Upping the Ante: The Increasing Harm of Pornography

Some form of pornography has been around through the ages. However, some drastic, dangerous changes have taken place since sexual images were painted on ancient Greek pottery. Today’s technology has provided endless live-action (even real-time) videos that are being consumed at a rate like no other time before.

Because of Hugh Hefner, porn of the 1950s transformed from something that was a secretive industry, to an open pursuit of all sophisticated and respectable men. In the 1980s, pornography came into homes via rental video. Then came the 1990s and the innovation of the internet. Suddenly, not only was pornography easier than ever to view, but also more difficult than ever to avoid.

The Escalation of Porn’s Content

Today, violent, graphic, and extreme pornography is increasingly available because of the internet. Sex fused with humiliation and hatred is almost standard practice online in freely accessible content and becoming more so in the private bedrooms of people around the world. In other words, the softcore of years past is now mainstream, and the hardcore of yesterday has become the softcore of today. [1] There are hardly any limits to what is considered acceptable or unacceptable in the porn world — anything goes.

For example, sexual violence in pornography is fairly commonplace. A number of studies have analyzed the content of popular porn scenes and found that even by the lowest estimates, 1 in 3 show sexual violence or aggression. [2] One study even found that nearly 9 in 10 porn scenes showed sexual violence or aggression, and almost half had verbal aggression! [3] These depictions are so normal in porn that 1 in 8 titles shown to first-time porn site visitors describe sexual violence. [4]

And unfortunately, the sexual violence in porn isn’t always acted. Many sites feature porn performers who have been coerced, defrauded, or even forced into participating in acts without true consent, which actually legally qualifies as sex trafficking. [5] [6] In fact, pornography can be so effective at normalizing violence that it is often used as a tool to groom and desensitize sexual abuse or trafficking victims to the sexual acts they will be forced or coerced to do.

The Classic Argument

Classic arguments are that porn has been a part of life since the beginning of time, it is a natural part of being human, and it isn’t all that harmful. These claims don’t hold up when you realize how different porn is now than ever before. Really, the comparison isn’t even close.

Porn is now vastly more available, affordable, accessible, anonymous, and extreme than even a decade ago. The centerfolds and back-room videos were not even close to the content kids have direct and immediate access to at this moment right on their personal handheld devices. Further, the negative impacts of consuming pornography now reach far beyond your loved one finding out — porn can harm consumers, relationships, and our society.

The Good News

Believe it or not, there is good news! In response to the unprecedented spread of content and the tangible harmful effects of porn, there is also an increasing number of resources and people who are striving to help. By disseminating the facts and having conversations about this subject, everyone can join the fight for real love.

Citations

[1] Doidge, N. (2007). The Brain That Changes Itself. New York: Penguin Books.

[2] Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041–3053. doi:10.1007/s10508–020–01773–0

[3] Bridges, A. J., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C., & Liberman, R. (2010). Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos: a content analysis update. Violence against women, 16(10), 1065–1085. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801210382866

[4] Vera-Gray, F., McGlynn, C., Kureshi, I., & Butterby, K. (2021). Sexual violence as a sexual script in mainstream online pornography. The British Journal of Criminology, doi:10.1093/bjc/azab035

[5] Donevan, M. (2021). “In this industry, you’re no longer human”: An exploratory study of women’s experiences in pornography production in Sweden. Dignity, 6(3) doi:10.23860/dignity.2021.06.03.01

[6] Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. Pub. L. №106–386, Section 103 (8) (A).

Retrieved by https://www.congress.gov/106/plaws/publ386/PLAW-106publ386.pdf