I think the difference between acceptance of violent and sexual depictions in media is based on how likely it is to affect people's lives. Almost nobody has a natural tendency to act on violent thoughts, so playing a violent video game is unlikely to cause issues in real life. Most people will have sexual encounters at some point in their life though, so getting an unrealistic expectation of them can cause serious issues in the person's life. For example, women who think men should always cater to their demands because that's what's shown in movies, or men who think that women want to be treated the way they are in porn.
I have heard that Japan is more tolerant of sexual depictions, while less tolerant of extreme violence (*guro"), and the United States is the opposite. A lot of overseas releases of anime/games are censored for mild nudity that passed Japan's rating association. And some popular districts advertise erotic games on massive billboards under large crowds of pedestrians. On the other hand, a mission in a Call of Duty title was changed in the Japanese release so that it immediately ends with an admonishment if you try to shoot civilians.
If you think violent depictions in media won't make people more violent then how can you then think that sexual depictions make people more sexual or not? People don't have violent encounters in life (or any even that could escalate into violence)? Really?
Seems like you're making the OP's point, something is special about sex in your mind.
I think his point is that sex is a normal part of living whereas violence is generally not.
For example, the last time I was in a real physical fight was in kindergarten. If I watch/play violent media, it can't affect the way I fight because I do not fight. Sex is something I might actually do though, so overexposure to twisted versions of it could actually color my real world experience.
I still tend to think that most healthy adult minds can easily make the distinction between reality and pretend though.
Yep, that was my point. I agree that most people can make the distinction, but I've been hearing a lot more about people being unable to have healthy sexual relationships because their entire mental model is based on the porn they started watching in their early teens. I can't remember the last time I heard someone say they killed someone because video games made them think it was cool though, it seems like it's always a third-party trying to find an excuse for family/society failing the individual.
I live in the world of the average, law-abiding working man in the USA. Violence is not an every-day part of life for me or anyone I know. Unless you live in an extremely bad neighborhood or a third-world country, violence isn't part of every-day life.
And anyway, if actual physical violence is a daily or weekly occurrence, the supposed bad influence of video games is probably the least of your worries.
"Have you ever driven in traffic, seen someone arrested, PAID YOUR TAXES?" (emphasis mine)
What the heck are you talking about regarding taxes? Also, traffic accidents don't really count as "violence" in the context of this discussion. Arrests are something that generally happen for a reason, so again not a normal part of life for most people.
I don't think it makes them more sexual, but it gives them the wrong idea of what a normal sexual encounter is. The same thing happens with violence, but the majority of people aren't going to engage in direct violence against someone else, so it doesn't matter if they think fights look the same way they do in anime or video games. The discussion is about video games making a normal person into a violent person, not about giving people unrealistic expectations about what happens during violent encounters.
You should also try writing with less question marks, it's condescending, especially when you completely missed the point of this whole conversation.
Something is special about sex. People have sex. People don't kill others (generally). Compare how many people you personally know that have had sex vs how many people you personally know that have killed someone.
As the study above points out, violent videos games don't make you more violent but I'm pretty confident sexy media (games, movies, music, etc) make people more horny and therefore more likely to seek out sex. Also, since sex is something people do in the normal course of their lives (vs violence which is not a normal part of someone's live) the media they consume is more likely to influence their behavior. It's a manual for something they hope to participate in vs violence, something they don't hope to participate in.
Can it? Is there a study confirming that sexual development can be altered that way? Maybe to some degree, I have no idea, but in the past people also thought homosexuality is "learned" which proved to be false.
