An Essay on Porn

I had to write this essay for my English class a few semesters ago. Clearly, this isn't my usual writing style. But it has good information and is worth putting up. 

Media ought to be held accountable for the behavior of children, and viewers in general, because of the harmful material it makes available, especially pornographic and sex laced messages, which affects humans in a negative way. All of the accountability should not be put solely on the media outlets however, as individual consumers play a causal role as well when it comes to the effects of media consumption, and thus some of the accountability, or at least moral obligation, is on the individual as well. Because some media is pornography, and pornography is harmful, then at least some of the media should be regulated in order to protect the general public welfare. 

What is media? Media is the plural form of the word medium, which is just a means of communication to convey some sort of message. Under this definition, even a picture of Dorian Grey can be considered media. But, when we consider regulation of the media, this is not what we mean. The definition, therefore, needs to be narrowed in our discussion to potentially harmful media especially, including modern uses of such as radio, the Internet, newspapers and magazines. However, I would like to focus my discussion on regulation of the Internet because the Internet is rapidly becoming the dominant form of media consumed today.

          

Television will become obsolete by the end of this century. Consider that 20% of television programs that are initially aired on television are now watched on a computer screen through internet access. At this rate, old fashioned TV in a box will be gone soon. One reason for the demise of TV is the fact that the internet has the advantage of being able to record and save shows on your computer. Should you ever have the misfortune of missing a show on TV in a box, you might have to wait until next week for a rerun. With the internet, you can find aired episodes instantly. The television set has no such advantage. Additional devices, like DVR’s and the new Roku, can offer this feature, but they are costly and the internet provides these devices essentially for free.  The internet is the dominant form of media, but is it as accessible?

The internet can now be accessed on phones, tablets of all varieties, and even game consoles. Whatever used to be made available primarily through a private home computer is now available through a cheaper Android phone. What follows from this is culmination of all previous sorts of media talked about being readily available virtually anywhere. Radio, news, television, business, and personal communication are now being culminated on the most simple of objects (even skin) and are made possible because of the internet.

How much of the media is porn then? Even if pornography were shown to be harmful, is the scope large enough that it would make a significant impact? I think so. Of all websites, about 12% are dedicated to pornography, or about 25,500,000 million websites (Doran). Of course, just because pornography websites exist doesn’t mean they are always being watched. However, every second, there are about 28,000 internet users viewing pornography (Doran). In the end, that makes up 70% of men aged 18-24 (Doran). Pornography isn’t just for men since 1 in 3 porn viewers are women (internet-filter-reviews.com). It is clear that pornography is widely available and widely used.

One needn’t know a particular pornography website to view it. Every day, there are 2,500,000,000 emails sent containing pornography, about 34% unsolicited (Doran). That is about 8% of all emails. Pornographic emails are not sent to just adults, and legitimate pornography websites will ask for age verification when soliciting email addresses. Nevertheless, such emails could explain why pornography is exposed to children. In fact, the average age a child is exposed to pornography is age 11 (Doran). This is typically a 5th or 6th grader.

Children and sexuality are topics that, when put together, are an ominous, yet persistent, theme in human history. Of all Google and Yahoo! searches 25% are for sex (the number one searched for term), and 116,000 of such searches are specifically for child pornography. With the ease of communication through internet, underage children are self-producing pornography, that is, they have made explicit content featuring themselves totally on their own with no pressure from anyone. It is not clear whether these children are intentionally indulging pedophiles, or if they are producing these images for peers (Leary). No matter for whom it is intended, the new pool of child pornography images are still getting out onto the internet. Legislators and lawyers have found it difficult to prosecute someone in these cases. 

The business that pornography pulls in is reflective of the demand. Worldwide internet revenue of pornography is, on average, $5,000,000,000 (Doran). More than half of that revenue comes from the U.S (Doran). Not being exclusive to internet, the worldwide revenue is about $97,006,000,000, $13,300,000,000 of which is generated in the U.S (internet-filter-review.com). To break this down, that means every second, $158 dollars is spent on pornography on the media, despite much of the pornography in the media being free. For these reasons, we can see that if pornography is found to be harmful, then the scope of that harm, and the money invested in, is huge.

But is pornography actually harmful? Researchers from various fields of discipline have come to a uniform conclusion: yes, it is very harmful. The Social Costs of Pornography, edited by James Stoner and Donna Hughes and published by the Witherspoon Institute, documents all the very real negative effects of pornography. In the field of clinical psychology, contributor Ana Bridges from the University of Arkansas, has found that pornography has had negative effects on interpersonal relationships, that is, relationships between individuals, especially in romantically involved heterosexual couples are particularly harmed.

Men who view porn, her research shows, lose the ability to relate or be close to women. Since 70% of men view porn, it could be that those 70% are at the same risk, if they haven’t suffered this yet (Doran). Wives in these relationships often report distress when they find out that their husbands watch pornography. The often have feelings of betrayal, mistrust, or even devastation. Sexual satisfaction decreases for both parties. From here, the wreckage gains momentum. Men who view porn tend to not value marital fidelity, and are more comfortable with casual sex. Because of this, men who watch porn online are three times more likely to cheat on their spouse. Of course, this will lead to divorce and family break ups, which is exactly what we see. Dr. Jill Manning says in her book The Impact of Pornography on Women, “In my office, and the offices of many of my colleagues, however, there appears to be increased insecurity, body image issues, sexual anxieties and relationship difficulties for female consumers of pornography.” Women, who not only suffer in the relationships but also with self-image, are clearly the victims of such situations.

