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On May 19, 2015, news rooms blew up as it was revealed that “19 Kids and Counting” star Josh Duggar molested five underage girls in his teen years, two of whom were his own sisters. On August 19, 2015, Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle was charged with repeatedly paying teenagers for sexual acts, along with possessing copious amounts of child pornography. On August 21, 2015, it was reported that Ex-Ravens cheerleader Molly Shattuck plead guilty to committing statutory rape with a 15 year old boy. Our media is filled to the brim with sex scandals left and right, crowding social media, magazines and cable news. The question that needs to be asked is “why?” Why the sexual infatuation with underage girls? Why the perception that women must look like perfect dolls in order for them to be attractive? Why the sick thrill of non-consensual sex? The answer is staring us in the face, yet remains a subject that few people want to talk about.
Erotica, playboys, “adult films”—the subject of pornography is not new to the scene, nor is it going anywhere. Before the phone starts ringing with angry teenagers defending their rights to porn, however, let me lay out a few statistics. According to online website “Internet Safety 101,” porn sites receive more visits each month than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined. Many don’t find this surprising—especially since 30 percent of the internet industry is dedicated to pornography. What is shocking is the fact that google searches for “teen porn”—porn depicting underage actors—have more than tripled between 2005-2013. Not only that, but teens who view X-rated material are six times more likely to force someone into doing something sexual either online or in person, compared to teens who don’t view X-rated material. This is where the major problem lies. For the first time in history, the content of porn is reaching beyond the darkened sanctuary of a bedroom; instead contributing to the hyper-sexualization of minors, as well as subliminally contributing to America’s commonly held rape-culture.
Like pornography, rape culture is another topic that few people seem to want to discuss, given the extremely sensitive nature of the subject. And even more sensitive a topic is the correlation between both rape-culture and women’s inferiority and pornography. Women’s rights activist Andrea Dworkin once said that “equality cannot co-exist with rape, and it cannot co-exist with pornography, because implicit in [both] is the inferiority of women.” Heterosexual pornography is based around the idea that women are sexual objects, to be had and then tossed away, without a thought given to their actual worth. Women are the submissive; the toys and items. They are there for instant gratification only, never mind any thought about flirting, connection or basic permissions of consent. That’s all tossed out the window as the lights go down; to sum it up in the words of reporter Jacob Phillips, “[Women] are different from a sex toy only in degree, not in kind,” meaning that, just like sex toys, they are simply there for pleasure and above all, disposable.
Not only is pornography degrading towards women, it can have damaging, and lasting effects on men as well. Like a drug, pornography can have lasting—sometimes even permanent—changes on the brain, from memory loss, changed levels of dopamine and even the development of Attention Deficit Disorder. Porn addictions aren’t something that only men are faced with—but given that the majority of porn viewers are men, it seems necessary to point out the dangers. Another problem faced by men is that they have the whole of society telling them that they are powerless against the temptation of porn. This simply isn’t true. To suggest that men are unable to resist watching porn is like comparing men to wild beasts with no conscious thought. Not only is this overwhelmingly false, it’s also a degrading claim to make. “To say that men, by their very natures, are slaves to their sexual appetites is to deny them free will—and their very humanity,” said New York Post reporter Baleigh Scott. “‘Nature’ is just another word for ‘prejudiced stereotype’.”
The cards are all on the table. Pornography has some serious consequences, for both females and males. The question now is—what to do about it? Is it something that needs to be censored? Or is this a subject to be handled within the family? I can’t answer this question, for I don’t have an answer. There’s no hiding the fact that there’s a serious porn epidemic within our country, but as to what to do about it—that’s ultimately up to each individual to decide.
Porn is all around us, in many different ways, shapes and forms. It’s in the sexist remark that the boy in your English class muttered under his breath. It’s in the pushup bras, spandex and lingerie that the girl at lunch wears. It’s in the silence of hundreds of sexual assault victims -male and female- who have been taught to keep quiet. It’s all around us, and it’s not going away any time soon. Maybe this article meant something to you; maybe you identified with it, maybe it started a conversation. Maybe it didn’t. Either way, the next time you’re staring at the screen, debating to click that tempting link, pause and ask yourself—what’s the real cost?
For resources on how to get help for sexual addiction and sexual assault, visit our resource post.
