# Where is the "graphic sexual content"? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 3, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352 "2018-06-03T13:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/161 "2018-06-04T12:27:37Z")
Imagine being triggered by being told you aren’t as clever and funny as you think. Imagine being triggered by somebody you think is funny and clever isn’t as clever and funny as you think. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/162 "2018-06-04T12:30:10Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Now we are talking about an issue which, as you say, is different. Apparently posters are being triggered by being warned that they won’t be triggered and won’t be used by anyone’s alleged sexuality. Noooo…that’s not what’s happening. I reported one of these disclaimers myself–I think it was the cupcake thread that started off by talking about how little rape and torture there’d be in the thread about cupcakes. I don’t particularly want to open a thread about goddamned cupcakes and find that it starts by talking about rape and torture, even if it’s done in the context of saying it’s not talked about. There’s even a schmancy literary term for this: [Apophasis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophasis), “wherein the speaker or writer brings up a subject by either denying it, or denying that it should be brought up.” The entire point of apophasis is that you get to talk about something while pretending not to talk about it. I think it’s 100% correct to ask posters not to use apophasis to skirt rules. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/163 "2018-06-04T12:37:22Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > But without bringing this back into pit-thread material, LHoD noted that Stephen King writes about murder time and time again. I agree that King wants to write about such topics. I disagree with those who surmise that King himself is inclined towards violence. Or his audience is for that matter. None of Skald’s critics responded to this point by LHoD. No interest. No analogy is perfect. A better one would be Piers Anthony and his obsessive need to put some jailbait nymphet into most every one of his stories. Those who continue to defend him-you realize he knew that his most recent action would spark a huge kerfluffle (again), disrupting the board (again)–IMNSHO he has to own the consequences of that decision, as do his fanboys who keep saying “Move on, nothing to see here”… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/164 "2018-06-04T12:43:26Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Do all you “men” hate your mothers and sisters and wives and daughters and 50% of all humans? I probably do hate 50% of all humans, but the vast majority are men. Rock on, ladies! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/165 "2018-06-04T12:45:26Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > No analogy is perfect. A better one would be Piers Anthony and his obsessive need to put some jailbait nymphet into most every one of his stories. Huh. So, I don’t think so. Piers Anthony is a terrible human being, and there’s absolutely no question about whether his writing is sexually explicit in a terrible way. I’m not going to dig up some of his passages, because reading them makes me want to shower with Clorox. I read some of his short stories as a child and was kind of scarred by them. King’s stuff is still graphic, but not even in the same league as Anthony’s worst stuff. Skald’s stuff isn’t even in the same league as King, IMO. This isn’t to say it’s fine, nor that people should react to it in any particular way–but in terms of sheer explicitness compare this to something from Misery, or his other books (disclaimer, it’s been years since I’ve read King–swap in a different author of thrillers, like the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo author, if necessary). > [@](#): > > Those who continue to defend him-you realize he knew that his most recent action would spark a huge kerfluffle (again), disrupting the board (again)–IMNSHO he has to own the consequences of that decision, as do his fanboys who keep saying “Move on, nothing to see here”… Absolutely agreed. I’m not a fanboy of Skald in any way–as I’ve said, I’ve rarely participated in his hypotheticals, and felt the same mild positive feelings toward him as I have toward the majority of posters on the board. His behavior since the ruling has not been great. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/166 "2018-06-04T12:47:55Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > First attempt to actually address LHoD’s argument. Thank you. You mean aside from [this post of mine](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20982123&postcount=429) from like a week and a half ago? Pretty sure there were others, too. You might want to dial back the smug. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/167 "2018-06-04T12:54:32Z")
