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Does pornography cause rape?
Results so far:
| Yes | 59% | 76 votes | Total: 128 votes | |
| No | 41% | 52 votes |
Yes
by Rosemary Redfern
Created on: April 28, 2011
Whatever is published in the media, whatever we see and hear about, frequently affects us subliminally or even overtly. Pornography degrades sex. It assumes many things which are not true, such as if someone looks good they are asking for sex. The multitude of magazines published pander to a sad group of people who do not seem to be able to form healthy relationships and as a result think that their activities are sophisticated.
Pornography makes sex out to be something which uses people. Women are seen as objects rather than persons in their own right, who can be used however a man wishes. Less dominant men are treated in the same way. Often, as in wars, rape is used as a weapon of degradation. All that does is fuel more anger and revenge. The case of the young woman in Asia who was condemned to be gang raped in punishment for something her brother is thought to have done is hard to understand. The decision came out of distorted thinking.
There is a lot of sad thinking by those who produce, read, view and need pornography. It creates a distortion of something which should be a pleasure shared between a couple, in their own time and space.
Part of the problem is that there are so many taboos around sex, which treat it as a forbidden subject and activity. As soon as something is prohibited, it enhances its attractiveness. The alcohol prohibition in the early 20th century showed that. The result of prohibition is that sex becomes even more attractive, adding to the natural drive we all have. Some of the taboos are understandable because parents fear for the health of their children, fear unwanted pregnancies. Misperceptions abound because sex education is not taught in some places to counter the extraordinary ideas and myths that ignorance generates. Being more open about sex would be far more healthy and lead to fewer odd ideas.
Sexual activity is a normal, healthy way of expressing love, of having fun and sharing with another person. It is also, usually, a private occupation. This also raises curiosity by those inexperienced and lacking in knowledge. Those with twisted ideas think something is happening that they are missing out on.
Any material that is published, whether in printed form or as in films, which degrades another person brings out the bully and the wimp in those inadequate individuals. When you view enough ugly material, as in the reports of terrorist atrocities, you become immune to the normal human responses of horror that such things happen.
The problem with prohibiting pornography would be to drive it underground and compound the problem.
Learn more about this author, Rosemary Redfern.
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No
by Edward Hall
Created on: February 03, 2010
My gut reaction would be yes, it would seem that access to pornography would increase sexual acting out. It only seems logical doesn't it? A person becomes desensitized by sexual images, there base urges are titillated and they act out sexually. After all, pornography is bad, right?
Without discussing the moral questions relevant to looking at dirty pictures it would appear that pornography does not lead to an increase in rape. In point of fact, it seems to be leading to a decline. Among others I refer you to the Northwestern School of Law study authored by Prof Anthony Damato. This is one of the best studies I found, there are others that use similar data and draw the same conclusion.
Just for an example from 1973 to 2003 nationwide rape statistics were in a steady decline with approximately an eighty percent drop in reported rapes by women twelve and over. If you are not aware 1973 marks the beginning of the pornography boom that went nuclear with the advent of the World Wide Web.
Personally, I woud like to say viewing pornography makes you do bad things. Sitting around watching dirty movies seems like it should make you do bad things after all. However, I cannot fly in the face of hard evidence. If the viewing of pornography has increased exponentially and the incidences of rape have decreased during the same time line you are left with one of two conclusions. Either viewing pornography has no effect on the incidences of rape or it decreases it.
Could that be the case? Could sitting at home looking at pornography on the web actually lead to this dramatic decrease in reported incidences of rape? I am not certain I would go that far there are other factors that could be involved but it is an interesting possibility. You also must deal with the fact that rape is not sex. Rape is about power and violence while sex is about mutual pleasure. So, quite possibly the increase and decrease in overall viewing of pornography could have little or no impact at all.
One thing that is often mentioned. It is said and I do not argue with the assertion that most rapist have a history of viewing pornography. Giving you that fact I still say it does not have a cause and effect relationship. Most bank robbers drive automobiles. Can we blame automobile driving for bank robbery?
Rape is a very serious problem, for the individual victim of rape the fact it is decreasing statistically is pretty cold comfort. We as a society should try every way possible to end rape. What we should not do is base policy on our knee jerk, "that sounds about right" reaction to a statement like pornography leads to rape. If the cause and effect relationship cannot be established move on.
Learn more about this author, Edward Hall.
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