Essay about Pornography's Effects on Relationships

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.

Consequently, the exposure of pornography can influence intimate partner sexual violence and forced sexual relations, especially among the females who are exceptionally vulnerable. In recent years, the focus on intimate partner sexual violence has been on the rise and its operationalization along with its association with negative repercussions. In particular, a study of 87 female victims reported that the presence of pornography is associated with the sadistic rapes from a sample of intimate partner sexual violence. With reports stating that 14% of individuals were forced by partners to watch pornography and attempt to re-enact such behaviors and acts (Moreau et al. 224). Which is directly an effect of sexual scripts provided by pornography.

This article begins by discussing the varying definition and vacillating perception of the word, 'addiction'. The authors explain addiction as a disease of the brain that causes dysfunction of the brain's reward system, motivation, and memory. Consequently, it is apprised that these dysfunctions lead to problems with the characteristics of an individual's biological, psychological, spiritual, and social aspects of who they are. The article transitions by drawing parallels between the characteristics of pornography addiction and substance addiction. A noted similarity that the article refers to is that the same pathways in the brain that are triggered by drugs are also triggered by internet pornography. Furthermore, the authors found that

the issue of pornography requires a logical analysis and ample reaction. An scrutiny of the

“The word pornography comes from the Greek meaning, whore, harlot, prostitute, and to buy or sell a woman” (Oprah,2009). The word alone is degrading to women, how bad could the actual acts be? There are so many forms pornography comes in: magazines, posters, music, videos, and the most popular, the internet. This all makes it way too easy to access. Some of the serious effects include violent and degrading acts towards women, the difference between a real sex life and the ones on TV, and the sexual problems that pornography contributes to for many, many couples.

They explain how, in recent years, the pornographic marketing scheme, along with the internet’s global communication and sharing versatility, is designed to increase pornographic ratings in the young and adult alike. The authors describe how pornographic material is used in different stages of life, the social and personal factors that exacerbate the psychological need for pornography, and the extent to which pornography negatively impacts a variety of, seemingly disconnected, areas in the subject’s life. However, the source for this study are not children or adolescents, but primarily adult males, married and some with children. Nonetheless, both age groups share the same dualistic psychological/social patterns that trigger the constant use of pornography and their hidden shame of

A close examination of the intricate relationships between: gender, sexuality, social hierarchy, ideology, power and objectification is necessary to prove that the pervasiveness of pornography in today’s society serves as a means for the construction of women’s oppression. It becomes clear that pornography is the grease that relegates women to a second-class status when its effects are fully actualized. On the other hand, some argue that pornography is empowering and benefits sexuality. An exploration into the positive effects of pornography will be provided. The merit of pornography will be disproven and it will become obvious that the perpetrator of inequality is pornography.

John Woods, a child therapist, worked on a case with a 13 year old boy named Andrew who was referred to his clinic because he was abusing his five-year-old half-sister. During the therapy treatment, it was found that Andrew had been constantly viewing pornography for two years and he had “built up a complex fantasy world” and he wanted to try to involve his half-sister in what he was watching on his computer. Woods went on to explain, “Without virtual pornography, it’s my belief that Andrew would not have acquired his compulsion to abuse, let alone dreamt up the idea of involving his sister” (Woods 2012). In Andrew’s case, his addiction to pornography affected his relationship with his family, but in multiple cases, viewing pornography can bring up issues into one’s relationship with their significant other.

In The Porn Myth, Naomi Wolf informs that “The continuation of porn is responsible for deadening male sex drive in relationships to real women, and leading men to see fewer and fewer women as 'porn-worthy,' leading young women to feel they can’t compete with the pornography actresses.”

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.

One of the main issues with pornography is its addictive effect on the brain. A widespread issue that many people are unaware of is that pornography is biologically addicting. According to a studying done by German researchers that was published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2014, regularly viewing pornography seems to dull the response to sexual stimulation over time. The researchers found that the brain needs more dopamine in order to feel the same ‘high’, which causes a person to watch more porn. Furthermore, the German researchers found in the same study that pornography may actually be shrinking men’s brains. The researchers found that “the striatum area of the brain, which is linked with the motivation and reward response, shrank in size the more porn a person viewed.”

In relationships of all types, there is a mutual trust that is set between the two persons , that trust started off weak but then over time developed into a wonderful relationship. A relationship needs to have trust in order to completely flourish and have a long lasting friendship. According to Christine Hammond from psychcentral.com

“It can snatch any kid out of the home…It snatched me out of mine 20 years ago.” (Final Interview, 2:54-3:02 minutes). The addiction to pornography is often likened to that of a drug, “One should become addicted to it, and I look at this as kind of like an addiction. Like other kinds of addictions…you keep…I would keep looking for more potent, explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep craving something that’s harder…something…which gives you a greater sense of excitement.” (Final Interview,

Victor B. Cline who specialized in treating patients with pornography addiction writes, “The first change that happened was an addiction effect. The porn-consumers got hooked. Once involved in pornographic materials, they kept coming back for more and still more…. The second phase was an escalation effect. With the passage of time, the addicted person required rougher, more explicit, more deviant, and “kinky” kinds of sexual material to get their “highs” and “sexual turn-ons.” It was reminiscent of individuals afflicted with drug addictions.… The third phase was desensitization. Material … which was originally perceived as shocking, taboo-breaking, illegal, repulsive, or immoral, in time, came to be seen as acceptable and commonplace.… The fourth phase was an increasing tendency to act out sexually the behaviors viewed in the pornography, including … frequenting massage parlors (Cline).” American culture has normalized addictive behavior by saying it’s “healthy” and “educational.” Pornography teaches boys and men to dehumanize women and children and turn them into objects of sexual fulfillment. It is threatening to society when young boys and men are in create find fulfillment from sexual gratification whether it be through pornographic content, paid sexual encounters, or forced sexual intercourse. When men actively engage in pornography it creates a narcissistic personality. Rather than seeing a young girl with

Pornography in America is a growing problem. In a survey from the late 2000s, 34% of adult men were regular pornography consumers (Wright, 2013). The web boasts an estimated 700m-800m individual pornography webpages. One of the biggest pornography outlets, Pornhub had 80 billion video viewings last year, and more than 18 billion visits (Naked Capitalism, 2015). With the increases of pornography, comes the increase in negative problems and effects associated with it. Pornography consumption affects neurology, relationships, behaviors, and spiritual health