Effects Of Pornography

It today’s society, pornography is a fast-growing epidemic that is evident in families, marriages, and teenage lifestyles. Supporters of pornography claim that it can be used as a tool to teach students about sex education. However, critics claim that pornography is unjust, influential, and dehumanizing. Pornography is unjust because it has the potential to break down intimate relationships and marriages. It can also have negative effects on children in particular young boys. More and more young boy’s minds are being influenced by pornography which is leading to misinterpretations about how to have a healthy sexual relationship. Most importantly, pornography dehumanizes women and it exploits children. Women and children are being victimized for the sheer pleasure of someone viewing pornography.

Pornography is a controversial subject all around the world. Part of its appeal is its taboo nature. It has been argued that pornography is harmful. Porn is an underground market that is more or less legal but is it harmful? An article written by Diana E.H. Russell in “Dangerous Relationships: Pornography, Misogyny, and Rape” argues that it is. Diana E.H. Russell is a sociology professor. She has researched the issue and argues that pornography is profoundly harmful. Professor Russell believes that it inclines men to want to rape women and that it encourages them to act out rape fantasies. However, Michael C. Seto disputes Professor Russell's theory that pornography is harmful. Michael Seto's article, written with

The controversy and perspective of women against pornography is one of the most beetling debates waged between modern-day feminists amongst themselves as well as between other opinionated individuals. As defined in this essay, pornography is any printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to arouse erotic, sexual rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings. The growing feminist population hosts many apprehensions as well as positive outlooks concerning the pornography industry and its portrayal of women, thus causing it to be a highly debated affair amongst those that share contrasting opinions on the matter. With the increasing interest on the matter, more feminists develop reasoning as to why they either support or oppose pornography. A copious number of those that oppose pornography believe it regresses the movement of feminist in its entirety.

Before I started to write my paper concerning the book Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain, I wanted to do some research on the author just to get a background idea of what I'll be reading. William Struthers is a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at Wheaton College. This book is appropriate for retaining information on how to help ourself avoid falling into the trap of seduction in a culture where pornography is highly watched and used on a daily basis.

However, no explanation is given for how the connection between pornographic representations and beliefs or physical actions is made. As Demare, Lips and Briere note in their study of the relationship between pornography and violence, as much as we may want it to, correlation does not prove a causal relationship. While MPW demonstrates the prevalence of sexual abuse within pornographic material and within society, the only explanation as to how the consumption of pornography is directly related to violence against women amounts to little more than an extended, poetic variation of “monkey see, monkey do”. Dworkin’s information on pornography-based violence, as she states in the introduction of her book, is partially based on one-step-removed accounts of pornography by “only a few of the thousands” of women who she says to have known personally, all of which blame porn as the catalyst of their sexual assault. Other sources include novels, pornographic fiction, excerpts from the biographies of Marquis de Sade and Marilyn Monroe, and excerpts from ‘scientific’ works by Alfred Kinsey and his co-workers - none of which contain a sex-positive perspective on female sexuality. Dworkin’s sources, listed in the ‘Notes’ section of her book, are many, and paint a heart-wrenching image of pornography and female heterosexuality at the time of the book’s publication. One cannot deny the extent to which women endured family sexual abuse, rape, battery, and coercion during the

Andrea Dworkin and Catharine A. Mackinnon(Feminist Perspectives), are just two of the women that have stood up against pornography. There are a plethora of feminist see pornography as a way to keep women oppressed and subjected to man. Almost as if porn is taking women in a step backwards.Mackinnon believes porn is an act of sexual violence (McElroy) and Dworkin sees it as sexist and a “deliberate means of subordinating women to men” (Feminist Perspectives). Dworkin and Mackinnon collectively view pornography as not a form of speech, but as an active discrimination and violence against women (Feminist Perspectives). Popular pornography includes abusive scenes and language that is extremely derogatory towards women. Through research it is also believed that due to the acts of violence and sexual abuse depicted in pornography it is causing men to reenact and bring what they’ve watched to life (Purcell).

In today’s culture, sex is worshipped. From the television shows we watch to the billboards we pass on the freeway, sexually explicit material permeates itself into our world whether it is conscious or not. Research shows that this type of material has the greatest effect on women, children, and marriages. Women and children are the most obvious choice among those assuming the affect this material has on our society, but what many forget is the affect it has on marriage. The women shown in commercials, ads, and movies are far from an ordinary woman. They are perfect. What men, and women, see is an unrealistic expectation of what women today should look like. Another harmful product of today’s sexually acceptable material is pornography. Men and women alike find completely unrealistic sexual scenarios in which they let deeply affect their sexuality. When conducting research, school psychologist and Master of Education Julienne Colbow concludes that this type of material may or may not bother women or “change their attitudes”. She even goes to state that the data is “inconclusive” as to whether or not women really care about the affect this material has on them. Regardless of the way women feel about this type of material in general, I plan to argue the point that this material is detrimental to women, children, and marriages. Sexually explicit material and

