Opposition to pornography explained

Reasons for opposition to pornography include religious objections and feminist concerns, as well as alleged harmful effects, such as pornography addiction and erectile dysfunction. Pornography addiction is not a condition recognized by the DSM-5,[1] the ICD-11, or the DSM-5-TR.[2] [3] Anti-pornography movements have allied disparate social activists in opposition to pornography, from social conservatives to harm reduction advocates. The definition of "pornography" varies between countries and movements, and many make distinctions between pornography, which they oppose, and erotica, which they consider acceptable. Sometimes opposition will deem certain forms of pornography more or less harmful, while others draw no such distinctions.

A 2018 Gallup survey reported that 43% of U.S. adults believe that pornography is "morally acceptable", a 7% increase from 2017.[4] From 1975 to 2012, the gender gap in pornography opposition has widened, with women remaining more opposed to pornography than men, and men's opposition has declined faster.[5]

Religious views

See main article: Religious views on pornography.

Most world religions have positions in opposition to pornography from a variety of rationales,[6] [7] [8] including concerns about modesty, human dignity, chastity and other virtues. There are numerous[9] verses in the Bible which are cited as condemning pornography or adultery, notably for Christians, in the Sermon on the Mount which states "that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly condemns pornography because it "offends against chastity" and "does grave injury to the dignity of its participants" since "each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others".[10]

Islam also forbids adultery, and various verses of the Quran have been cited as condemning pornography, including Quran 24:31 which tells men to "restrain their eyes" from looking sexually at women.[11]

Feminist views

Some feminists are opposed to pornography, arguing that it is an industry which exploits women and is complicit in violence against women, both in its production (where they present evidence that abuse and exploitation of women performing in pornography is rampant) and in its consumption (where pornography eroticizes the domination, humiliation, and coercion of women, and reinforces sexual and cultural attitudes that are complicit in rape and sexual harassment).[12] They charge that pornography contributes to the male-centered objectification of women and thus to sexism.[13] Andrea Dworkin was a feminist famously opposed to the pornography industry, and proposed the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance in several American cities in the 1980s. In 2015, feminist Gail Dines founded Culture Reframed, which responds to the growing pornography industry by providing education and support for healthy child and youth development.[14]

However, many other feminists are opposed to censorship, and have argued against the introduction of anti-porn legislation in the United States, among them Betty Friedan, Kate Millett, Karen DeCrow, Wendy Kaminer and Jamaica Kincaid.[15] Some sex-positive feminists actively support pornography that depicts female sexuality in a positive way, without objectifying or demeaning women, whereas some other feminists don't see any problem with the industry in its current state, given the subjective nature of perceiving humiliation or aggressiveness in a consensual context as something demeaning or negative.[16]

Conservative views

Religious conservatives commonly oppose pornography, along with a subset of feminists, though their reasoning may differ. Many religious conservatives view pornography as a threat to children. Some conservative Catholics and Protestants oppose pornography because they believe that it encourages non-procreative sex, encourages abortion, and can be connected to the rise of sexually transmitted diseases.[17] [18]

Concerned Women For America (CWA) is a conservative organization that opposes same-sex marriage and abortion. When discussing violence against women, the CWA often uses pornography to illustrate their points. The CWA asserts that pornography is a major reason why men inflict harm on women.[19] The CWA argues that pornography convinces men to disrespect their wives and neglect their marriages, thereby threatening the sanctity of traditional marriage. Unlike other issues CWA has tackled, they are less forcefully anti-feminist when it comes to the topic of pornography, as many of their points surrounding why pornography is distasteful parallels those of anti-pornography feminists.

Some extremist Christian and far-right groups have issued death threats towards porn managers and sex workers.[20] [21] [22]

Harm-based views

See also: Effects of pornography.

Dolf Zillmann argued in the 1986 publication "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography" that extensive viewing of pornographic material produces many unfavorable political effects, including a decreased respect for long-term monogamous relationships, and an attenuated desire for procreation. He describes the theoretical basis of these experimental findings:

The values expressed in pornography clash so obviously with the family concept, and they potentially undermine the traditional values that favor marriage, family, and children... Pornographic scripts dwell on sexual engagements of parties who have just met, who are in no way attached or committed to each other, and who will part shortly, never to meet again... Sexual gratification in pornography is not a function of emotional attachment, of kindness, of caring, and especially not of continuance of the relationship, as such continuance would translate into responsibilities, curtailments, and costs...

