What's the Real Effect of Pornography?
What's the Real Effect of Pornography?
When men look at pornography, what effect does that have on the women who love them? Fully 47 percent of women and 33 percent of men believe porn harms relationships between men and women. Even so, we are a nation divided. An online Harris Poll of 2,555 U.S. adults finds that when it comes to the dirty little secret of pornography, we're not sure what should be done about it. Women are generally much more critical of pornography than men. As a result, a small majority of women, but not of men, favors government regulation of pornography on the Internet if that were possible.
About half of all adults believe that pornography raises men's expectation of how women should look and that it changes men's expectations of how women should behave. About the same amount say pornography is demeaning towards women, although this view is more widely held by women than by men.
What is the effect of pornography on kids? If children see a lot of it, 30 percent of adults say it distorts boys' expectations and understanding of women and sex, while 25 percent say it makes kids more likely to have sex earlier. Just 7 percent think it distorts girls' body images and their ideas about sex. Only 2 percent say looking at pornography helps children better understand sexuality.
What role should the government have if any in regulating Internet porn? A whopping 53 percent of women, but just 30 percent of men, say it should be regulated specifically so children cannot access X-rated material online. About a quarter say it should be fully protected under the First Amendment, while 13 percent think the government should regulate pornography in a similar way as cigarettes are regulated--with warning labels and restrictions so that harm is minimized. Ten percent think the government has no role with regard to pornography.
..from CompuServe
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