Harm_Of_Pornography

The Harm of Pornography

Experimental research, psychology, personal testimony and social scientific studies have all been tools in the pornography debate. Yet neither side of the debate has viewed all of these tools collectively and thus 'proof' of harm has proved elusive. The National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families has now viewed all of the major tools, facts and perspectives collectively and has concluded that the evidence is not only persuasive but overwhelming that pornography use is harmful, to the individual user and beyond.

Constitutional rights, freedom of speech and expression, do not factor in to the risk of harm carried by pornography. There is pornography protected by the First Amendment and illegal pornography which is not. Pornography use is a choice. This document serves to provide evidence that those who choose to use pornography, apart from greatly offending Almighty God, also risk suffering harmful side effects for themselves and Society at large. Research suggests pornography is like an addictive drug; a little can get you hooked and too much can damage your life.

Sex for sale
US News and World Report said the porn industry grossed $8 billion in 1997. Pornography aside, sex is selling for businesses that aren't even selling sex. The mere existence of the advertising industry and the billions of dollars spent on advertising are proof that visual images persuade. Pornography's selling point is visual images a visual communications medium advancing a message. To deny the power of pornography is to deny the influence of advertising.

Attitudes and porn's messages
Pornography shapes attitudes and the way people view relationships and sex roles, specifically by 'normalizing aggression towards women for some men in sexual and other interpersonal encounters and increasing the tolerance for aggression toward women in the larger culture.' (Surrette, 1992) Sexual interest and sexual acts of any kind are mistaken for acts of love. Sex gives the illusion of being loved and appreciated. In the absence of love, people seek intimacy through porn and sex.
Casual sex is portrayed as exciting and desirable outside of a committed relationship. Beauty is measured by proportion of body parts, shaping unrealistic expectations of what a woman's body should look like. Pornography's messages about sex and sexual fulfillment are misleading. Fulfillment comes from personal, human relationships, not media.

Pornography hurts kids
Studies show that boys ages 12 through 17 are among the primary consumers of porn. This becomes a major source of sex education. Teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS are completely nonexistent in porn, giving a false belief that there are no adverse consequences to behaviours depicted in pornography. Teaching that sexual experimentation with anyone, anywhere is a major theme considered 'fun' in pornography. Pornography teaches that women enjoy being stripped, forcibly abused and even raped. Other messages in pornography drug addiction, prostitution, exhibitionism and voyeurism are branded in the minds of children as normal behaviour. One such message is that women are sex toys readily available for sexual fulfillment by anyone and are devoid of value, worth and feelings. These messages found to hurt adults have an even greater impact on kids.

Child pornography
Child pornography consists of photographs, videotapes, magazines, books and films that depict children in sex acts, all of which are illegal. These laws also include some child nudity, simulated sex involving children and material that is computer-doctored to look like child porn. All production of these visual materials is an illegal and permanent record of the abuse.
The typical child molester befriends the child, and after building 'trust,' introduces the child to pornography, sometimes 'kiddy' porn, to break down inhibitions and lure the child to participate in sexual activities. These acts are then videotaped or photographed and used to blackmail child victims. It is also used to arouse the pornographer when the child is not around. Child porn has become a sophisticated multi-million dollar black market industry. (Enough Is Enough, 1989)
Consider...

		1.3 million children a year are sexually abused. (Gallup, 1995)
		An estimated 61 percent of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18. (AMA, 1995)
		Approximately one in three girls is sexually abused before age 18 and one in four by age 14; one in six boys is sexually abused before age 16. (Hopper, 1997)
		The average age of child sexual abuse is 11, although some predators strike upon children much younger. (Sedlak and Broadhurst, 1996)

Internet pornography
Though a valuable information resource, the Internet caused explosive growth for the pornography market. It is essentially the fastest, cheapest and most anonymous pornography outlet. Only certain commercial sites require a credit card to enter and most sites display hard-core 'teasers' through which computer users connect to porn sites within seconds.

The most dangerous aspect of the Internet is its use by pedophiles. Child molesters and predators use the Internet to pose as youngsters themselves in order to communicate with other children, expose them to pornography and arrange to meet them in person.

The Internet Online Summit held in 1997 in Washington, D.C., revealed that 70 percent of children viewing pornography on the Internet are doing so in public schools and libraries. Few measures have been taken thus far to protect children from pornography and Internet predators in public access points.

USA Today (1997) reported that 45 percent of children ages 9 to 13 who use computers use the Internet to chat with others. The ability to communicate with strangers is the Internet's biggest threat to children since pedophiles and sexual predators have direct contact with victims through Internet chat rooms. Also, bulletin boards provide an essentially anonymous means of posting illegal pornography for any and all users to access. This includes child pornography and obscenity.