good morning folks! I’m extremely surprised this thread is still open 😛 - and now I find myself\* not\* hating a post by Drunky Smurf. WTF?! ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/168 "2018-06-04T13:12:55Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I’ve defended Skald’s hypotheticals before, for example when someone claimed that a post that involved nothing about sex and a post where he said he wouldn’t vote for a politician who covered up a rape were him posting lurid rape fantasies, but if I was a mod I’d probably just ban him for the passive-aggressive bullshit being discussed here. It honestly amazes me how much nonsense the mods are willing to tolerate on this board, and how many times they’ll engage in long threads like this. Doesn’t that beat having us act arbitrarily and capriciously? We’re a patient bunch. Better to move slowly and with discussion than otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/169 "2018-06-04T13:51:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You could make _exactly_ the same argument about any troll, spammer or similar. Why do the mods delete spam? Why do they ban trolls? We could just not open their posts, or put them on ignore, right? > > Short answer is - why should ordinary posters be the ones to do anything, and not the jerks? That’s a fair comment, albeit spam is a different issue that the ignore function would not deal well with. But trolling is in the eye of the beholder, to some extent. Some people seem to enjoy engaging with trolling. And the bar is set pretty high (or low, depending on how you look at it) on this board in terms of banning people for trolling. FWIW I have never used the ignore function and I’m not a Skald fan boy (I don’t usually bother to open his threads and for those I do, some are interesting and some are irritating). The reason I posted was to support the viewpoint stated by others that the ‘problem’ here lies on both sides to some degree. I don’t think that’s blaming the victims, for the reasons I stated earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/170 "2018-06-04T13:52:10Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I’m all ears. > You are correct, to some degree, about the difference between being offended by a mention of porn or rape, and being offended by something else. > Since that is not happening, you have no problem. **Skald** isn’t springing any surprise mentions of porn or rape on you, so you won’t be triggered. That issue has been resolved. > > Now we are talking about an issue which, as you say, is different. Apparently posters are being triggered by being warned that they won’t be triggered and won’t be used by anyone’s alleged sexuality. > > So you are now being offended by not being offended. I am not sure that can be resolved. Therefore my recommendation to the mods and to the other posters reporting is to recognize that you got what you wanted, and to let the damn thing drop. > > Regards, > Shodan I really had no idea what women meant by being victimized twice by this. How can they possibly feel victimized by being exposed to surprise smut? How can they possibly not like all the attention they get when their concerns are mocked and belittled by about 7 men herein. This is all their fault, they could just look the other way. How dare women express dissatisfaction at this development? ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/171 "2018-06-04T14:03:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > King’s stuff is still graphic, but not even in the same league as Anthony’s worst stuff. Haven’t read IT in a while, eh? Hate to feed the digression but here I go. Gary Jennings. Brilliant historical novelist, good storyteller. But he managed to work a child sex scene into every book, and there was only one where anyone batted an eyelash. Maybe that’s true historically but it felt like he was trying do more than expose the ugly realities of the past. I still read all of his books when I was in my 20s, I probably wouldn’t read them now in a middle-aged state of deepened empathy. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/172 "2018-06-04T14:05:51Z")
I agree with Drunky on this. A lot of times I find the reaction to being told something is objectionable to be more offensive and expose one’s true character than the original offense. EG any school/college mascot. Fine, you didn’t mean it to be offensive, but dismissing anyone who does find it offensive, to claim as an outsider to the maligned group that you know how they should feel about it, to belittle and abuse them, shows that while you didn’t mean that mascot to be offensive, you simultaneously/coincidentally do have a low opinion of the maligned group. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/173 "2018-06-04T14:15:23Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > good morning folks! I’m extremely surprised this thread is still open 😛 - and now I find myself\* not\* hating a post by Drunky Smurf. WTF?! Maybe it’s because you’re still dreaming… _still dreaming_… _still dreaming_… _\_ ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/174 "2018-06-04T14:19:27Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Noooo…that’s not what’s happening. > > I reported one of these disclaimers myself–I think it was the cupcake thread that started off by talking about how little rape and torture there’d be in the thread about cupcakes. I don’t particularly want to open a thread about goddamned cupcakes and find that it starts by talking about rape and torture, even if it’s done in the context of saying it’s not talked about. It’s always kind of entertaining to have someone say “no that’s not what’s happening” followed by a detailed explanation that shows that that’s what’s happening. Your post contains references to rape and torture. No one (I assume) was triggered by it. Therefore it isn’t the mere mention - it’s the fact that there was a disclaimer saying that there was no rape or torture. You are being triggered by exactly what I said you were being triggered by - the disclaimer. You are being offended by being told that you won’t be offended. > [@Morgenstern](#): > > I really had no idea what women meant by being victimized twice by this. How can they possibly feel victimized by being exposed to surprise smut? They can feel victimized by being exposed to surprise smut. That’s the first offense, and it is no longer happening. The second victimization is by being exposed to warnings that they will not be exposed to surprise smut. The mods have already ruled on the first case. We are talking about the second. