Romance novels.

[rpp]

Let’s stick to the topic of disposing of this “emotional porn” and stop the uncharitable, and even potentially sinfully bigoted, attacks and libelous generalizations on those who are employed in various professions. As Christians, we are to look at others as individuals, not groups.

Getting back, I applaud the OP in destroying and disposing of this material. :clapping: By all means rip off the covers, and perhaps tear the books at their binding, and toss them into the recycling or the trash.

While I have never read a book in this genre, (I am a man), I have had several women describe these to me as “emotional porn”. Many psychological studies have shown that men tend to be more pron to sexual temptations via visual stimulus while women tend to need an emotional connection in order to become aroused. The point these women were trying to make to me was that these so-called “romance” novels, especially the “bodice ripping” ones are to women what Playboy and Penthouse are to men. Any thoughts on this aspect of porn? (I hope I am not taking this thread off topic.)

 

[chevalier]

You can put them in the trash, or shred them. If you don’t have a shredder perhaps you can borrow one. Just say you have some important documents to shred.

Umm… Just “something to shred,” would be better. They aren’t really important documents and it’s no one’s business what you’re shredding.

 

[teachccd]

Are you kidding me? I used to know a lot of garbage men… it’s true!

Whatever…

 

[Blade_and_Blood]

I’ve decided to get rid of all my explicit romance novels, but I’m not sure how to do it. I can’t donate or sell them like I usually do with old books because they might cause another to sin. How would you dispose of them in a way that is morally acceptable? No fireplace.

I suggest selling them or something. But if you really think burning books will stop people from reading these types of books, think again. WInners find a way to win.

However… recycling does seem like an environmentally friendly way of disposing what you don’t want. So, by all means, go for it.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood

 

[Seatuck]

Umm… Just “something to shred,” would be better. They aren’t really important documents and it’s no one’s business what you’re shredding.

True , true.

They can be recycled or turned into mulch after shredding too.

 

[Biblioassistant]

You can send them to me. I read romance novels and I don’t think that the ones I read are porn at all. Some are, but I don’t read those.

 

[TLM08]

Then let me spell it out carefully for you:

What you are doing is called slander. It’s not less sinful because this is the internet, and smilies don’t make it any better either.

While you may have known some particular individuals who had such collections (and I’m really not sure how many comprises “a lot”), I know my husband and his co-workers are largely comprised of family men who are husbands and fathers who do not possess ANY porn, let alone “extensive hard core” collections.

Don’t compound things by adding another group into your unfair, and slanderous, over-generalizations.

I stand by my previous response to the OP that the garbage collectors are far too busy doing their actual job to be concerned with the contents of anyone’s garbage or recycling.

For the sake of clarity: Slander, or libel, which is slander’s printed twin, involves specific named individual(s). Therefore your accusation is totally baseless.

I am speaking of the garbage men that I personally know and knew at one time. And let me tell you something… Good family men who do struggle with this stuff don’t often tell their wives about it, nor do they tell their wives about their buddies porn habits. I’ve been a grown man for a long time, so I know what I am talking about. People need to start pulling their heads out of the sand.

The facts are the facts. If you want to keep porn mags, tapes or videos (even romance novels) away from kids, do not rely on the garbage can. Statistics reveal that the vast majority of grown men over the age of 30 were first exposed to porn that was discarded by others. I was first exposed to this stuff back in the late 1960s as a young boy who innocently stumbled upon it in a park trash can while looking to cash in on discarded pop bottles. If you want to get rid of a porn collection you need to burn it!

 

[CWBetts]

For the sake of clarity: Slander, or libel, which is slander’s printed twin, involves specific named individual(s). Therefore your accusation is totally baseless.

I am speaking of the garbage men that I personally know and knew at one time. And let me tell you something… Good family men who do struggle with this stuff don’t often tell their wives about it, nor do they tell their wives about their buddies porn habits. I’ve been a grown man for a long time, so I know what I am talking about. People need to start pulling their heads out of the sand.

The facts are the facts. If you want to keep porn mags, tapes or videos (even romance novels) away from kids, do not rely on the garbage can. Statistics reveal that the vast majority of grown men over the age of 30 were first exposured to porn found in a trash can. I was first exposed to this stuff back in the late 1960s as a young boy who innocently stumbled upon it in a park trash can while looking to cash in on discarded pop bottles. If you want to get rid of a porn collection you need to burn it!

Your logic is not like our eart logic. Just because you knew a few trash collectors whe were into porn does not mean all are, or even that most are. To justify this I would need to see a stitistical study. Until you can produce some kind of evidence for your ludicrous claim, drop it.

 

[TLM08]

Your logic is not like our eart logic. Just because you knew a few trash collectors whe were into porn does not mean all are, or even that most are. To justify this I would need to see a stitistical study. Until you can produce some kind of evidence for your ludicrous claim, drop it.

With all due respect. You don’t know what you are talking about. Furthermore, I never made that claim about all sanitation workers. My point is relevant to the discussion since the OP is seeking to dispose of objectional reading material. You are certainly free to disagree with me, but since others may be interested in continuing the discussion, they get decide if the if the topic is dropped.

 

[CWBetts]

With all due respect. You don’t know what you are talking about. Furthermore, I never made that claim about all sanitation workers. My point is relevant to the discussion since the OP is seeking to dispose of objectional reading material. You are certainly free to disagree with me, but since others may be interested in continuing the discussion, they get decide if the if the topic is dropped.

With all due respect, the statements you have made have a special name: bigotry.

