her answer (or not) for her own writing.

Oh, absolutely.  She's opened herself to public feedback in two different directions - the blog comments, and the redirect here.  I hope she's reading them.  It's just that I personally am withholding a bunch of critical feedback.

[Guest Mores]

15 hours ago, Vort said:

Sydnee is a real, live adult, not a seven-year-old.

Judging by the description and photo of the article, I'd peg her as a twenty-some thing.  Yes, of age by law.  But I remember how full of myself I was at that age.  I remember how I was so excited to learn anything new.  And because it was new to me, I thought it was new to everyone else.  It was also very harmful that I held positions of leadership in church, business, academics, and elsewhere.

Imagine a young lady who has been entrusted to write articles for publication.  She's excited to write about anything new (to her). She hasn't learned yet how to screen new information for completeness, importance, etc.  It is even more difficult when she undoubtedly has a real desire to change the world for the better.  Can any of us say we could make wise judgments about what cause is worth taking up and which is not at that age?  Really setting reasonable priorities is something I still struggle with today.

It is an age where you're full of energy and open to all possibilities.  If the Lord commanded me to do all things...  Not realizing that He has NOT done so.

It's not an excuse for her or anyone else.  It just puts her intent into perspective, and makes it easier to forgive.

[Grunt]

On 3/19/2019 at 8:47 PM, MormonGator said:

Do those magazines even exist anymore? Honest question, not a challenge. 
 

Fun fact:  I was in Playboy Magazine.

[NightSG]

3 hours ago, Grunt said:

Fun fact:  I was in Playboy Magazine.

Before or after the operation?

[Grunt]

9 hours ago, NightSG said:

Before or after the operation?

No operation.

[Guest Mores]

3 hours ago, Grunt said:

No operation.

I believe that was a joke.

[Guest Mores]

Fun fact: of the dozen, I only use Google.

[Guest MormonGator]

22 hours ago, Grunt said:

Fun fact:  I was in Playboy Magazine.

Hey we all have bills to pay. You should hear about the movies I made in college. 

[Guest MormonGator]

18 hours ago, NightSG said:

Before or after the operation?

That's awesome. lol 

[mordorbund]

4 hours ago, MormonGator said:

Hey we all have bills to pay. You should hear about the movies I made in college. 

Found it.