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/175 "2018-06-04T14:25:18Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Doesn’t that beat having us act arbitrarily and capriciously? We’re a patient bunch. Better to move slowly and with discussion than otherwise. I’m not registering a complaint or saying that you need to change, just shaking my head at the people complaining that they think you are acting arbitrarily and capriciously. People who think Skald is the wronged party here are pretty… amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/176 "2018-06-04T14:40:49Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It’s always kind of entertaining to have someone say “no that’s not what’s happening” followed by a detailed explanation that shows that that’s what’s happening. > > Your post contains references to rape and torture. No one (I assume) was triggered by it. Therefore it isn’t the mere mention - it’s the fact that there was a disclaimer saying that there was no rape or torture. You are being triggered by exactly what I said you were being triggered by - the disclaimer. > > You are being offended by being told that you won’t be offended. > They can feel victimized by being exposed to surprise smut. That’s the first offense, and it is no longer happening. The second victimization is by being exposed to warnings that they will not be exposed to surprise smut. > > The mods have already ruled on the first case. We are talking about the second. > > Regards, > Shodan So was I when I pointed out the second act of victimization. That is, mocking women for having an opinion. In his latest tread he was stepping up the humiliation by adding a little “smack on the ass and a wink” to all the women who complained about lack of warnings in his threads. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/177 "2018-06-04T15:09:14Z")
Look, it’s like a guy who tells all the sexist/racist jokes at work being told by management to cut it out inside work hours. Well, he takes it hard and stomps through the office, poking his head into the cubicles of various people he knows or suspected told on him, and says “don’t worry! I won’t tell any sexist jokes so don’t get your panties in a bunch!” Not an exact analogy, but if you hear this and say “what’s the big deal, he’s not telling the joke?” you are being willfully obtuse. There’s no way Shodan and the rest of you don’t know exactly why Skald’s theatrics are a jerk move, but you have to pretend you’re confused because it’s a good way to telegraph your contempt for the people who dare be offended or say so in the first place. And behind that is the contempt for any woman to ever be offended by anything. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/178 "2018-06-04T15:09:53Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Haven’t read IT in a while, eh? _twitch_. No, no I haven’t. I read it when I was thirteen, and thought that was the best thing ever. That single scene has kept me from rereading the book. Fair point–I can’t believe I forgot about that. > [@Shodan](#): > > It’s always kind of entertaining to have someone say “no that’s not what’s happening” followed by a detailed explanation that shows that that’s what’s happening. I hate to rob you of the entertainment you gain by not reading carefully, but I’m afraid if you do read more carefully, you’ll be disappointed. > [@](#): > > Your post contains references to rape and torture. No one (I assume) was triggered by it. Therefore it isn’t the mere mention - it’s the fact that there was a disclaimer saying that there was no rape or torture. You are being triggered by exactly what I said you were being triggered by - the disclaimer. Are you clear on what apophasis is, and why it’s an irritating rhetorical/literary device? There’s no way you can say I was engaging in apophasis. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/179 "2018-06-04T15:13:13Z")
We will speak no further about apophasis. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352/180 "2018-06-04T15:54:02Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I really had no idea what women meant by being victimized twice by this. How can they possibly feel victimized by being exposed to surprise smut? How can they possibly not like all the attention they get when their concerns are mocked and belittled by about 7 men herein. This is all their fault, they could just look the other way. How dare women express dissatisfaction at this development? In my view this isn’t a female or male issue. This is about how we are as people and what types of behavior we want to encourage or discourage. To clarify - if the situation were changed and 100% of the people raising the issue were male, my reaction and approach would be unchanged. * * * Including the non-disclaimers may be a continuing dig at the detractors, but it first and foremost shows a disregard for mod instructions and that will end. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-graphic-sexual-content/815352.md?page=10)