I was so shocked by the pictures of stark naked bodies indulging in unimaginable deeds that I gave back the booklet to Frankie without saying a word. He did not comment on my reaction either, we were both in Form I and he might have thought I would have liked sharing pictures of the forbidden fruit with him as we were walking back from school.

It was my first encounter with pornography. I never went through a pornographic book again, though, I must admit, out of curiosity, I watched a film or two in my twenties but it all stopped there. I have too much respect for humanity to appreciate such degradingly crude scenes.

Pornography is the combination of Greek words ?porne? and ?graphein? which respectively mean ?prostitute? and ?writing?. Thus, at the origin, pornography meant writing about prostitutes. Nowadays the sexually arousing materials which constitute the world of pornography are available in films, magazines, songs and on the Internet to mention but a few.

Pornography portrays sexuality as a public game, which knows neither rules nor limits. People are shown having intercourse with several partners at the same time. The use of violence and rude language is part of the game, while some producers may go as far as calling upon the participation of animals, how disgusting indeed!

I am deeply convinced that sex is designed to be the ultimate expression of intimate love between two persons. That is why we call it ?love-making? because it gives ?wings? to the elusive and sublime emotion of love. Pornography makes complete abstraction of the love aspect. It?s all about crude sex for the sake of sex itself which, on its own, is like a flowerless garden, a tree without roots doomed to dry up and die.

In fact, pornography kills the loving mind and even the reasoning one. Some people get so addicted to it that they try to re-enact its scenes in real life. This explains why a great majority of rapists and paedophiles also have an edge on pornography. Gary Glitter a 70s show biz celebrity condemned for paedophilia was also found to be a porn consumer. What a pitiful way to end up such a successful life! We do not know if porn made a paedophile out of the singer but it definitely was a accomplice in his deeds. Therefore it would not be abusive to say that pornography steals reason and wrecks lives.

Women are the favourite victims of pornography; they are portrayed as brainless sex slaves who should be ready to satisfy the slightest desires and whims of men. In films, close-ups are made of their sexual attributes so as to suggest that there lies their worth.

Pornographic materials also suggests women derive pleasure from being ill-treated; for instance it is not rare for them to be called ?bitches? in films and sexually explicit songs. Moreover, women are often painted as deviant, tempting creatures responsible for man?s downfall.

Pornography corrupts the mind; not only does it prevent human beings from drinking from the refreshing fountain of pure undefiled romantic love but it also turns them into cruel disgusting animals as harmful to others as to themselves. Only staying away from it can preserve you from its delusive claws.

<B>Alain Jeannot</B>