Pornography -

The Discrimination of Children and Women

Jesse Jurado




Lisa Doherty
4/1/14


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Why is pornography bad? Teenagers are well versed in the online world, and
growing concerns have been raised about teenagers watching pornography.
According to one report from Computerworld, a study from Australian researchers
links teenagers watching porn to an increased likelihood of real-life sexual
behaviors. The study included many countries, but was focused primarily in the
United States. According to the research, teens who watched pornography are
more likely to have a higher number of sexual partners, engage in a wider diversity
of sexual practices, and use alcohol or drugs in association with sexual encounters.
Teenagers are also more likely to have a higher occurrence of sexually transmitted
infections. For adults, who watch porn, the major issue is that of addiction,
sometimes adults feel like they cannot let it go; when you are addicted to
pornography you just keep watching it. Like many feel-good activities and drugs,
addiction to porn is entirely possible. The Sexual Recovery Institute states porn
addicts behave in the same manner as people who have chemical addiction; they
replace their meaningful relationships and activities with their addiction. Porn
addicts are usually isolated and can spend hours or even days locked away from
social contact while they feed their addiction. Adults have the sense about them to
make some choices quickly to remove these things (often pulling the cord, or
pushing the button on the computer losing data that was not saved). However,
children do not. Not only that, pornography is something that their brains cannot

process in a healthy manner. Their natural development can be permanently
altered. In addiction to young children being


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Exposed to pornography at an early age, they also are more exposed to computers,
Internet and filters at an early age. Because young people are so comfortable with
technology, this helps render many filters useless as they can easily break through
them from knowledge gained their own, through friends, or simply searching the
Internet. Just like alcoholics or drug abusers, porn addicts often need professional
assistance to overcome their issue. Depression may also be a problem when it
comes to frequent pornography viewing suggests Psychology Today; however,
depression may be linked to relationship status, as single men tend to view more
pornography than married men. Over all, the Psychology Today investigation
revealed both married and single men experienced moderate to severe depression
symptoms, though the results of the findings were more prevalent in those who
viewed porn frequently. People addicted to porn also tend to have issues with
physical sexual dysfunctions, compared to sex addicts who rarely report such issues.
Mens Health also noted how porn addiction can negatively affect peoples sex drive.
In addition to addiction, some people who watch pornography evolve into
sex offenders. How many sexual abusers are in prison? In a 2000 study, 76% of
Internet offenders had had prior sexual contact offenses against children. In a 2009
study 85% of Internet offenders had prior sexual contact offenses against children.

The total number of registered sex offenders nationwide in the U.S. is 747,408. In
addition the total number of



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Sex offenders under supervision of correction agencies is 265,000. And the percent of sex
offenders that will commit another sex crime after being released from jail is
approximately 2.7%. Unbelievably, the percentage of sex offenders that will commit a
crime (Non-sexual) after release from jail is 70%. These statistics are alarming as the
damage from sexual abuse continues to filter through our communities. In fact, the
percent of sexually molested boys who are molested by someone they knew is 93%, and
the percent of sexually molested girls who are molested by someone they knew is 80%.
Although not all victims become perpetrators, 30% percent of children who are sexually
abused will become sexually abusive later in life.
Before pornography there was a representation of sexual behavior in books,
pictures, statues, motion pictures, and other media that is intended to cause sexual
excitement. The distinction between pornography (illicit and condemned material) and
erotica (which is broadly tolerated) is largely subjective, and reflects changing
community standards. The word Pornography derived from the Greek Porny
(prostitute) and graphein (to write), was originally defined as any work of art or
literature depicting the life of prostitutes.

