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Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Maggie Gallagher :: Townhall.com Columnist
The Child Pornographer Next Door
by Maggie Gallagher
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What would you rather watch?

Lately the phrase "unlimited texting" is taking on a whole new meaning:

"In Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah (at last count) minors have been arrested for 'sexting,' or sending or posting soft-core photo or video self-portraits," The American Prospect reported.

Among the recent cases:

Six high school students from Greensburg, Pa., were charged with possessing, manufacturing and distributing child pornography this month after nude pictures of several underage girls were confiscated from one of the boys' phones. The three 14- and 15-year-old girls who sent the self-made child porn and the three 16- and 17-year-old boys who received it were arrested.

In Fort Wayne, Ind., a teen boy faces felony obscenity charges for allegedly sending a photo of his private parts to several girl students.

Nor is this always kids' play. In a suburb of Phoenix, the assistant principal of Buckeye Union High School faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted on charges that he received (voluntarily) sexually explicit photos sent from a 17-year-old girl student's cell phone.

In Tennessee, the Memphis City Schools system is launching a new task force to deal with "sexting." In Utah, according to the Daily Herald of Provo, Republican state Rep. Sheryl Allen has introduced a bill that reduces the first child porn offenses by teenagers from felonies to misdemeanors, with repeaters subject to felonies.

North of Seattle in Bothell, Wash., two cheerleaders sent naked photos to their boyfriends, only to find that the images rapidly passed through the entire school, ending up in the office of a school administrator who punished both girls for violating the high school code. (The girls' parents are suing the school district for its staff members passing on naked photos of their daughter to several other school personnel.)

No wonder Larry Flynt is standing in line for some government stimulation. Oh, for the good old days when men were actually expected to pay for porn!

By now the way in which modern technology makes the consumption of pornography universally available is old hat. The sexting craze underlines the way the creation of pornography has been equally democratized -- in this case right into the hands of suburban 15-year-old girls pathetically trying to attract or keep the attention of porn-jaded boys.

Why do girls act like this? In his book "Boys Adrift," Leonard Sax writes about asking a 16-year-old girl "as gently as I could, why she was wearing a Hooters outfit to a school Halloween party." Continued...
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About The Author

Maggie Gallagher is a nationally syndicated columnist, a leading voice in the new marriage movement and co-author of The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially.

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(118 comments so Far)
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Reply # 1
Date: Mar 5, 2009 - 2:38 PM EST
Re: Back to the column
I find this to be a terribly complicated issue.

It is clear to me that laws intended to punish lecherous old men and prevent them from exploiting naive and innocent young girls should not be applied to punish teenage boys for receiving naughty pictures of their teenage girlfriends.

Prosecutors, however, face a difficult decision. Their job is to enforce the law. While some prosecutorial discretion certainly exists, I would not want to live in a world where that got out of hand to the point where prosecutors decided willy-nilly which cases to prosecute and which to ignore.

The discussion above (#87) of the Traci Lords brings up a good point. In those vids Traci Lords appeared to be an adult woman (from what I hear) but technically, legally she was a juvenile thus child porn. Paradoxically, consider any of a host of "barely legal" porn mags behind the counter at your gas station. They take youthful looking 18-19 yr olds, do their hair and makeup to make them look as young as possible (again, from what I hear).

Should both be illegal or only one, which one?

Finally, I absolutely despise the anti-guy crusade underlying this whole article. The boys who received the pics were charged with possession of child porn but not the girls who took and distributed the pics? Ah, the girl who took the pic possessed it too.

Why does our legal system still pretend that girls are naive and stupid and in need of protection from the much smarter boys which which they associate?
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Reply # 2
Date: Mar 5, 2009 - 2:17 PM EST
akagi spins
You're a spinmeister.

"funds were for other activities of these organizations and not abortions themselves,"

That's spin.

Abortion is the reason these people get up in the morning. Try to be intellectually honest.

" . . . and abortions for US military overseas who wanted to terminate. Bush ended both of these. So much for supporting the troops."

Bush, their Commander in Chief, dealt with abortion as conscience urged him, not as the troops desired. I'm sure if they'd been giving unbiased opinions on the matter, troops would have told pregnant G.I.s to beat it back to the states and have their illegitimate babies. Then give up what they didn't want for adoption. (So much for new-born American citizens.)
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