It today’s society, pornography is a fast-growing epidemic that is evident in families, marriages, and teenage lifestyles. Supporters of pornography claim that it can be used as a tool to teach students about sex education. However, critics claim that pornography is unjust, influential, and dehumanizing. Pornography is unjust because it has the potential to break down intimate relationships and marriages. It can also have negative effects on children in particular young boys. More and more young boy’s minds are being influenced by pornography which is leading to misinterpretations about how to have a healthy sexual relationship. Most importantly, pornography dehumanizes women and it exploits children. Women and children are being victimized for the sheer pleasure of someone viewing pornography.
To begin, pornography has addictive characteristics and because of those characteristics intimate relationships often suffer. Today, men and women tend to become addicted to watching pornography and use it to masturbate. It has been proven that “problematic pornography is characterized by a predominant urge for behavioral engagement, referred to as a craving” (Allen 67). If both parties of a relationship have this urge or craving for pornography, this could cause their relationship to suffer. The sexual act lacks love and intimacy and becomes mechanical or second natured. Pornography has been compared to addiction and people who are addicted enable each other. Therefore, there is no
Centerfold syndrome, previously mentioned and encouraged by explicit material, causes women to be viewed as sexual objects and as bodies to be conquered (Tylka 98). The objectifying and degrading content of pornography is typically aimed against women creating negative body-image and self-esteem for the benefit of sexual pleasure. Gender role conflict is often a concern with viewing pornographic material and is said to “be related to negative and stereotypical thinking about women, hostility towards women, acceptance of rape myths, sexual entitlement, sexually aggressive behavior and/or the likelihood of forcing sex, and positive attitudes toward and tolerance for sexual harassment” (Szymanski and Stewart-Richardson 65). This creates problems within both society and relationships against females and can place women in victimized situations. The attributes of the women featured in sexually explicit material for male audiences are the standards that most women are pressured to uphold. Pornography creates a dehumanized and sexual perception of women and causes unrealistic expectations and harmful
Pornography is an age-old phenomenon that has been under much modern-day scrutiny. With the recent proliferation of online pornography, possible social ramifications of sexually explicit material on uncontrolled mediums have become the subjects of intense debate. Proponents of a liberal approach toward pornography argue that access to online smut is a constitutionally protected freedom and "a harmless diversion that serves to satisfy curiosity and relieve sexual tensions.5" Opponents of this view are particularly concerned with the social effects of online pornography and its effect on the values and morals of minors who can access pornographic images. I will argue for the liberal side and argue that porn in both print form and
Nowadays, we see sexual images through advertisements, movies, social media and books everyday to an extent that these images are considered normal. Many people argue that watching porn can hurt and destroy relationships. According to many doctors and researchers, pornography can be harmful for one’s body and their relationships. Studies and surveys show that women are the ones who are affected by male porn the most. Although this debate is not a new subject, it is far from resolved. The majority of women are unhappy with the fact that their partners view pornography because they believe that porn reduces the relationship commitment. On the other hand, some argue that watching porn can actually help to improve sexual needs in relationships. Looking at the studies and researches, it is clear that watching porn is more harmful than beneficial for a relationship.
Pornography has many obvious as well as not-so-obvious consequences within society. Pornography has the power to ruin marriages, destroy trust, excite a person to the point of sexual crime, or create an unhealthy view of human sexuality and the opposite sex.” (WowEssays, Pornography)
A close examination of the intricate relationships between: gender, sexuality, social hierarchy, ideology, power and objectification is necessary to prove that the pervasiveness of pornography in today’s society serves as a means for the construction of women’s oppression. It becomes clear that pornography is the grease that relegates women to a second-class status when its effects are fully actualized. On the other hand, some argue that pornography is empowering and benefits sexuality. An exploration into the positive effects of pornography will be provided. The merit of pornography will be disproven and it will become obvious that the perpetrator of inequality is pornography.
From the Utilitarianism view point, pornography is seen as morally right because it provides the greatest benefit of happiness for the greatest good. The Utilitarianism suggest that there is an obvious solution that is fair, and it may be one that appeals to common sense” and that “one should choose to do that which produces a better outcome for the largest number of people.” (Mosser, K. 2013, Ch. 1.6). under Utilitarianism, pornography offers benefits in marriage because couples can revive their marriage by using pornography as a new tool to explore each others intimacy and satisfy their sexual relationship. Some
While many will argue that pornography is not harmful and a “victimless crime”, are not of the real effects that pornography can have on a family, or a society as a whole. First of all pornography is detrimental, because it treats humans as objects. Pornography depicts people, especially women, in demeaning and degrading ways. Even if the only ones involved were adults who freely chose to be involved in the production of pornography and even if they were compensated well enough to feel good about what they are doing, pornography does not build the integrity of persons who are made in the image of God. Another effect of pornography is that it is linked to different forms of violence. Pornography can be linked to rape, abuse, murder, and other felonies. Pornography is also harmful to society in that the outlets for obscene material are often outlets for other material such as prostitution, pandering, drug dealing etc. Finally, pornography harms the family. Like other sins, pornography is addictive and progressive.
