Murray Davis

’ Smut, Erotic Reality/Obscene Ideology Essay, Research Paper

Murray Davis’ Smut, Erotic Reality/Obscene Ideology

In the book Smut, Erotic Reality/ Obscene Ideology , by Murray Davis

(1983), the author expresses the idea that the best source for studying human

sexuality objectively is “soft core”, rather than .hard core. pornography.

(Davis p. xix). The purpose of this paper is to critique Davis’s claim and to

study what understanding of human sexuality someone might have if they used some

other resource that is available today, in this case the Internet.

Davis argues that , “hard core pornography is usually more abstract and

less explicit than soft-core pornography”. (Davis, p. xix, 1983). Davis doesn’t

go on to explain how hard-core pornography can be less explicit than soft-core.

However he does explain that hard-core pornography is more abstract in that, it

depicts the sex act only and not the emotional or personal characteristics of

the people involved in the act. (Davis, p. xx) He believes soft-core

pornography is describing “a sexual experience”, which conveys characteristics

of the participants that are not described by hard-core pornography. Hard-core

pornography describes “sexual behaviour” which involves more of the act of sex

rather than the characteristics and feelings involved with sex. (Davis, p.

xix) Although Davis admits that the vocabulary of sex is changing (Davis, p.

xxv), he also states that hard-core pornography uses considerably more vulgar

terms that are associated with lower-class activity, such as, “prick, fuck, and

suck” (Davis, p. xxiii). Davis believes that hard-core pornography, induces

imaginative behaviours by using these lower-class, four-letter words. The

stories use phrases such as “First we sucked, then we fucked.”(Davis p. xix,

1983), to allow the reader the tools to imagine the scene actually taking place.

The reader is lead by the author through the story by using words that may be

more understood or common in the readers’ everyday life. He also accuses hard-

core films of being “behavioristic” and “abstract” because they often fail to

“fully inform the audience about the characters personality types and social

categories.”(Davis, p. xx, 1983) Soft-core pornography, on the other hand,

often depicts “the subtle phenomenological effects that result when a

character’s sexual behaviour clashes with his or her personal and social

characteristics.” (Davis, p. xx, 1983). In short, he study’s literature or

films that involve characters with personalities that are developed and conveyed

to the audience. In these stories the characters will have sex, but the sex may

or may not be the main focus of the story, but rather something that is bound to

happen when personal and social characteristics clash.

I believe that Davis is somewhat correct in assuming that soft-core is a

more objectively reliable source for studying human sexuality. When I hear the

words soft-core pornography, I tend to think of Playboy, or films and movies

that depict a story about a person or group of people, and within that story the

characters engage in sexual activity. This sexual activity is shown or described

to the reader/viewer but is not done in a graphic nature. That is, the actual

sexual penetration is not shown or shown very minimally.

Hard-core, on the other hand, is shown or described more graphically.

The dialogue usually includes, as Davis states, four-letter words. The story

seems to have less of a plot and less character development. The main purpose

of the work is to show or describe sex. So it is in this sense that I agree

with Davis.

However, I firmly believe that there is not one single resource that is

the best method of studying human sexuality. There are many sources which are

helpful when studying sex and human sexuality. They can range from textbooks,

entertainment magazines, television programs, to movies and novels. In my

opinion the most reliable and important resource for studying human sexuality is

personal experience. The actual hands on, if you will, of sex. All the texts,

magazines and movies can show what happens and maybe guide your learning process,

but the only real way to learn is to experience for oneself. I feel that if a

variety of resources are used when studying human sexuality, an individual will

understand and learn all aspects of sexuality in greater detail. Having learned

all aspects of sexuality a person may develop a sense of confidence in their own

sexuality. This may allow for the person to have more respect for sexual

orientations or practices that the individual may not take part in. For

example, a person educated in human sexuality at a university level may realise

that homosexuality is normal and should not be shunned. Whereas, a person not

as highly educated in this field may think homosexuals are not right, or