Introduction
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 Alexandra Maric and Howard E. Barbaree, “The Role of Pornography in the Etiology of Sexual Aggression” contends that there is a lack of evidence in the research that would link pornography use and sexual offense. This debate has many interesting points. Let's see which researcher makes the stronger case.
“Yes” Article
Diana Russell's poses a valid argument that pornography is harmful. Ms. Russell gathered evidence from many different sources revealing experiments that were done with male college students, testimonies from a real court case, and interviews with men that have been imprisoned due to rape crimes. Evidence provided in the article will show that exposure to pornography exposure stimulates violence toward women in the form of physical abuse, mental abuse, rape or the idea of rape.
Three main points pulled from the evidence are 1) pornography objectifies and dehumanizes women, 2) upholds the myth that women enjoy rape, and 3) men become desensitized to rape when watching rape...
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...n likely sexual abuse, in order for that picture to be painted in their head. I believe that people who search out porn that has violence in it have been abused themselves. Should an experiment be conducted on regular people with no history of violence, they would either not be turned on by pornography that consists of violence or rape. It is likely that some people, including some of the men in the experiments, were turned on due to the act of sex more than the act of women being abused sexually.
Works Cited
Russell, Diana E. Dangerous Relationships: Pornography, Misogyny, and Rape. (Sage Publications, 1998.)
Seto, Michael C, Maric, Alexandra, Barbaree, Howard E. The Role of Pornography in the Etiology of Sexual Aggression”
Slife, Brent. Taking Sides; Clashing Views on Controversial Psychological Issues. 12th Edition. 2002. McGraw-Hill/Dustikin.
To sufficiently take a side in the ever-growing debate of pornography, one must first define the concept around which this discourse surrounds itself. A working definition for pornography is a piece of material that has the object purpose of arousing erotic feelings. Radical feminists, however, strictly define it as “the act of sexual subordination of women” (Dworkin 1986).
Men watch 2 hours of porn average. 34 percent of youth online receive unwanted pornographic exposure. 93 percent of boys are exposed to internet porn. 68 percent of young men use pornography weekly and 21 percent of young men use pornograph daily. Pornography is sex education for most people. Only 22 states require public schools to teach sex education. Porn causes men to get addicted and this causes social isolation. 83 percent of boys have seen group sex online. 33 percent of boys have seen bondage online. 18 percent of boys have seen rape online. Boys have a strong sexual impulse. Exposure to pornography increases sexual aggression by 22 percent and increases the acceptance of rape myths (that women desire sexual violence) by 31 percent. American culture are producing rapists. Every 9 seconds a woman is beaten or assaulted. 35 percent of male college students indicated some likelihood of raping if they knew they could get away with it. 1 in 5 female college students is the victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault. Parents raise boys to become men and to reject feminine. This leads men to disrespecting women because they do not see them as a human. According to Geoffrey Canada, “The music industry presents overtly sexual messages that denigrate women and portray them as sex toys. Video games offer violent messages, and even the sports video games include taunting and teasing. Movies portray
A review of the contemporary research on the negative effects of pornography is replete of scholarly and anecdotal evidence and opinion about the damages associated with viewing it. But the evidence is limited when it comes to criticism of mainstream media’s damages to certain groups, particularly young women with their romantic comedies.
Kristol’s article writes that pornography and the pornographic industry has always been dominated by men (491). Throughout the history of the United States, men have taken precedence over women in many aspects. Men were considered the workers of the family while women stayed home and acted as housewives or catered to the men. The idea of feminism and women’s equality, however, is growing throughout the nation. With feminism and women’s equality at large, society must progress toward eliminating male domination and allowing the extension for women's opportunities; therefore, pornography and the male-dominated industry should be limited by the government. Aside from men and the power statuses they hold in pornography, Gail Dines in her article “Facts and Figures” discloses information about the male tendencies after watching pornography. Men have been reported to support female rape, have aggressive behavior toward women, have a decreased sex drive toward wives or girlfriends, and desire forced sexual acts after viewing pornography (1). Despite America’s best effort to protect all citizens, in reality, females are typically victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and pornography is a cause of such violence. Although it is a key factor that plays a role in causing violence and aggressive behavior toward women, Americans are able to easily access videos or films instantly because of modern technology and the lack of pornography censoring. Because of the tendency to cause abuse in the real world, pornography must be censored in order to ensure that women are granted equal amounts of safety and
When it comes to relationships there are many things that need to be present in order for it to work out. You must have support from both sides and honesty is also a big factor. When pornography enters a relationship it can be destroyed and could possible ruin that relationship forever. This essay will be able to inform you of all the ways that pornography can and does ruin relationships. Support for this argument will be drawn from the following sources: Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, Love, Sex, and Health, and The Question of Pornography.