Corporate America has been negatively affected by Internet pornography use since about 16 million to 20 million people in North America are estimated to use the Internet, with about half gaining access primarily at work.' (New York Times, 1996) One analysis by Nielsen Media Research, Inc., New York, found that International Business Machines Corp., Apple Computer Inc., and AT&T Corp. together lost more than 347 eight-hour days of employee time in a single month to the Penthouse magazine website alone. (Wall Street Journal, 1996).

Pornography hurts relationships
Whether a recreational user or an addict, porn affects relationships with spouses, family members, work associates and even strangers. It is often viewed in secret and this clandestine use of pornography creates deception within a relationship. The signs and symptoms of a chronic porn user are not unlike those of an unfaithful lover. Regarding relationships, pornography also (NCPCF, 1998):

		Portrays women as sex objects and reflects even in the day to day poor treatment of the female counterpart.
		Introduces a third (or fourth or fifth...) partner into the relationship, weakening commitment.
		Promotes the allure of forbidden relationships, namely adultery and prostitution.
		Leads to unreal expectations of sexual fulfillment.
		Promotes fantasization, distracts from real life and relationships.
		Stimulates interest in deviance, such as group sex and torture.
		Encourages violence. One study found a link between pornography use and hostility, saying men who use pornography are more likely to rape if they knew they would not be found out. (Hall, 1996)

Pornography is addictive
A person is hooked on pornography when they keep coming back for more, unable to turn down just one more glance. Just like drugs, alcohol or other addictive substances, pornography, through sexual release, brings about significant mood alteration and gives an intensely pleasurable high from one's own brain chemicals. (Carnes, 30) Four factors characterize the condition: (Cline, 1996)

		Addiction - Porn provides a powerful sexual stimulant or aphrodisiac effect, followed by sexual release, most often through masturbation. The exciting and powerful imagery can then be recalled and elaborated on in subsequent fantasies.
		Escalation - Over time, addicts require more explicit and deviant material to get 'high.' They may push their partners into increasingly bizarre sexual activities. And they come to prefer the imagery of pornography, accompanied by masturbation, to sexual intercourse itself, diminishing their capacity to express real affection.
		Desensitization - Books, magazines or films/videos, first perceived as shocking, illegal, repulsive or immoral - though still sexually arousing - is seen as acceptable. The sexual activity depicted becomes legitimized in the person's mind, and he/she comes to believe that 'everybody does it.'
		Acting Out Sexually - There is an increasing tendency to act out behaviours viewed in pornography. Addiction locks persons into these behaviours - no matter what the negative consequences. It weakens marital and family bonds, and as the result of unfulfilled sexual urges, increases the possibility of a person committing a serious sex crime. (Cline, 1996)

Consider...Among 932 sex addicts studied, 90% of men and 77% of women said pornography was significant to their addictions. Also, childhood sexual abuse and frequent use of pornography accompanied by masturbation are key parts of the formation of sexually addictive behaviour. (Carnes, 1991)

Pornography triggers crime
Pornography's impact on crime is twofold. Live porn or sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) strip clubs, massage parlors and the like attract crime to a community; and the general content of pornography supports sex, abuse, the rape myth, that women enjoy forceful sex, and serves as a how-to for sex crimes, primarily the molestation of children.

In your neighborhood...Land Use Studies in 16 US cities support that the presence of SOBs has detrimental effects on the surrounding community. In Phoenix neighbourhoods alone, where SOBs were located, the number of sex offenses was 506 percent greater; the number of property crimes 43 percent greater; and the number of violent crimes, four percent higher. The Cleveland study found that in 'one tract with five SOBs and 730 residents, there were 136 robberies in one year. In the city's largest tract of 13,587 people and zero pornography outlets, there were only 14 robberies that year.' (NLC, 1996)

In Oklahoma City, as more than 150 SOBs were eliminated, the rape rate declined more than 27 percent over six years. During that same time, rape rates in the rest of the state continued to rise more than 19 percent. (Uniform Crime Report, 1990)

In your relationships...Most hard-core pornography depicts sexual aggression toward women as 'forced, violent sex depicted as 'pleasurable rape,' and increases male viewers' subsequent aggressiveness toward females...increases the willingness of a man to say he would rape a woman...strengthens the attitude that women want to be raped.' (Surrette, 1992)

What about Playboy?...Though pictorially less graphic than most pornography, magazines like Playboy and Penthouse still carry the risk of harm. The influencing factor is a 'hypermasculine' cultural pattern that supports male dominance, the use of women as sexual objects and the acceptance of interpersonal violence. Some researchers found the circulation of magazines like Playboy significantly related to rape rates, and say the 'general consumption of pornography rather than the use of any particular form influences offending.' (Murrin and Laws, 1990) Despite mixed research results that may conflict, the threat of harm is still posed.

