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

Pornography is only interesting because retarded assholes say that it's 'bad'. :2 cents: - That's a philosophical fact.

it´s how you enjoy it that counts.

those who get scandalized by sex are the repressed fucktards

The real efffect of pornography on me is a steady revenue stream and ever increasing profits. :pimp

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Pornography affects relationships only if one party aint that open and receptive about it..

I think porn saves a lot of adult relationships.
Its a great way to spice up a sex life. Who can stare at the same woman or man everyday year after year after year and still feel excited about them?

And those women in the videos aren't being taken advantage of. Theyre fucking LAUGHING while theyre getting fucked and trying to stop giggling so they can remember to fake-moan on cue. They cant even feel it.

Theyre the ones making the big money to be in the videos. The guys make almost nothing.
How empowering is that?

Saw something on the news the other day that porn has the same effect when it comes to chemical change of the brain as some drugs.

Who knows, maybe it's actually bad for you...LOL

some data from a research study on that exact question:

In Denmark, wherre all forms of pornography (including child porn) were legalized in 1969, sex crimes have fallen 87%.
In West Germany, where most pornography was legalized in 1973, reports of group rape decreased by 59%, and rape by strangers decreased 33%.
Similar figures for Japan and Canada.
"The research seems to indicate that if you leglize it, it doesn't lead to an increase in sexual predation; it leads to a decrease.You have an outlet, a harmless outlet".

I do not need the "government" to hold my hand and tell me what I should or should not do / see / hear / touch / feel or any other control...When you are an "adult" you are expected to be capable of taking care of yourself. I feel the same way about drugs. If you want to do them and are mentally capable of understanding the negative effects they will have on you than go ahead - but don't expect others to bail you out of the gutter when you fall apart. Sometimes I wish this country would sub-divide and send all of the helpless, sub-intelligent, non-self sufficient people to their own community where they can be baby-sat 24/7....they can have the NW...

haha

if two events follow each other that does not mean that they are related in any way
nothing wrong with statistics, but be very careful how you interpret them

so most probably the fact that sex crimes have fallen 87% in Denmark has nothing to do with porn, and everything to do with them Danish people getting wealthier, better educated, and so on

i'm totally disinterested in watching pornography... this is only the work as every other one... nothing much...

It makes me hard.

Like a lot of things - pornography is what you personally allow it to be. To some, it can become a habit-forming addiction that can dominate their lives. To others, its simply a mild form of adult entertainment. People can argue and discuss statistics and surveys until the cows come home, but we all know how stats can be skewed and distorted in favour of one argument or another.

You can ask yourself questions such as:

1) How many hours a day do I spend viewing it?
2) How much money do I spend on viewing it?
3) Does it cause me to view sex in a way that I wouldn't normally had I not viewed porn?
4) Does it have an adverse or positive affect on my family and social life?
5) Is there a victim somewhere in the grand scheme of things?
6) Can I voluntarily abstain from viewing porn whenever I feel like it?
7) How far will I go to get my next porn 'fix'?
8) Am I becoming desensitized by it? Am I constantly looking for the next extreme level?

After asking such questions, I'd say its then up to the individual to personally assess themselves based on the answers.

Just my :2 cents:

Pornography vs Erotica
 

I prefer erotica.....it is intellectually stimulating.

Pornography is such an ugly word and places limits on the value of the media. While erotica and pornography may denote the same image, the connotation of the words are vastly different.

Pornography definition: the depiction of erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement.

Erotic definition: devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire.
Erotica definition: literary or artistic items having an erotic theme or quality.

That is why we are the "adult entertainment industry" and sellers of erotica.

The Christo-naziis try to frame their arguments in terms of "pornography" and "child protection," while the FSC and adult industry leaders frame the same arguments in terms of "rights to privacy", "First Amendment Rights", and "anti-censorship."

When we, the adult industry members, use the term "pornography," we play into the hands of the religious right and legitimize their arguments by applying their terminology to our selves and our products.

We can do better.



Are you a pornographer, selling pornography? Think about it....

Interesting. Please post the hyperlink if you have it..

Sorry I can't. I didn't find it online, it was printed in our local paper about a couple months ago.

Interesting points, and although I somewhat agree - do you think referring (read: softening) it as the "adult entertainment industry" or "erotica" is going to somehow lessen the attack on us by the fundamentalists?

90% of the time I generally refer to it as the 'adult entertainment' industry myself...since I agree its somewhat more user-friendly. But I don't know if I'd go as far as saying calling it "pornography" plays in to the hands of those who seek to stamp it out.

The word pornography denies the literary or artistic qualities contained in the works and renders it base and without merit.

An educated person recognizes the difference.

Make no mistake...I understand the difference. But you didn't answer my question above.