A study by Zillman in 1982 also indicated that prolonged exposure to pornography desensitized both men and women toward victims of sexual violence. After being shown pornographic movies, test subjects were asked to judge an appropriate punishment for a rapist. The test subjects recommended incarceration terms that were significantly more lenient than those recommended by control subjects who had not watched pornography.

Some researchers like Zillman believe that pornography causes unequivocal harm to society by increasing rates of sexual assault.[23] Other researchers believe that there is a correlation between pornography and a decrease of sex crimes; exhibiting a strong disbelief in the claim that pornography is a cause of rape; mainstream science does not claim that pornography would be a cause of rape.

The appropriation of the sexually explicit in American culture is part of what has been called "the pornification of America".[24] [25]

In a 2021 review of recent pornography research, K. Camille Hoagland & Joshua B. Grubbs posit that "Specifically, mere pornography use itself was most often not associated with sexual functioning in either direction, but self-reported problematic use of pornography was consistently associated with more sexual functioning problems."[26]

The impact of pornography can vary significantly among teenagers and across cultures, depending on specific constellations of personality traits. Research indicates that special attention may be required for highly frequent consumers of pornography, those who actively seek sexually violent content, and individuals with additional risk factors.[27]

Male adolescents at a more advanced pubertal stage, characterized as sensation seekers with weak or troubled family relations, tended to use pornography more frequently. This usage correlated with more permissive sexual attitudes and stronger gender-stereotypical sexual beliefs. Additionally, it appeared to be associated with engaging in sexual intercourse, having greater experience with casual sex behavior, and an increased likelihood of involvement in sexual aggression, both as perpetrators and victims.[28] The authors of the review state that the impact of pornography upon the brains of teenagers is a suggestion (what scientific literature suggests) rather than a scientific fact.[28]

Rape culture is often discussed when it comes to pornography, and is defined by society victim-blaming women because of their rape. It is known as society making rape less substantial. Some of the most searched titles on pornography websites is rape scenes.[29]

In 2016, model and actress Pamela Anderson and Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach co-authored a viral Wall Street Journal opinion piece, in which they called online pornography a "public hazard of unprecedented seriousness."[30] [31] [32] [33] The two called for a "sensual revolution" to replace "pornography with eroticism, the alloying of sex with love, of physicality with personality, of the body's mechanics with imagination, of orgasmic release with binding relationships."[32] They later gave a joint lecture at Oxford University to over 1,000 people.[34] The two also wrote a book together, Lust for Love (2018), about how meaningful, passionate sex has been declining, and calling for a new sensual revolution that emphasizes partners connecting in the bedroom.[34] [35]

Some studies suggest that children and youths are more susceptible to the neurological effects of pornography consumption than adults, however this lacks direct empirical evidence.[36] This can be attributed to considerable ethical problems with performing such research.[37] Since those problems are a huge obstacle, it is likely that such research will not be allowed, thus possibly it could never be known.[38] [39] Rory Reid (UCLA) declared "Universities don't want their name on the front page of a newspaper for an unethical study exposing minors to porn."[38] [39]

While the World Health Organization's ICD-11 (2022) has recognized compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD) as an "impulsive control disorder",[40] CSBD is not an addiction,[41] [42] [43] [44] and the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5 (2013) and the DSM-5-TR (2022) do not classify compulsive pornography consumption as a mental disorder or a behavioral addiction.[45] [46] [47] [48] [49] According to Emily F. Rothman, "The professional public health community is not behind the recent push to declare pornography a public health crisis."[50] The ideas supporting the "crisis" have been described as pseudoscientific.[51]