Because pornography affects the heads of families, it must also affect children as well. If you remember, the first exposure to pornography a child has is at the age of eleven. It doesn’t take long then for a child to get addicted to pornography. Addiction is already a mental affliction in and of itself, and to be addicted to pornography as young as fourteen surely is a travesty, a defiling of our youth. A study in Italy found that young boys who viewed pornography “were more likely to report having sexually harassed a peer or having forced someone to have sex” (Stoner). Let me emphasize the significance of this study. It is not the case that harassments were filed and these young men caught, but they freely admitted to sexual harassing and raping their peers. Unfortunately, girls who view porn will find themselves on the other end. Girls who view pornography are more likely to be victims of rape. It is clear that viewing pornography, as the book says, raises the probability of one engaging in sexually risky behavior.

The long term effects are also recorded. Like any addiction, repeated use of a sexual stimulant will result in the stimulant losing its desired effect, and therefore inspire a search for a more intense or even taboo sexual stimulant (Landau). Industries like child pornography have been on the increase as a result. The effects this increase of vulgarity on the subjects is interesting. Stoner agreed when he says “Users often report disgust and shame at finding themselves stimulated by images that would have once repulsed.” But as time goes on and thus the effects of pornography on the subject, these feelings of guilt subside. These subjects “become de-sensitized to the barrage of imagery, and as a result, child pornography […] often lose their ability to shock and disgust.” This is a dangerous trend.

Does constant exposure to pornography make one a zoophile or pedophile? Interestingly, the answer is no. Margaret Healy stated in a paper titled “Child Pornography: An International Perspective” that “with the emergence of […] child pornography, a new […] consumer is being identified. They are individuals who may not have a sexual preference for children, but who have seen the gamut of adult pornography and who are searching for more bizarre material.” Yet not much in their behavior can distinguish the person who is watching child pornography because that is what he is attracted to and a person who is watching child pornography because he has already seen so much pornography. The lines have become blurred.

The effects pornography have had are global, and it is becoming overwhelming. Patrick Trueman, United States Department of Justice as Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Criminal Division reports, “According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the main sex exploitation offense referred to U.S. attorneys shifted from sex abuse (73%) in 1994 to child pornography (69%) in 2006. Child pornography matters accounted for 82% of the growth in sex exploitation matters referred from 1994 to 2006.” Of course, what did you expect in a country where the pornography industry is booming? The government is obviously aware, but what is to be done? The most obvious, and perhaps natural, reaction is to outlaw pornography completely. It is difficult though for the rubber to meet the road in this instance.

The most common defense of pornography in America is that pornography is defended by the 1st Amendment. For the sake of argument, let us grant that argument. It wouldn’t be a good response because if the costs of pornography affect the society as a whole, then it becomes a threat to general public, and that takes precedent over individual rights. Political philosopher Robert P. George gives this analogy, “Theorists of public morality […] have noticed that apparently private acts of vice, when they multiply and become widespread, can imperil important public interests. […] Considered as isolated acts, someone’s recreational use of narcotics or hallucinogenic drugs, for example, may affect the public weal negligibly, if at all. An epidemic of drug abuse, however, though constituted by discrete, private acts of drug taking, damages the common good in myriad ways. […] Much the same is true of pornography.” The individual tastes of pornography (as immoral as they are, argued by such sexual ethicists like Roger Scruton [who also contributed to The Social Costs of Pornography] and Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse) are outweighed by, “obligations of others to respect their interests, and of governments to respect and protect them…” That is justice.

The media obviously does have a moral responsibility to provide and restrict content. Despite the money and allure of pornography, it is not difficult for business in control of media to restrict it. Steve Jobs, talking about media content on the iPhone has said, “However, we do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone.” However, media must fight off the demand, and the demand comes from the individuals, so much of the campaign against porn cannot be done solely through outlawing porn. There must be public education and awareness similar to the campaign against the tobacco industry.

Should the media be held responsible for the behavior of children? Yes, I do think so, not just because of the children’s actions but the actions of others towards children. These effects come as a result of pornography, which is too easily available through the media. Since all pornography should be regulated, then some media should be regulated as well. The objection concerning the 1st Amendment was answered, and suggestions of what is to be done were briefly sketched out. Think of the children.

Works Cited

Arevalo, Ellyn, and Mark Regnerus. “Commercialized Sex and Human Bondage « Public Discourse.” Public Discourse. Witherspoon Institute, 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. .

Bryson, Jennifer S. “Pornography and National Security « Public Discourse.” Public Discourse. Witherspoon Institute, 12 Aug. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. .

Eberstadt, Mary, and Mary Anne. Layden. The Social Costs of Pornography : A Statement of Findings and Recommendations. Princeton, N. J.: Witherspoon Institute, 2010. Print.

George, Robert P. “Pornography, Public Morality, and Constitutional Rights « Public Discourse.” Public Discourse. Witherspoon Institute, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. .

Holloway, Carson. “Pornography and the Muslim World « Public Discourse.” Public Discourse. Witherspoon Institute, 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. .

Hough, Cassandra. “Post-Kinsey: Is There Anything Normal About Pornography? « Public Discourse.” Public Discourse. Witherspoon Institute, 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. .

Leary, Mary Grey. “The Right and Wrong Responses to “Sexting” « Public Discourse." Public Discourse. Witherspoon Institute, 12 May 2009. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. .

Paul, Pamela. Pornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families. New York: Owl, 2006. Print.

Robinson, Blake. “Pornography and Socially Responsible Investing