Also, soft-core pornography is often the entree to more violent, hard-core material that can lead to the latter stages of sex and pornography addiction.

Pornography and the law
Some argue the words of the First Amendment freedom of speech include all speech. Yet there are laws against consumer fraud, conspiracy, libel, slander or falsely shouting 'fire' in a crowded theatre. Many assume if pornography is available in a community, it is legal. This simply isn't so: there is a difference between enacting and enforcing legislation. Many prosecutors have limited resources as to the obscenity and pornography laws of their community. Since they tend to respond to the most clearly expressed priorities of their constituents, community inaction can be mistaken for community approval.

What's legal?

		Material which is illegal to possess refers only to child pornography. The very existence of child porn is considered 'contraband,' or illegal because the very act of photographing a child in any sexual context is abusive. Thus, when technology enabled pedophiles to prepare 'synthetic' child pornography (digitally blending an adult body with a child's face, or vice versa), the law was extended to include such material.
		Material which is legal to possess but illegal to distribute. Much hard-core pornography has this standing, although the term includes a broad spectrum from 'just beyond' soft-core to erotica. The legal term for prosecutable hard-core pornography is 'obscenity,' which is defined by the following Miller test:

Would the average person, applying contemporary community standards, find that:
(a) the material taken as a whole, appeals to an unwholesome ('prurient') interest?
(b) the material depicts specific defined sexual conduct in a patently offensive way?
(c) the work taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value?

Material which is illegal to distribute to minors includes the legal terms 'indecent' and 'harmful to minors' material which has First Amendment protection for adults but not for minors because of the surpassing value of protecting the young. Restrictions on broadcast indecency and telephone pornography extend into this category, as does much concern about Internet porn.

This paper was written back in 1998, ten years later things are much worse!

Porn is :

ADDICTIVE, SINFUL and DESTRUCTIVE

Internet Porn is moreover:

ACCESSIBLE

AFFORDABLE and

ANONYMOUS

For on-line help see; www.blessedmargaret.org

Look up the text of the interview of Dr. James Dobson with the executed criminal Ted Bundy, or the youtube video confession of Bundy. Very serious warning on the danger of pornography.

THE ANSWER IS IN PRAYER, VIGILANCE, PENANCE, AND CHANGE THE LAWS TO PROTECT BOTH ADULTS AND CHILDREN.

References

Brief Amicus Curiae, National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families, United States Court of Appeals, Washington, D.C. 1998.

Carnes, P., Don't Call It Love. New York, New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1991.

Cline, V., Pornography's Effects on Adults and Children. New York, New York: Morality in Media, 1996.

Edgley, Charles, 'Commercial Sex: Pornography, Prostitution and Advertising,' Human Sexuality: The Societal and Interpersonal Context, 1989.

Gabriel, T., 'New Issue At Work: On-Line Sex Sites,' New York Times, June 27, 1996.

Hall, C. & McLean, E., 'USA Snapshots.' USA Today, 1997.

Hall, Laurie, An Affair of the Mind. Colorado Springs, Colorado: Focus on the Family Publishing, 1996.

Laaser, Mark R., The Secret Sin: Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.

Marshall, W.L., 'The Use of Sexually Explicit Stimuli by Rapists, Child Molesters, and Nonoffenders,' Journal of Sex Research, 1988.

Murrin, Mary R. & Laws, D. R., 'The Influence of Pornography on Sexual Crimes,' Handbook of Sexual Assault, 1990.

Nelson, M. & Sanner, D., What One Woman Can Do, 1995-96.
Nemes, Irene, 'The Relationship Between Pornography and Sex Crimes,' The Journal of Psychiatry and Law, Winter 1992.

New York Post, 'Apples sex shops faces xxx-ile,' by Gregg Birnbaum, Robert Hardt, Jr., and David Seifman. Feb. 25, 1998.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations Annual Report, 'Uniform Crime Report,' 1990.

'Pornography's Subtle Effects,' NCPCF In Action Special Report, National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families: Cincinnati, OH., 1998.

Rigdon, Joan, 'Curbing Digital Dillydallying on the Job,' Wall Street Journal, Nov. 25, 1996.

Schlosser, E., 'The Business of Pornography,' U.S. News and World Report, February 10, 1997.

Surrette, Ray, 'The Media as a Cause of Crime,' Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing, 1992.

Watson, B. & Welch, S. 'Safe Journeys on the Information Superhighway,' 1998.