See also

Further reading

Anti-pornography advocacy

Criticism of anti-pornography

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Book: Psychiatry Online . DSM Library . 2013 . 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 . American Psychiatric Association . 978-0-89042-555-8.
  2. Book: Martinez-Gilliard, Erin . Sex, Social Justice, and Intimacy in Mental Health Practice: Incorporating Sexual Health in Approaches to Wellness . Taylor & Francis . 2023 . 978-1-000-84578-5 . 5 March 2023 . unpaginated . 'Sex addiction' is also referred to as a diagnosis or presenting problem. Sex addiction is not a diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR and identified as Compulsive Sexual Behavior in the ICD-11 rather than an issue of addiction. . 4 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230404230920/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1yqEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT113 . live .
  3. Prause . Nicole . Binnie . James . Iatrogenic effects of Reboot/NoFap on public health: A preregistered survey study . Sexualities . SAGE Publications . 22 February 2023 . 1363-4607 . 10.1177/13634607231157070 . 136346072311570. 257172274 .
  4. Web site: More Americans Say Pornography Is Morally Acceptable . 2018-06-05 . Gallup.com . en . 2020-03-12.
  5. Lykke . Lucia . Cohen . Philip . 2015 . The Widening Gender Gap in Opposition to Pornography, 1975–2012 . 10.1177/2329496515604170 . Social Currents . 2 . 4 . 307–323 . 44232681 .
  6. Web site: Slick . Matt . What does the Bible say about pornography? Is it wrong? . 6 May 2013 . 2008-12-11.
  7. Web site: Freeman . Tzvi . What's Wrong With Pornography? . 6 May 2013.
  8. Web site: Mujahid . Abdul Malik . Islam on Pornography: A Definite No-No . 6 May 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130509001316/http://www.soundvision.com/Info/life/porn/isporn.asp . 9 May 2013.
  9. Web site: Bible Verses about Pornography . biblestudytools.com.
  10. Book: Catechism of the Catholic Church . 1997 . CCC 2354.
  11. Web site: Rashid . Qasim . Muslim men need to understand that the Quran says they should observe hijab first, not women . . 29 March 2017 . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/muslim-men-hijab-forcing-women-islam-teaching-mohammed-quran-modesty-a7655191.html . 2022-05-24 . subscription . live.
  12. Morgan, Robin (1974). "Theory and Practice: Pornography and Rape". In: Going Too Far: The Personal Chronicle of a Feminist. Random House. .
  13. MacKinnon, Catharine (1987). Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 146–150.
  14. Web site: Culture Reframed . Culture Reframed.
  15. Carol . Avedon . The Harm of Porn: Just Another Excuse to Censor . The Law . London . June–July–August 1995 . 1360-807X . https://web.archive.org/web/20150709041905/http://www.fiawol.demon.co.uk/FAC/harm.htm . 2015-07-09 .
  16. Nadine Strossen, Web site: Feminist Critique of the Feminist Critique of Pornography, A Essay . core.ac.uk . 12 October 2021.
  17. Sherkat . Darren . Ellison . Christopher . 1997 . The Cognitive Structure of a Moral Crusade: Conservative Protestantism and Opposition to Pornography . 2580526 . Social Forces . 75 . 3 . 957–980 . 10.1093/sf/75.3.957.
  18. Web site: Nzwili . Fredrick . As underage pregnancies rise, Kenyan bishops warn against sex ed, abortion . https://web.archive.org/web/20210329072749/https://www.catholicnews.com/as-underage-pregnancies-rise-kenyan-bishops-warn-against-sex-ed-abortion/ . dead . March 29, 2021 . . 26 November 2020 . en . 23 June 2020.
  19. Book: Schreiber, Ronnee . Righting Feminism . Oxford University Press . 2008 . New York.
  20. Web site: Cole . Samantha . 13 April 2021 . The Crusade Against Pornhub Is Going to Get Someone Killed . live . Vice . https://web.archive.org/web/20210413220002/https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7bj9w/anti-porn-extremism-pornhub-traffickinghub-exodus-cry-ncose . 13 April 2021 . 23 February 2022.
  21. News: Rosenbach . Marcel . Müller . Ann-Katrin . Höfner . Roman . Baumgärtner . Maik . Spiegel . Der . Hatred Against Women: The Dark World of Extremist Misogyny . Der Spiegel . 10 March 2021 . 25 March 2021.
  22. Web site: Ley . David J. . Is One Sexual Behavior Triggering Certain Groups? . Psychology Today . 27 October 2018 . 12 January 2022.
