Andart

Squid squick

A steamy calamari: trans-species eroticism and disgust (Practical Ethics) - I wrestle with the question of what (if anything) is wrong with dead squid porn. I mainly conclude that we shouldn't trust immediate disgust reactions. In fact, dead squid porn is better than live squid porn because the animal is not suffering.

Ah, the wonderful power of squick! While working on the blog post I noticed that I was somewhat concerned by the impact of it. A feeling I never got when I wrote about the ethics of my enhancer use, Catholic church gaydar, the acceptability of file sharing, abortion and sex-selection or criticising the government - far more controversial, important and far-ranging issues than what goes on in a few bedrooms. But squicky subjects suck in attention - they are near, they evoke direct feelings of disgust and interest rather than abstract principles. People become far more upset about them than the far-mode big things... although it is those that often matter more in the long run.