Leave it to the French! ;)

[markpkessinger]

10. My comment was not directed at the other recent threads on DU on this subject . .

. . . nor was it about any real or alleged objectifying that may have taken place on this board. It was instead directed to the broader argument that porn objectifies women (or men) as a class. If discussions here have taken place here that have left some women of DU feeling objectified, then it seems to me they were likely inappropriate as a matter of community standards, and should have been dealt with as such. To the extent they were not so dealt with, that perhaps points to a flaw in the jury system.

But even in the broader context to which my comment was addressed, I don't disagree with your claim that there is a time and a place for objectifying -- indeed, I doubt many people would disagree with that statement, so far as it goes at least. The problem is that such lines will be drawn differently by different people. In the case of the student at Duke, she was a legal adult (even if a young one) who chose willingly to participate in a legal activity. It therefore should be up to her as to where to draw her own lines as to where, when and under what circumstances she places herself in a situation that may result in others objectifying her, or even determining whether she regards such objectification to be an inherently bad thing. (If you think she was too young to be able to make such a decision, then maybe we should be having a discussion about the age of legal majority; and indeed, there might be a good case to be made for raising it.)