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

While the objectification of women in the media has been discussed in other classes, we watched Killing Us Softly 4 (Jhally & Kilbourne, 2010) in my diverse population’s class and my philosophy class in undergraduate discussed the morality of prostitution, the connections made in this class really gave a troubling picture about how the media is effecting our relationships. There was a balanced representation of both side of the arguments regarding prostitution and pornography, but a bleak picture was painted for women and sexual relationships in the future in some of the articles. The stories in Pornified (Paul, 2005), while selected examples to make a point, highlights how the constant accessibility of media and porn has already changed how some men view women and relationships. While the perception is that it is teenage boys and single males who consume the most porn, example after example was presented of married men ruining relationships due to the consumption of pornographic material. The statistics that were presented in those chapters were eye opening for me since I had never really thought about whether to accept or condemn porn. The statistic that “60 percent of those who viewed no pornography during the experiment endorsed marriage as “in important institution”; only 39 percent of those who viewed “massive” amounts of pornography agreed” (Paul, 2005, p.141) really highlights the effect that media consumption has on our thoughts and beliefs. It is not like the dangers of porn are not discussed, but I feel like it is described the same way that potential rapists are described, a stranger lurking in the bushes and not something that can start innocently and quickly become detrimental to an individual’s sexual identity and

MacKinnon argues that pornography defines male treatment of women, and is the clearest demonstration of male dominance. Her perspective is radical, but valuable because it forces one to reexamine his or her view of pornography. She says that, “male power makes authoritative a way of seeing and treating women that when a man looks at a pornographic picture... the viewing is an act of male supremacy” (130). This form of expression dictates the way in which men view women as a class. The uneven distribution of power in this system makes pornography a form of discrimination. “Pornography causes attitudes and behaviors of violence and discrimination that define the treatment and status of half the population” (147). Not only women are subject to this form of oppression. “Pornography is the

Pornography is a booming industry which is at its highest peak. With so many ways to access Porn, it is no wonder how common it is to hear the terms associated with porn. Porn has changed the perception of sex in an ample amount of ways. Some would consider porn to be prostitution, the only difference is that it is filmed and it is legal. Porn is not something that should be lightly tossed around in the conversation if there is no maturity involved. It is sickening to know that young kid can see grown sexual acts that portray women to be commodities that can be tossed around. Pornography has made a drastic impact not only in society, but the perspectives of each exposed individual in a negative way.

The entertainment industry within the United States is one of the most important businesses in the nation. Many Americans spend their weekends watching movies on weekends. Meanwhile others stay at home binge-watching their favorite shows on Netflix or Hulu. One of the most controversial forms of entertainment, however, is known as adult films otherwise known as pornography. Pornography is a very controversial form of entertainment because of how it negatively affects society today.

Pornography has strong influences over its viewers. Recent research has been done in attempt to find the link between sexually explicit material and how exposure to it has caused changes in a person’s aggression level toward women, and one’s cognitive development of sexual and social standards and expectations. The findings are grounds for advising trying to regulate the accessibility of pornography to minors to avoid these potentially harmful influences. Although, during adolescence, usually centered between the ages of 13 and 19, sexual curiosity is expected, compulsive curiosity to sexual material that is not most realistic in nature can cause unrealistic views of women and sex roles. These impacts are happening in the plastic minds of 13 and 19-year-old web surfers who are unaware of the effects taking place. Child pornography is a form of child sexual abuse. Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor less than 18 years old. Progressively, child pornography laws are being used to punish the utilization of computer technology and the Internet to get, share, and appropriate pornographic material including kids, including pictures and movies. Having a violation of federal child pornography laws is a serious crime and first time offenders found guilty of producing child

Through out the last 20 years the subject of porngraphy and how its portrayed in society has changed dramatically. I wanted to find out how society views the subject nowadays, how the material is distributed, and lastly how it has affected our younger generation.

People like pornography, regardless of whether or not it is moral. Pornography, more commonly referred to as porn, is the depiction of sexually explicit material intended to sexually arouse. Pornography is essentially ubiquitous; it is just one Google search away, and much of it is free. The Internet provides the accessibility, affordability, and anonymity that makes pornography a more immediate, vivid, and personal experience. With pornography’s easy accessibility arises questions about the benefits and harms of viewing pornography. Although pornography is legal, it yields detrimental effects on individual and societal levels because it degrades women, leads to increased violence, such as rape, against women, and…[OTHER REASONS BACKING UP CLAIM].