IF viewed by a sexually immature adolescent, it can be harmful as it displays unrealistic standards for sex, improper to no contraception use and displays a relaxed attitude of casual sex and sex for pleasure. If pornography is the only sexual education a young person is receiving, it can be said that the young person is in trouble in terms of their sexual health. This, however, is not the fault of pornography itself. Pornography is a stimulating and arousing activity meant for sexual release. A child who views pornography is not interpreting it the same way an adult is and may perceive it as real where an adult would not. It is the fault of parents not monitoring internet use, having serious discussions with their children about sexual safety and the school systems health education program that these inconsistencies in what adolescents see and experience. With proper sex education, adolescents and even adults can make appropriate judgments of pornography for what it is, entertainment, rather than an education. This can lead into the idea of pornography itself causing sexual violence. With the evidence provided, it seems that pornography can create the implication that rape myths are true, victims should be blamed, and women are powerless, however it is the few that go beyond this and act upon these urges that are the problem. An average person has the required inhibitions to stop themselves from committing sexual violence, even if they have warped views of blame for the incident. The view that pornography perpetrates sexual crimes should not be the definitive perception as many functioning adults can consume pornography with out their lives being completely destroyed as those against pornography would have someone believe. As with all things, people will abuse and become addicted. It is not the item 's fault itself, but rather the amount, improper education and the individual
Whether pornography is an excuse to make acts of violence public? A big number of famous scholars, no matter men or women, have given their opinions. Each of them has their own view, but we can sort them into two groups, which are against to serious censorship and willing to convict and uproot pornography. Because of pornography, women’s status can never be equal to men’s. Recently, a revolution about the perception of moral values comes out in the world, which refers to how deep the changes of the method people think and act. Media have continuously played a big role in processing those changes in the revolution. Whereas, a lot of changes have been much worse. New violations of human dignity and Christian ideals have taken place. Within here, the media is also important. In the media, widespread pornography and wanton violence have increased in these years. Books and magazines, recordings, the cinema, the theater, television, videocassettes, advertising displays and even telecommunications regularly present a representation of violent behavior in sexual activity, which has been openly pornographic and morally offensive.
The issue of pornography has been debated and argued among many about its effects on morality and society. The questions most raised are is pornography moral or immoral and what defines it as such. Also, what makes something be seen as pornographic and therefore immoral. Often when someone brings up the subject of pornography they often envision something dark and seedy which in no way could ever be justified as virtuous. However, there are others who see it’s as being a healthy outlet and without harm to others. When applying the sociological theories of utilitarianism and deontology we can understand the different ideas of pornography. We can also use the perspectives of Emotivism and ethical egoism to make a rational argument about
In the today’s society, social media has gone out of hand. Most people these days have a cell phone, Ipad and/or laptop and most definitely a television at their home. Therefore, access to pornography has become extremely easy and can be available to any individual in less than 5 minutes. The best definition of pornography can be explained as sexually explicit words or images intended to provoke sexual arousal. The easy access to porn has raised many people to question if porn is harmful, if it should be censored, and if it is unsafe. Many debates have been going on about porn concerning freedom of rights, speech, and entertainment and right of privacy. The main people to have argued on this point are Catherine Mackinnon and philosopher J.S. Mill.
Fisher, William, and Azy Barak. “Internet Pornography: A Social Psychological Perspective On Internet Sexuality.” Journal of Sex Research. 38.4 (Nov. 2001): 312-24.
Many feminist theories believe that pornography is part of male culture and the patriarchy in which women are exploited and abused. In fact, one of radical feminism philosophy’s primary concerns is pornography as they believe porn degrades women and that women involved in the industry are physically damaged by patriarchy, as pornography as often directed by male pornographers (McElroy 2016). Renowned radical feminist Andrea Dworkin explored issues like misogyny and pornography. Dworkin spoke out for several causes, primarily in ending violence against women. Her famous work Pornography: men possessing women (1981) argues that porn teaches men to rape and violently abuse women. However, studies show that watching pornography its self does not cause any considerable social harm. Despite this, it is true that the adult industry itself can be torturous and
... between exposure to pornography and commission of violence, but this research was conducted in 1993 which is now outdated. Another point, which she emphasized, was that a greater availability of sexually explicit material seems to correlate with higher indices of gender equality. But when the sexually explicit material shows the subordination of women or women presented as sexual object who enjoy pain or humiliation, how can they be equal as men when the men are shown as the gender that enjoys subordinating women. (Strossen,550). Feminist author Diana Russell notes in her book Rape and Marriage the correlation between deviant behavior (including abuse) and pornography. She also found that pornography leads men and women to experience conflict, suffering, and sexual dissatisfaction.
In recent years, pornography has established itself as perhaps the most controversial topic arising out of the use of the Internet. The easy availability of this type of sexually explicit material has caused a panic among government officials, family groups, religious groups and law enforcement bodies and this panic has been perpetuated in the media.
To some, pornography is nothing more than a few pictures of scantily clad Women in seductive poses. But pornography has become much more than just Photographs of nude women. Computer technology is providing child molesters and child pornographers with powerful new tools for victimizing children. Pornography as "the sexually explicit depiction of persons, in words or images, Sexual arousal on the part of the consumer of such materials. No one can prove those films with graphic sex or violence has a harmful effect on viewers. But there seems to be little doubt that films do have some effect on society and that all of us live with such effects.
This paper will not discuss the moral concerns of pornography, because though they exist, this portrayal is meant to be factual and not opinionated, and one cannot discuss morals without opinions. That said, this paper will address pornography as an addiction, and therefore a problem, when taken to certain extremities. Where these boundaries lie, however, will not be discussed; this will be left up to the reader to define.