Might as well ask "what's the real effect of cars," or "what's the real effect of fedex."

The only real way to answer a question like that is: positive for some, neutral for some, negative for others. I don't think anyone would argue with the proposition that some people have unhealthy relationships with some porn, and some people have had very beneficial experiences with some porn. Porn has split some couples up, and brought others together.

With regards to the "raising expections" argument: what's wrong with that? Is the counter argument that, if we had no physical ideals, everyone would be happier being less than the physical ideal? If so, we need to get rid of a lot more than porn. Like fashion models, TV actors and actresses, sports stars, etc. Me, I don't have any problem with unobtainable ideals like models, presidents, race car drivers, etc. Especially since I'm hardly the ideal physical specimen; maybe they're on to something here. :)

But, hey, if the mediocre majority want to ban excellence, I'm all for it. It'd be funny. Anyone read Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron?

And I'm not even going to get into the government regulation angle of the original article. Ok, I lied, I am. Our government is in charge of nearly 300 million people. Tens of thousands of homicides and rapes happen every year. The question isn't whether government should somehow "do something" to prevent underage access to porn; the question is whether parents should expect government to drop those priorities in favor of stepping in to legislate and enforce restrictions that could be achieved a lot more easily if parents would just take some responsibiltiy over and control of their childrens' internet access.

Cheers
-b

Has anyone caught the recent publication of some studies on 'shopping' and the increase of endorphins in the 'shopping addict' brains?

I guess we should concern ourselves on a social/political level to regulate the ability of every US citizen to spend carelessly during the holiday season as we are encouraging people to get high on nature's heroin!!!!


Asshats, better thing it through before using retarded arguments like that...


FUCK! Is it me or has the world been sucking on a g-d dammed gas/fume pipe lately????

nice read, I am prettty sure porn helps alot!

Using the word "erotica" and "adult entertainment" will not lessen the attacks by the dedicated, fundalmentalist Christo-naziis because their world view is of only good and evil. (according to their definition of which is which)

However, using "pornography" denies the literary and artistic value of our product in shaping the argument in the eyes of the 70% of the population who don't haven't made up their minds, one way or the other.

We shouldn't deny the redeeming qualities of our products in front of this 70% by using the word "pornography" to describe our product. Doing so validates and legitimizes the propaganda of the Christo-naziis and self incriminates us by our self-admission that we have no redeeming artistic or literary values.

An excellent post, Redrob. Who says there's no intelligent life on GFY? :)

While I agree that matters of nomenclature aren't the key issue here, I disagre with your idea that focusing on different terminology ("erotica," in particular) won't distract the fundies. First, it sounds fancier, and if there's one thing we know about that type, it's that they're pretty insecure in both their sexuality and their intelligence. Arguing against "erotica" is going to intimidate a lot of the rank and file who aren't quite sure what it means.

Here's my bet: pass out an opinion survey to the members of FRC and groups of that ilk, and ask them to rate "porn" and "erotica" on a scale of 1-10 between "evil" and "holy". I'll bet that porn scores a 1 and erotica scores somewhere around a 4 (some voting 1, a large population voting 5 because they don't understand what it means, and some voting >5 because they think it's church-sanctioned porn, which sounds real good to them).

However, I agree with your main point: that embracing the word "pornography" is pointless at this time. Just like blacks and gays rejected the terms "hahahahahaha" and "fag", I think we can make the point that calling things "porn" is needlessly prejudicial and pejoritive. If the term comes back into common use -- as those other terms have -- in a few years, so be it. But for now, I think that making the fundies oppose "erotica" is the way to go.

From Pompeii to Raleigh, erotica always has and always will exist. Make them come flat out and say what they mean: that sex is dirty and evil, and that therefore any depictions of sex are also dirty and evil. Somehow, I don't think the mainstream is going to agree with the premise or the conclusion.

Cheers
-b

Anyone remembers this article from wired?
Internet Porn: Worse Than Crack?

From the article:
"Pornography really does, unlike other addictions, biologically cause direct release of the most perfect addictive substance," Satinover said. "That is, it causes masturbation, which causes release of the naturally occurring opioids. It does what heroin can't do, in effect."

To me this is just really dumb, according to this logics the only way to prevent addiction would be to never have sex or masturbate, ever.

Oh, yeah, I remember that article. Basically, the argument was that anything you actually enjoy on a physical level -- sex, chocolate, roller coasters -- is more dangerous than chemical addictions because... because... er, well, that's where it kind of breaks down. Heck, when you think about it, food is pretty darned addictive. The withdrawls are harsh! But do you see anti-sex crusaders going after food? Nope. In fact, they seem to be unusually enthusiastic about food, judging from appearances anyways.

Cheers
-b