Discussion Assignment

Part 1

Over the period of twentieth century, America has undergone a cultural revision and so has its traditional values and attitudes towards sex. This is clearly vindicated through the openness and various forms of discussions carried out at all levels. No longer do we face any intricacy while discussing sex whereas a hundred years ago, "polite" people never used to talk about it. Nowadays, all mediums of communication explicitly display sexual content in different forms.

With this changing world comes a widely prevalent real-time sex activity conducted amongst several Internet users around the world, "The Cybersex," where two people remotely connect for the purpose of sexual pleasure. For some cybersex users, this provides a fascinating experience over the Internet whereas for some, it has become an addiction.

Express your views on the following:

• Is there any commonly accepted definition of natural sexual behavior? Why or Why not?
• Is there a conclusive definition of "normal" sexual behavior and does this definition of normal get affected by man's perceptions and social factors?
• What are the factors influencing sexual behavior in the times we live in?
• How does the mass media portray sexuality? What is the role of the media in establishing culture norms on sexuality?
• Based on your understanding of the topic, discuss how various forms of advertisements depicts sexuality? To what level are you and your classmates affected by the media's presentation of sex?
• When examining sexuality, do we make value judgments? Why or why not? Do our opinions, biases, and stereotypes cloud our assessment skills? Why or why not?

Part 2

Before the twentieth century, sexuality was considered as a very private and highly judged subject. Religious leaders considered it as a moral issue but now, this presumption has undergone a huge change. Scientists have started viewing sexuality with their lenses, focusing mainly on the study and bifurcation of unusual and abnormal sexual behaviors. It was much later that they started studying the healthy human sexual functions. While the Internet serves as a medium for providing education and information, it is also a platform for sexual discussions and materials. It is after the huge volume of sexual material available on the Internet that the demands for government regulation increased and in 1996, the US Congress passed the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA). The usage of computer networks for the purpose of transmitting obscene materials or images or placing indecent words was then made illegal as children might read or see them. But there still exists many websites that are dedicated to educate people about sexual safety and health.

Conduct a research on CDA and respond to the following:

• What is CDA? Explain.
• What are the reasons behind the emergence of this act? Provide an analysis.
• How does media and sexual material influence a small child?
• Is transmitting sexual pictures or texting considered illegal? Why or why not?