 

[LukeFive]

I disagree in part with both of you. I too have known people in the sanitation industry that have gotten into it by finding it in the trash. That being said, it should not be used to paint a broad picture of everyone in an industry or even a majority. That is stereotyping. I get stereotyped all the time as a redneck because I am dressed like a farmer. On the other hand, I do agree that it is a good idea not to discard objectionable material where others could find it and be led to sin. Regardless of whether they already view/read said material, you would be contributing at the least.

And a comment on cops and illegal fireworks. I can only speak for my LEO friends (I have quite a few), but I always have half a dozen or so that want to come out to my farm on the 5th of July and set off confiscated fireworks that never made it to the station. We used to have fun doing that. But then again, I also have just about as many LEO friends that would never do that too… so I guess my point is, you can’t paint with too broad a brush, there will always be some in a profession that will do theses stereotypical things, but there will be plenty that won’t.

To the OP, just get rid of them however you feel most comfortable.

 

[rpp]

Can we please stay on topic and stop disparaging groups of people with bigoted comments.

 

[TLM08]

Can we please stay on topic and stop disparaging groups of people with bigoted comments.

Just like you wouldn’t want to throw lead based paint into a landfill, those seeking to repent from their pornography habit should not throw their collection in the trash.

Sanitation workers are bombarded daily with disgarded pornography that frequently finds it’s way right back into the hands of another soul. Those who deny this are in need of a cold dose of reality.

This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with “bigotry”. This has everything to do with the OP’s question regarding Romance Novels and what to do with them. I cannot possibly stay on topic anymore than that.

 

[TLM08]

I disagree in part with both of you. I too have known people in the sanitation industry that have gotten into it by finding it in the trash. That being said, it should not be used to paint a broad picture of everyone in an industry or even a majority. That is stereotyping. I get stereotyped all the time as a redneck because I am dressed like a farmer. On the other hand, I do agree that it is a good idea not to discard objectionable material where others could find it and be led to sin. Regardless of whether they already view/read said material, you would be contributing at the least.

And a comment on cops and illegal fireworks. I can only speak for my LEO friends (I have quite a few), but I always have half a dozen or so that want to come out to my farm on the 5th of July and set off confiscated fireworks that never made it to the station. We used to have fun doing that. But then again, I also have just about as many LEO friends that would never do that too… so I guess my point is, you can’t paint with too broad a brush, there will always be some in a profession that will do theses stereotypical things, but there will be plenty that won’t.

To the OP, just get rid of them however you feel most comfortable.

You are absolutely correct! There are some sanitation workers who find this stuff and make it their mission to destroy it, while there are others, particularly many young men who feel as if they have hit a gold mine. It usually originates from guilt ridden consumers who vow to never look at this stuff again and consequently throw it out with the household trash.

Years ago, in my work for city government, I had many occasions to visit with our sanitation workers as they ate lunch back at the yard’s office. In the office was three large filing cabinets absolutely loaded with dirty magazines, tapes and books. There was several more stacks piled up on the breakroom table that they would look at while sipping their coffee and chatting with whoever stopped by.

I am sure that times have changed with more women in the workplace. The fear of lawsuits from sexual harassment has certainly put things like this underground if not nearly eliminated it completely.

 

[cthulhubryan]

OP:

I would check with your local county library. They will not want them but they may know of someone who does that type of recycling.

 

[stpiusx]

I’ve decided to get rid of all my explicit romance novels, but I’m not sure how to do it. I can’t donate or sell them like I usually do with old books because they might cause another to sin. How would you dispose of them in a way that is morally acceptable? No fireplace.

+J.M.J.+
once i realized how romance novels were warping how i viewed my relationship (not just sexual) with my husband, i threw them away. i thought about donating them, but did not want to spread the filth around (and i’m a book lover - it was very hard to do!!). so i put them in the dumpster, then covered it with my regular trash so the books were ‘ruined’.

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

I admit to having a weakness for Silhouette’s Nocturne line: I read them for the paranormal love stories (vampires, werewolves, magical people, faeries, etc), and skip over the, ah, more explicit parts. You might think “easier said than done”, but most of them are fairly well-written. Better even than some mainstream fantasy novels. :: Glares in the general direction of a fantasy writer named Laurell K. Hamilton, whose more recent novels have degenerated into outright porn:: I’m hanging onto mine, but someday, I might toss them, and in that case, I’d probably dump them in the recycling bin.

 

[AHapka]

Honestly, if you are going the shredding route, I would contact one of those professional shredding companies. I think they charge by the pound, and it would save you a ton of time in the long run. Plus they have the good equipment, a household shredder is really not designed to do more then a moderate quantity of papers from time to time. Running it a lot in a short period of time is likely to burn it out (voice of experience).

That being said, I don’t think you need to shred it. If it was graphic pictures and such, perhaps. If they are put in so you can’t see the covers and it just looks like books, I would believe that it is sufficient, and that you would have done enough morally to not tempt another person. Someone would actually need to make an effort to see exactly what it is.

As a side note: while working downtown, I noticed an adult store that advertised on the outside “we buy used dvd’s, movies, and **magazines” . **Considering what some people use those magazines for, why would anyone want to buy a used one???

 

[LukeFive]

I was thinking more about this and ways to get rid of it. Being that they do not contain explicit images, if you were to soak them with water or especially used cooking oil, it would make them unserviceable or at least very unlikely that anyone would read them. Another idea I had when I was making fire starters yesterday, was to put a heavy cotton string through them and soak them in melted wax. Pull them out, shake off the excess, and let them cool. Then you can light the string and put them under wood in your fireplace. I do this with rolled up newspaper but there is no reason it wouldn’t work with paperbacks.

 

[Biblioassistant]

LIke I said, send them to me. I enjoy romance novels especially the regency romances which are not explicit sexually.