As pornography gained a larger audience, the effects on its viewers and those around them, male and female, became increasingly more contentious. In an article in Time magazine by Peggy Orenstein, who has previously written about the effects of sex on young women, she explains how pornography is all about men’s pleasure. She begins by saying nearly 90% of pornographic videos display physical and/or verbal aggression toward women and in almost all instance the women accept the aggression and in some scenes, even seem pleased (par. 1). Orenstein continues to argue the negative effects of female viewers by saying they “are less likely to intervene when seeing another woman being threatened or assaulted” and they are also less likely to notice when they are in danger themselves (par. 4). She also notes that males who view pornography are more likely to “measure masculinity, social status, and self-worth by their ability to score with ‘hot’ women” (par. 3). Bridges and Bergner acknowledge such effects on males by saying they are: more likely to develop sexist attitudes, more likely to lose attraction to their partner, less likely to feel that a woman is the victim during sexual assault, and less likely to communicate romantic feelings to their partner (1263). Many people argue that pornography gives society unrealistic ideas of what a woman’s body should look like; Bridges and Bergner address this as well by noting women who view pornography soon feel physically inadequate in
The adult-entertainment industry erupted in the late twentieth century and has expanded recently due to improved technology. Millions of men and women alike watch these films and arrive to the conception that what is portrayed on the screen is how a relationship should be. In a recent article in the New York Times, it was reported that 80% of men and 50% of women feel that their sex life is lacking due to pornography, and 40% of the people within the same poll have broken up with their spouse or partner due to the “lack” of love life. Clearly, the adult entertainment gives both genders a false conception of how a relationship and sex life should be. Pornography portrays sex as overly exciting and thrilling, which can lead to dissatisfaction with one’s partner. Such a situation can cause a rift between couples that can result in divorce and break-ups, which leads to fewer
One of the most prominent and detrimental forms of sexual objectification is in pornography, where it defines a woman’s role as a sexual object for men to use freely (Insert Plato Citation). It was concluded that 88% of the scenes on porn contain acts of physical aggression, which can overexpose men into thinking that this sort of aggression is normal and raise their tolerance of violence (Insert PornStats Citation). It can further warp the minds of the watchers into thinking that this is what relationships and sex are truly like, when in reality many women are forced into the industry or are overly intoxicated to keep the entire experience feeling numb (Insert ThePinkCross Citation). Pornography also touches in on an even darker subject
The first central question investigated in this study is focused on how the male's rate and intensity of porn consumption in a relationship, has a negative correlation with the self-esteem of the women and their perception on relationship quality, and sexual satisfaction. The second central question investigated in this study questions whether the women's self-esteem can reveal a connection between the male's rate and intensity of porn consumption with the relationship quality and sexual satisfaction in the relationship. The third question is similar to the latter question where the length of the relationship is the factor reveal the connection between the male's rate and intensity of porn consumption with the relationship quality and sexual satisfaction in the relationship.
There is a new threat to society, an up and coming monster slowly awakening from its deep slumber. Pornography is this monster and it is a problem. Pornography has been around since the mid-1600’s, during the 1970’s the industry was revolutionized by the beginning of the internet and the changes in social mores, allowing them to create more uncommon and risque media. Since that time though it has only grown into a bigger problem for many people, which can become an addiction. Pornography is a growing addiction and it can cause the user lots of harm because, it changes the way the userś brain works, cause you to become violent, and can change the way you look at and love others.
dominated, or should be treated as if they did’, that it is comparable to speech
Pornography is a part of society that is quickly becoming a norm. It is talked about in television shows, news stories, and even everyday life. Robert Jensen (2007) states, “Pornography has become normalized, mainstreamed” (p. 16), and he is not wrong. However, it seems that it is not quite as normalized for women. Throughout Jensen’s book, he talks about how pornography is shaping the culture, how it is affecting men, and how it is affecting men’s view of women. However, he never really talks about how pornography affects women. This is an issue because women do watch porn. According to Jensen, porn producers put the number at somewhere around 20% of porn consumers are women. That may not seem like a lot, but the way pornography is talked about, the expectation would be for that number to be closer to zero. Three out of four women that I interviewed said that they either currently or used to watch pornography. The fact is that women watch porn, but they’ve been socialized to hide it and to not talk about it.
Pornographic images have been around for years, archeologist throughout the world have found images carved in stone. Within the last 30 years, how pornography is viewed has changed, from having to travel to a rough part of town to personally purchase a magazine or video, to the ability to obtain explicate videos on your phone. With the Internet, users are now able to access pornography anonymously, having access to millions of images, mostly for free. The accessibility, affordability and anonymity takes the effort, cost and public judgment out of the equation. In the last twenty years, pornography has moved into mainstream society.