Because the very definition of pornography is subjective, a history of
pornography is nearly impossible to conceive; imagery that might be considered erotic or
even religious in one society may be condemned as pornographic in another. Thus,
European travelers to India in the 19th century were appalled by what they considered
pornographic representations of sexual contact and intercourse on Hindu temples. Most
modern observers would probably react differently. Many contemporary Muslim
societies likewise apply the label pornography to many motion pictures and television
programs that are unobjectionable in Western societies.
In the Greek society there was many sexual behaviors, often in a religious context were
common. In ancient Greece and Rome, for instance, images of sexual male organs, it was
the beginning of pornography modern psychological functions. In a modern use seems
like they celebrated erotic manuals, such as Roman poet Ovids Art Amatora which
means (Art of Love), it was the art of seduction, intrigue, and sensual view. Some of the
many stories in the Decameron, In Italy there was a poet named Giovanni Boccaccio, he
was curious of nature. This is a principal of pornography of sexual depravity and
hypocrisy of monks and other clerics. When the Greeks made or organize parties they
invited many emperors from around Europe, the people in the parties were surrounded by
sexual action situations.
How Does Pornography Rewire Your Brain?
Every thought, feeling, habit, skill, or behavior in your life has a corresponding
neuropathway those fires in your brain. These pathways are designed to function in
response to stimulation, however, as the brains reward circuitry gets entangled in a tug
of war, the brain rewires itself for addiction and new neuropath ways are created. Every

time a person views porn, or eventually even thinks about porn, the burst of dopamine
strengthens the connections between cells. The stronger the connection, the easier it
becomes for cells to yet addicted, has yet to develop sensitized weed-whacked
pathways. But the porn communicates on that path. This idea of the brain changing itself
is called neuroplasticity. Whether learning to ski, learning to speak a foreign language, or
looking at porn, the more we use a particular neuropathway, the more our brain changes,
making the pathway stronger. These neuropath ways are like footpaths across a field of
waist-high grass. Walking across the field when the grass is so high requires significant
effort. But each time you walk along the path, it gets easier. The grass gets trampled,
worn down, and eventually becomes a dirt path. Someone who doesnt watch porn, or is
not neuropathway of someone whose brain is addicted are weed-whacked and trampled
down so that they have become the paths of least resistance. Porn becomes the path of
least resistance in the brain. And the easier the path, the more likely we are to take it,
even when we dont want to. The creation of this path of least resistance is called
sensitization.

PORNOGRAPHY-OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS
Pornography destroys relationships, people claim, demeans women, abuses
children, and engenders a perverted and harmful view of sex. On the other land,
supporters defend pornography as free expression and view the detractors as prudish.
People should not be ashamed of their sexual orientation or desires, writes one
supporter. Pornography can be used to start and stimulate open discussions about sex.
A few people suggest that pornography is an entrance to a healthy society. A society

mature enough to cope with the explicit depiction of sex between consenting adults is
likely to be one comfortable with sexual diversity and women, says writer Brian
McNair. Porn is problematic. It is an exhausting issue with an unending debate that
deeply divides us. One cannot deny pornographys presence and influence in our
mainstream culture as the media constantly bombards us with sexual images. Even if we
think we are choosing to ignore our media, the messages exhibited continue to grip
Americas collective conscience. The way that porn equates sex with violence and
debases women is both disturbing and out of line with the tenants and ideals of
humanism.
When trying to understand or even define pornography, one thing is certain: it is
misinforming us. Our socialized expectations for both beauty and sex are being dictated
by pornographys extremely limited perspective on what it means to be sexy. Its about
endlessly reiterating one particular and commercial shorthand for sexiness.
Porns homogenous, unattainable standards of sex and beauty are dangerous because it
is physically harmful to men and especially women both inside and outside of the porn
industry. Women are told to remove their body hair, tan their skin, bleach their teeth and
rectums, look young, and maintain a body that sometimes requires surgery to achieve.
Women gladly volunteering for medical procedures that alter the aesthetics of their sex
organs, such as their breasts and labias, permanently losing sensations in these areas. We
see in this trend that porn physically threatens women, but it also reveals the lack of
concern for female pleasure! When a rigid standard for sexy leads women to correct
their breasts and vaginas, sacrificing their ability to be aroused or experience pleasure, we

have successfully marginalized the female sexual experience.


