Is the Pornography Industry Detrimental to Society?
Statisticians studying pornography reveal trends that show that boys are exposed to porn at younger and younger ages. To date, eleven is the average age a boy first sees pornography. In a Canadian study, one-third of 13-year-old boys admitted to viewing pornography, while a UK study showed that one-third of boys ages 14-16 admitted to having seen pornography by the time they were ten or younger. The majority of these children (81%) stated they had access to pornography at home, and 61% said they had access to porn via cellular phone.
Over time, consumers interested in porn request ever more novel forms of sexually explicit content. To which, Internet pornographers, as well as activists who argue against the safety of pornography, frequently discuss the increasing requests by consumers for more violent forms of pornography. Because children have so many ways to access porn today, even unintentionally (many pornographers create websites under the names of children’s cartoon characters or shows, and frequently lure in young viewers this way, as many parents can attest) violent or disturbing images of coercive sex represented in porn are questionable in terms of their safety on the psyches of children, and even on adults.
Why Do People Seek Pornography?
Much research has been done to determine the effects of the use of pornography, but little has been done to determine why people use it. There is no universal standard for a definition of the term “pornography,” but it is commonly understood to be any depiction of sexual images or acts intended to elicit arousal. Pornography is distinguished from the erotic which also portrays sensuality and is intended to elicit arousal, but which does not as frequently represent figures of unequal power or coercive sexual circumstances.
Researchers know that people have viewed pornography in one form or another across time and cultures, and that men are, on the whole, more likely to consume it. It is also known that religious or conservative leanings that espouse negative views of pornography do not limit the use of porn. In fact, places where individuals with these views live in higher numbers may have higher rates of porn consumption. It is hypothesized that this may be due to a quality of social repression; that which we repress, we are secretly compelled to search out.
Evolutionary psychologists believe porn is viewed by men in higher numbers due to a simple fact of evolutionary biology. In order to propagate the species (which is every species’ primary urge, after all), the male human was wired to desire spreading his seed often and much. He sought novelty in sexual experiences, and young, attractive partners-ensuring they would be healthy enough to mate and reproduce. Women, on the other hand, could only safely bear and raise so many offspring over one lifetime. They sought less novelty and desired more stable mates who would be good caretakers. Evolutionarily speaking, humans are still wired to seek the same qualities.
Research shows that, while some women do visualize sexual scenes during masturbation, far more men do so than most women. Men are more visual and seek more novelty in sexual partners over time. It is postulated that if men do not seek multiple partners literally, they may use porn to fantasize seeking them, thereby assuaging an evolutionary impulse. Again, it is not that women are not aroused by pornography (even when disturbed or possibly angered by pornography, studies reveal a person can be aroused). And many women are consumers of pornography themselves.
Effects on Relationships
One area of study has been the effect of pornography on the health of relationships. Much research has been done to study correlations in self-esteem in women and the rate of pornographic use in their partners. In these studies, a woman who expressed distress at her partner’s use of porn was more likely to believe her partner viewed more than the “normal” amount, and more likely to report a less than satisfactory relationship. Such women were viewed as having poor self-evaluations, although it was not determined whether this was because of a partner’s porn consumption habits or other factors.
Women who reported being content with their partner’s porn consumption, and/or engaging in the regular viewing of porn with a partner comprised a smaller group, but were notable.
Supply and Demand
A feature of the use of pornography in a capitalist society is that it is perhaps governed more by the laws of consumption than the laws of biology. Wherever there are men and women who can make money modeling scenes of sexual exploit, and where there are business owners who can profit from the work of these men and women, there will always be pornography.
The question then is how we determine what is beneficial to our societal mores and to the development of the growing sexualities of children and people. If, as a society, we believe an open embrace of self and sexuality is the most human approach, then an acceptance of an ancient business practice may be in order. Recognizing that even the most natural human urges can become unnaturally craven-addictive, maligned, damaged-when left to the whims of profiteers is important. Accepting is one thing; allowing, quite another.
Young children exposed to the worst pornographer’s have to offer cannot possibly be expected to understand or process those images alone. We must be willing to wake up to the reality that our children are witnessing often extreme pornographic content at earlier ages than we did, and be willing to discuss this with them in a way that is not shaming, but careful, caring, and educational. We must be prepared to talk honestly about the topic of pornography in our relationships-why we seek it, why we use it, and why it’s universally human to do so. And if a problem exists for one or both partners, we need to be willing to discuss that openly and without judgment as well. Sensitive issues only become systemic to societies when they are not dealt with at the personal level. What was that about repression again?