  23. Simmons . Catherine A. . Lehmann . Peter . Collier-Tenison . Shannon . Linking male use of the sex industry to controlling behaviors in violent relationships: an exploratory analysis . . 14 . 4 . 406 - 417 . 10.1177/1077801208315066 . 18359877 . April 2008 . 19294687.
  24. Web site: Whitehead . John W. . Miley Cyrus and the Pornification of America . rutherford.org . The Rutherford Institute . 7 September 2014.
  25. News: Aucoin . Don . The pornification of America. From music to fashion to celebrity culture, mainstream entertainment reflects an X-rated attitude like never before . Boston Globe . January 24, 2006 . 7 September 2014.
  26. Hoagland . K. Camille . Grubbs . Joshua B. . 2021-09-01 . Pornography Use and Holistic Sexual Functioning: a Systematic Review of Recent Research . Current Addiction Reports . en . 8 . 3 . 408–421 . 10.1007/s40429-021-00378-4 . 2196-2952.
  27. Malamuth . N. . Huppin . M. . June 2005 . Pornography and Teenagers: The Importance of Individual Differences . Adolescent Medicine Clinics . 16 . 2 . 315–326 . 10.1016/j.admecli.2005.02.004 . 1547-3368.
  28. Peter . Jochen . Valkenburg . Patti M. . 2016-05-03 . Adolescents and Pornography: A Review of 20 Years of Research . The Journal of Sex Research . en . 53 . 4–5 . 509–531 . 10.1080/00224499.2016.1143441 . 0022-4499. free .
  29. Makin . David A. . Morczek . Amber L. . The dark side of internet searches: a macro level assessment of rape culture . International Journal of Cyber Criminology . 9 . 1 . 1 - 23 . 10.5281/zenodo.22057 . June 2015 .
  30. Web site: Take the Pledge: No More Indulging Porn . Shmuley . Boteach . Pamela . Anderson . August 31, 2016 . The Wall Street Journal.
  31. Web site: Talking Porn With Pamela Anderson and Rabbi Shmuley . The Observer . Ken . Kurson . September 20, 2016.
  32. Daniel Sugarman. "Shmuley Boteach and Pamela Anderson in joint warning on dangers of pornography," The Jewish Chronicle.
  33. Web site: October 14, 2016 . The playmate and the rabbi: unlikely bedfellows fighting internet porn . January 20, 2021 . The Guardian . Emine . Saner . en.
  34. Web site: Sex tips from Pamela Anderson and an Orthodox rabbi . Doree . Lewak . The New York Post . April 18, 2018.
  35. Web site: Porn is ravishing a generation of good men . The Jerusalem Post . August 13, 2018 . Shmuley . Boteach.
  36. Brown . Jennifer A. . Wisco . Jonathan J. . The components of the adolescent brain and its unique sensitivity to sexually explicit material . Journal of Adolescence . Elsevier BV . 72 . 2019 . 0140-1971 . 30754014 . 10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.01.006 . 10–13 . 73442225.
  37. Binik . Yitzchak M. . Mah . Kenneth . Kiesler . Sara . Ethical issues in conducting sex research on the internet . Journal of Sex Research . Informa UK Limited . 36 . 1 . 1999 . 0022-4499 . 10.1080/00224499909551971 . 82–90.
  38. Web site: David . Segal . David Segal (reporter) . Does porn harm children? . Dallas News . 4 April 2014 . 14 April 2021.
  39. Web site: David . Segal . Opinion - Does Porn Hurt Children? . The New York Times . 28 March 2014 . 18 April 2021.
  40. Web site: Compulsive sexual behavior disorder . 2022-03-25 . World Health Organization (ICD-11).
  41. Web site: David J. . Ley . Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder in ICD-11 . Psychology Today . 24 January 2018 . 27 March 2021.
  42. Sassover . Eli . Weinstein . Aviv . Should compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) be considered as a behavioral addiction? A debate paper presenting the opposing view . Journal of Behavioral Addictions . Akademiai Kiado Zrt. . 29 September 2020 . 11 . 2 . 166–179 . 2062-5871 . 10.1556/2006.2020.00055 . 32997646 . 9295215 . 222167039.
  43. Web site: a verified Counsellor or Therapist . Do I have compulsive sexual behaviour? . Counselling Directory . 18 January 2021 . 26 March 2022 . "Materials related to the ICD-11 make very clear that CSBD is not intended to be interchangeable with 'sex addiction', but rather is a substantially different diagnostic framework." ICD-11. World Health Organisation..
  44. Book: Neves, Silva . Compulsive Sexual Behaviours: A Psycho-Sexual Treatment Guide for Clinicians . Taylor & Francis . 2021 . 978-1-000-38710-0 . 26 March 2022 . 14 . ... materials in ICD-11 make very clear that CSBD is not intended to be interchangeable with sex addiction, but rather is a substantially different diagnostic framework.