These singular and physically dangerous expectations for female beauty and sexuality
that are perpetuated by pornography suggest that the value of women lies in their use.
We can understand how our culture has reduced the identity of women to that of an
object. In pornography, this process, called objectification, results in the dehumanization
of men and especially women because we no longer identify them by their personality
and individuality. Inevitably, this dehumanization results in the attitude that because
another person is somehow less than human it is acceptable to commit violence against
them.
The role violence plays in pornography trivializes rape, sexual aggression, and other
forms of abuse. When we encourage males to include dehumanizing acts in sex and teach
women to accept various forms of
violence against them as a natural part of sexual activity, we are condoning violence
against women.
Why Does Our Culture Accept Objectification?
Pornography is something that most people, whether they'll admit it or not, have
watched at one point in their lives. Soft-core or hardcore, gay, straight, or lesbian there is
literally a niche out there for almost every kind of porn you can imagine. It's why the
porn industry is literally a multi-billion dollar one, and it just proves that no matter what

you feel about how right or wrong pornography is, there is a demand out there for it.
However, there have been a lot of "common knowledge" assumptions about pornography
that have made there way into the collective consciousness of Americans. For instance,
pornography is supposed to be degrading to women and damaging to children.
Pornography is supposed to be addictive to those who watch it, and it also supposedly
wears away at a person's moral fiber like a strong wind does a rock face. And perhaps
worst of all, an acceptance and spread of pornography in the general populace is
supposed to lead to a spike in sex crimes, particularly rape.
IS PORNOGRAPHY REALLY A DANGEROUS PURSUIT?
Pornography plays a strong role in cultural exchange and sexual norms. For
example, Japanese pornography themes such as Hentai, Bukkake, Gokkun, and
Omorachi have gained popularity in Western pornography. French pornography is
notorious in the U.S. for its hairy women, German pornography is notoriously
aggressive, and Brazilian porn is notorious for its abundance of transvestites and
transsexuals. Aside from cultural exchange of sexual norms, probably the best and
most important part of pornography is its role as a form of expression.
However, porn leads to an increase to an increase in sex crimes. Pornography
objectifies women. Porn exploits and degrades women. Pornography, expresses
human sexuality and it dominates human minds from watching to view images. That
sticks to you when you see a nice handsome girl, instead of looking at her nice, the time
comes to imagine her without clothes, which is perverted minds. Pornography is stronger
than any of us think. Is not a strange media it affects people from school or even workers,
pornography is everywhere, and we all see in this era is amazing how much it has grown.

Also, pornography can be very addictive. Preventing porn addiction is very
important to treat people with their addiction of porn, and trying to prevent the problem
from getting worst than already is. Most people who are addicted to porn and are being
helped are in theyre 20s. Most people say when they first watch pornography was when
they were about 10 years of age. Doctors say that what leads to pornography is curiosity,
sometimes curiosity leads to bad decisions or bad views of life, and it is the duty of
parents to guide their kids away from bad decision. Parents need to explain the things in
life at the right age for their children to be conscious of right or wrong. That helps
children to guide themselves.
CONCLUSION
Pornography is a very big business today. However it is a very controversial
issue. Some people believe that the demand for the product should be allowed.
Technology has allowed the business to flourish and to be easily accessible to customers.
However some believe the consequences are too costly in this business. There are many
negative effects about pornography. Some of the most serious issues are: exploitation of
children, negative self-esteem or negative body image for women, women being seen as
objects by society, increase violence against women, negative impacts on sexual drive for
men and increased addictions. For these many reasons pornography is unhealthy for
society. So laws and regulations need to be in place to protect women and children from
exploitation. Getting rid of pornography would be one step toward a more positive
society.


REFERENCES
http://www.melonfarmers.co.uk/airporn.htm.
http://www.treatmentsolutions.com/porn-addiction/

http://universitytimes.ie/?p=6460


http://americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2012-04-its-only-
human-why-humanists-should-support-pornogra