Dehumanization Of Pornography

While many will argue that pornography is not harmful and a “victimless crime”, are not of the real effects that pornography can have on a family, or a society as a whole. First of all pornography is detrimental, because it treats humans as objects. Pornography depicts people, especially women, in demeaning and degrading ways. Even if the only ones involved were adults who freely chose to be involved in the production of pornography and even if they were compensated well enough to feel good about what they are doing, pornography does not build the integrity of persons who are made in the image of God. Another effect of pornography is that it is linked to different forms of violence. Pornography can be linked to rape, abuse, murder, and other felonies. Pornography is also harmful to society in that the outlets for obscene material are often outlets for other material such as prostitution, pandering, drug dealing etc. Finally, pornography harms the family. Like other sins, pornography is addictive and progressive.

Pornography is an age-old phenomenon that has been under much modern-day scrutiny. With the recent proliferation of online pornography, possible social ramifications of sexually explicit material on uncontrolled mediums have become the subjects of intense debate. Proponents of a liberal approach toward pornography argue that access to online smut is a constitutionally protected freedom and "a harmless diversion that serves to satisfy curiosity and relieve sexual tensions.5" Opponents of this view are particularly concerned with the social effects of online pornography and its effect on the values and morals of minors who can access pornographic images. I will argue for the liberal side and argue that porn in both print form and

The adult-entertainment industry erupted in the late twentieth century and has expanded recently due to improved technology. Millions of men and women alike watch these films and arrive to the conception that what is portrayed on the screen is how a relationship should be. In a recent article in the New York Times, it was reported that 80% of men and 50% of women feel that their sex life is lacking due to pornography, and 40% of the people within the same poll have broken up with their spouse or partner due to the “lack” of love life. Clearly, the adult entertainment gives both genders a false conception of how a relationship and sex life should be. Pornography portrays sex as overly exciting and thrilling, which can lead to dissatisfaction with one’s partner. Such a situation can cause a rift between couples that can result in divorce and break-ups, which leads to fewer

Centerfold syndrome, previously mentioned and encouraged by explicit material, causes women to be viewed as sexual objects and as bodies to be conquered (Tylka 98). The objectifying and degrading content of pornography is typically aimed against women creating negative body-image and self-esteem for the benefit of sexual pleasure. Gender role conflict is often a concern with viewing pornographic material and is said to “be related to negative and stereotypical thinking about women, hostility towards women, acceptance of rape myths, sexual entitlement, sexually aggressive behavior and/or the likelihood of forcing sex, and positive attitudes toward and tolerance for sexual harassment” (Szymanski and Stewart-Richardson 65). This creates problems within both society and relationships against females and can place women in victimized situations. The attributes of the women featured in sexually explicit material for male audiences are the standards that most women are pressured to uphold. Pornography creates a dehumanized and sexual perception of women and causes unrealistic expectations and harmful

The issue of pornography has long been the source of controversy for many Western societies, particularly with respect to its implications for gender roles and sexuality (Lofgren-Martenson & Mansson, 2010). For instance, according to Griffith and Adams (2012), "Issues regarding the production and consumption of pornographic materials continue to be an intensely debated social topic" (p. 245). The social context surrounding the debate over whether pornography should be legal or not includes various principles concerning the importance of gender equality and compulsory sex educational courses that place a high priority on unrestricted rights to sexuality for both men and women

One of the most prominent and detrimental forms of sexual objectification is in pornography, where it defines a woman’s role as a sexual object for men to use freely (Insert Plato Citation). It was concluded that 88% of the scenes on porn contain acts of physical aggression, which can overexpose men into thinking that this sort of aggression is normal and raise their tolerance of violence (Insert PornStats Citation). It can further warp the minds of the watchers into thinking that this is what relationships and sex are truly like, when in reality many women are forced into the industry or are overly intoxicated to keep the entire experience feeling numb (Insert ThePinkCross Citation). Pornography also touches in on an even darker subject

The first central question investigated in this study is focused on how the male's rate and intensity of porn consumption in a relationship, has a negative correlation with the self-esteem of the women and their perception on relationship quality, and sexual satisfaction. The second central question investigated in this study questions whether the women's self-esteem can reveal a connection between the male's rate and intensity of porn consumption with the relationship quality and sexual satisfaction in the relationship. The third question is similar to the latter question where the length of the relationship is the factor reveal the connection between the male's rate and intensity of porn consumption with the relationship quality and sexual satisfaction in the relationship.