  45. Weir . Kirsten . Is pornography addictive? . dead . Monitor on Psychology . April 2014 . 45 . 4 . 46 . 1529-4978 . 612512821 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140405232028/http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography.aspx . 2014-04-05.
  46. Book: Glyn Hudson . Allez . Sexual Diversity and Sexual Offending: Research, Assessment, and Clinical Treatment in Psychosexual Therapy. https://books.google.com/books?id=MXnAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 . 4 June 2014 . Karnac Books . 978-1-78181-368-3 . 161 . Chapter Ten. The pleasure, the power, and the perils of Internet pornography . 27 April 2019.
  47. Since it is neither of two behavioral addictions mentioned in the DSM-5 or DSM-5-TR.
  48. Book: American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR(tm)) . American Psychiatric Association Publishing . G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series . 2022 . 978-0-89042-576-3 . Conditions for Further Study . 916 . Excessive use of the Internet not involving playing of online games (e.g., excessive use of social media, such as Facebook; viewing pornography online) is not considered analogous to Internet gaming disorder, and future research on other excessive uses of the Internet would need to follow similar guidelines as suggested herein. Excessive gambling online may qualify for a separate diagnosis of gambling disorder..
  49. Book: American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR(tm)) . American Psychiatric Association Publishing . G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series . 2022 . 978-0-89042-576-3 . Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders . 543 . In addition to the substance-related disorders, this chapter also includes gambling disorder, reflecting evidence that gambling behaviors activate reward systems similar to those activated by drugs of abuse and that produce some behavioral symptoms that appear comparable to those produced by the substance use disorders. Other excessive behavioral patterns, such as Internet gaming (see “Conditions for Further Study”), have also been described, but the research on these and other behavioral syndromes is less clear. Thus, groups of repetitive behaviors, sometimes termed behavioral addictions (with subcategories such as “sex addiction,” “exercise addiction,” and “shopping addiction”), are not included because there is insufficient peer-reviewed evidence to establish the diagnostic criteria and course descriptions needed to identify these behaviors as mental disorders..
  50. Book: Rothman, Emily F. . Pornography and Public Health . Oxford University Press . 2021 . 978-0-19-007549-1 . 31 May 2022 . 2 . The professional public health community is not behind the recent push to declare pornography a public health crisis..
  51. Book: de Jong . David C. . Faulkenberry . Rachel S. . Konda . Olivia . Joyner . Berkley . Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology . Masturbation . Elsevier . 2022 . 369–378 . 10.1016/b978-0-323-91497-0.00075-8 . 9780323914987 .
  52. Web site: Shelley Lubben - My Blog, Thoughts, and Life . www.shelleylubben.com . 8 April 2018.
  53. News: Out of Pornography and Into the Light . CBN . 2010-04-18.
  54. Web site: Pro-Sex Feminism: Redefining Pornography . 2011-07-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20020809091134/http://witsendzine.com/musings/michele/ppp.htm . 2002-08-09.
  55. Web site: A Feminist Overview of Pornography . Wendy . McElroy . www.wendymcelroy.com . 8 April 2018.
  56. Web site: Search | Free Inquiry . https://web.archive.org/web/19981201205458/http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/mcelroy_17_4.html . dead . Marc . Kreidler . July 26, 2019 . 1 December 1998.
  57. 10.1007/s11930-014-0016-8 . 6 . 2 . The Emperor Has No Clothes: A Review of the 'Pornography Addiction' Model . Current Sexual Health Reports . 94–105 . 2014 . Ley . David . Prause . Nicole . Finn . Peter . 55374203.
  58. Web site: sfbg.com . sfbg.com . 8 April 2018.
  59. Web site: Pornography Must Be Tolerated . Nadine . Strossen . The Ethical Spectacle . November 1995.
  60. Book: The Columbia Reader on Lesbians and Gay Men in Media, Society, and Politics . Larry P. . Gross . James D. . Woods . 8 April 1999 . Columbia University Press . 8 April 2018 . Google Books . 9780231104463.

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