The Pros and Cons of Internet Pornography

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Recommended: Pornography & it's effect on society

Dating back all the way to the 1980’s, before the internet, pornography was still a very popular and readily accessible phenomenon sweeping the nation. Many groups have tried to shut down the whole institution for the stigma it has of being very distasteful and obscene. These groups, including feminists, religious groups, and even the Reagan administration, for years, have been working toward legislation to outlaw pornography.(Suderman) What they don’t realize is that they are actually trying to remove a safe and creative sexual outlet for many people. Pornography can be defined very differently from person to person. Most people would say that it is simply words, pictures, or videos that they find sexually explicit. In 1964, Justice Potter Stewart said “I can’t define pornography, but I know it when I see it”. (“Pornography and Obscenetity”). Pornography allows people to explore their fantasies from the privacy of their own home, it allows them a safer alternative in most situations, and in some cases it can even be used as a way to educate people.

Pornography can be found ranging anywhere from simple and traditional sexual encounters all the way to people playing out some of the more obscure and wild sexual fantasies. This allows people to explore wild sexual fantasies in the privacy of their own home. "Internet pornography has become so popular partly because it offers a level of anonymity never available before." (“Introduction to online Pornography: Opposing Viewpoints”) From the privacy of one’s own computer, there is access to an infinite data base of any porn imaginable reachable by merely logging into the internet. Some people even find it to be arousing to post their own “amateur” porn, whether it is in the form of e...

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...their freedom of speech, discretion, and expression.

Work Cited

"Introduction to Online Pornography: Opposing Viewpoints." Online Pornography. Ed. Emma Carlson Berne. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

Holden, Stephen. "Erotic Fantasies as Topics To Discuss With Strangers." New York Times 7 Feb. 1997. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

"Pornography and Obscenity." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2014

Suderman, Peter. "The war on porn continues." Reason May 2014: 14. General OneFile. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

Yost, Megan R., and Eileen L. Zurbriggen. "Power, desire, and pleasure in sexual fantasies." The Journal of Sex Research Aug. 2004: 288+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

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