As a teenager, I attended an all-girls school and had minimal contact with boys. For this reason, pornography became an educational resource for learning about men and sex, to compensate for what I perceived as a disadvantage of lacking experience. As everyone knows, porn can be found online within minutes, and while the porn I watched as an adolescent was vulgar and unreliable, it was intriguing. Still, I couldn't understand how any self-respecting woman could allow herself to be used and abused, like a sex object, for male pleasure. It was one thing to enjoy sex, but this was a performance. Besides the money, what did they really gain from it? This was the beginning of my struggle accepting pornography. In theory, porn seems to have the potential to be incredibly powerful and lucrative, but my troubles with porn come from the realities of porn as a practice; issues such as unfair compensation, demeaning acts, and immense stigma plague the mainstream pornography industry. Still, I've never considered myself anti-porn or pro-censorship. The reason I chose to take this class is because, while I've heard a great deal about the positives and negatives of pornography, I have no factual evidence to support any of my beliefs or opinions. I see this course as the opportunity to seek the truth so that I might develop a position that I can confidently uphold and defend. While there are several interesting aspects of pornography, in this reflection I will be discussing my opinion of pornography as it relates to two highly prevalent issues, violence against women and addiction, as these are a few topics that particularly captured my attention in my readings.

When someone uses pornography it rewires the brain and changes how it works on a day-to-day basis. Dopamine is a chemical in your body that causes you to be happy and want to do things. Just like with other addictive substances when pornography is used it causes a flow of dopamine to rush into the brain. With a constant rush of dopamine the brain’s reward pathway is rewired, which changes the makeup of the viewer 's brain. In the article How Porn Changes the Brain on from www.fightthenewdrug.org they say your brain has pathways for all kinds of things like riding a bike, eating a sandwich, but when pornography is viewed the brain creates a new pathway for that. “As a frequent porn user’s brain acclimates to

Why does this matter? Effects of pornography gathered from self-reports show users have difficulty reaching orgasm, experience delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and no longer are aroused by real people. While symptoms do improve when they stop visiting online sites research shows 1/3 of men, 18-30 years old, believe they are addicted to pornography or are unsure.

As pornography gained a larger audience, the effects on its viewers and those around them, male and female, became increasingly more contentious. In an article in Time magazine by Peggy Orenstein, who has previously written about the effects of sex on young women, she explains how pornography is all about men’s pleasure. She begins by saying nearly 90% of pornographic videos display physical and/or verbal aggression toward women and in almost all instance the women accept the aggression and in some scenes, even seem pleased (par. 1). Orenstein continues to argue the negative effects of female viewers by saying they “are less likely to intervene when seeing another woman being threatened or assaulted” and they are also less likely to notice when they are in danger themselves (par. 4). She also notes that males who view pornography are more likely to “measure masculinity, social status, and self-worth by their ability to score with ‘hot’ women” (par. 3). Bridges and Bergner acknowledge such effects on males by saying they are: more likely to develop sexist attitudes, more likely to lose attraction to their partner, less likely to feel that a woman is the victim during sexual assault, and less likely to communicate romantic feelings to their partner (1263). Many people argue that pornography gives society unrealistic ideas of what a woman’s body should look like; Bridges and Bergner address this as well by noting women who view pornography soon feel physically inadequate in

dominated, or should be treated as if they did’, that it is comparable to speech

Nowadays, we see sexual images through advertisements, movies, social media and books everyday to an extent that these images are considered normal. Many people argue that watching porn can hurt and destroy relationships. According to many doctors and researchers, pornography can be harmful for one’s body and their relationships. Studies and surveys show that women are the ones who are affected by male porn the most. Although this debate is not a new subject, it is far from resolved. The majority of women are unhappy with the fact that their partners view pornography because they believe that porn reduces the relationship commitment. On the other hand, some argue that watching porn can actually help to improve sexual needs in relationships. Looking at the studies and researches, it is clear that watching porn is more harmful than beneficial for a relationship.

Pornography is a part of society that is quickly becoming a norm. It is talked about in television shows, news stories, and even everyday life. Robert Jensen (2007) states, “Pornography has become normalized, mainstreamed” (p. 16), and he is not wrong. However, it seems that it is not quite as normalized for women. Throughout Jensen’s book, he talks about how pornography is shaping the culture, how it is affecting men, and how it is affecting men’s view of women. However, he never really talks about how pornography affects women. This is an issue because women do watch porn. According to Jensen, porn producers put the number at somewhere around 20% of porn consumers are women. That may not seem like a lot, but the way pornography is talked about, the expectation would be for that number to be closer to zero. Three out of four women that I interviewed said that they either currently or used to watch pornography. The fact is that women watch porn, but they’ve been socialized to hide it and to not talk about it.

Pornography has always been a hot topic when it comes to its involvement in sexism and sexual violence in our society. The countless sexually-explicit videos and images that adolescents and adults are exposed to on a daily basis is a concerning issue, especially where sexual assault and rape is concerned. In order to explain why rape culture continues to be prevalent, especially among teenagers and young adults, activists, sex researchers, and government officials are attempting to focus and regulate presumed influences of sexual delinquency. Even with the development and expansion of sex education and sexual assault programs across high schools and colleges in the United States, rape remains an omnipresent nightmare shared by countless young women. But the daunting question remains: Is pornography to blame? Unfortunately, this question is not unfamiliar or groundbreaking to anyone mindful of or involved with popular culture.