(perspectives) The Sunny Side of Smut For most people, use has no negative effects—and it may even deter sexual violence By Melinda Wenner Moyer

It used to be tough to get porn. Renting an X-rated movie required sneaking into a roped-off room in the back of a video store, and eyeing a cen- terfold meant facing down a store clerk to buy a . Now pornography is just one Google search away, and much of it is free. Age restric- tions have become meaningless, too, with the advent of social media—one teenager in five has sent or posted naked pictures of themselves online, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. With access to pornography easier than ever before, politicians and scien- tists alike have renewed their interest in deciphering its psychological effects. Cer- tainly or over- consumption seems to cause relationship problems [see “ in Bits and Bytes,” by Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld; Scientific American Mind, July/Au- gust 2010]. But what about the more ca- sual exposure typical of most porn users? Contrary to what many people believe, recent research shows that moderate por- nography consumption does not make users more aggressive, promote or harm relationships. If anything, some re- searchers suggest, exposure to pornogra- phy might make some people less likely “It’s a moral issue, not a factual issue.” frequently, have more sexual partners to commit sexual crimes. In 2007 researchers at the University over the course of their life, and experi- of Zagreb in Croatia surveyed 650 young ence slightly less relationship intimacy Does Porn Harm Women? men about their pornography use and than their nonviolent porn–viewing The most common concern about sex lives. As they reported in the Ar- counterparts. pornography is that it indirectly hurts chives of Sexual Behavior, the scientists Regular pornography use does not women by encouraging sexism, raising found that users of mainstream, non­ seem to encourage sexism, either. In 2007 sexual expectations and thereby harming violent pornography were neither more Alan McKee, a cultural studies expert at relationships. Some people worry that it nor less sexually satisfied than nonusers. the Queensland University of Technology might even incite violence against wom- Both groups felt the same degree of inti- in Australia, designed a questionnaire to en. The data, however, do not support macy in their current or recent relation- assess sexist tendencies. He enclosed his these claims. “There’s absolutely no evi- ships and shared the same range of sex- survey in shipments of pornographic ma- dence that pornography does anything ual experiences. But when it came to terial distributed by a mail-order com- negative,” says Milton Diamond, direc- violent or fetishist porn, the groups di- pany and also posted it online. Responses tor of the Pacific Center for Sex and Soci- verged. Consumers of these types of por- from 1,023 pornography users indicated orbis

ety at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. nography appeared to masturbate more that the amount of pornography the sub- C

14 scientific american mind July/August 2011

MiQ411Wenn3p.indd 14 4/4/11 6:12:34 PM Sex offenders say that pornography helps them keep their (abnormal sexuality within the confines of their imagination. )

jects consumed did not predict whether Diamond says, perhaps because expo- they would hold negative attitudes to- sure correlates with lower levels of sexual ward women. The survey respondents repression, a potential rape risk factor. who were most sexist were generally old- er men who voted for a right-wing politi- A Personal Concern cal party, lived in a rural area and had a Repression seems to figure promi- lower level of formal education. nently into the puzzle of pornography. In But the questionnaire may have 2009 Michael P. Twohig, a psychologist missed a key nuance. In a study published at Utah State University, asked 299 un- in 2004 in the Journal of Psychology & dergraduate students whether they con- Human Sexuality, researchers at Texas sidered their pornography consumption Tech University administered a different problematic; for example, causing intru- survey to male and female college stu- People who feel pornography is a problem sive sexual thoughts or difficulty finding in their lives are often those who try to dents and found that although consum- suppress their sexual thoughts and desires. like-minded sex partners. Then he as- ers of pornography did not display more sessed the students with an eye to under- negative attitudes toward women, they professor at Northwestern University. standing the root causes of their issues. were more likely than other respondents It is important to note that these as- It turns out that among porn viewers, to believe that women should be protect- sociations are just that—associations. the amount of porn each subject con- ed from harm—what the investigators They do not prove that pornography is sumed had nothing to do with his or her call “benevolent sexism.” the cause of the observed crime reduc- mental state. What mattered most, Two- tions. Nevertheless, the trends “just don’t hig found, was whether the subjects tried Self-Medicating with Fantasy fit with the theory that rape and sexual to control their sexual thoughts and de- Perhaps the most serious accusation assault are in part influenced by pornog- sires. The more they tried to clamp down against pornography is that it incites raphy,” Ferguson explains. “At this point on their urge for sex or porn, the more sexual aggression. But not only do rape I think we can say the evidence just isn’t likely they were to consider their own statistics suggest otherwise, some ex- there, and it is time to retire this belief.” pornography use a problem. The find- perts believe the consumption of pornog- What if it turns out that ­pornography ings suggest that suppressing the desire raphy may actually reduce the desire to use actually reduces the desire to rape? It to view pornography, for example, for rape by offering a safe, private outlet for is a controversial idea, but some studies moral or religious reasons, might actu- deviant sexual desires. support it. Work in the 1960s and 1970s ally strengthen the urge for it and exac- “Rates of rapes and sexual assault in reported that sexual criminals tend to be erbate sexual problems. It’s all about the U.S. are at their lowest levels since exposed to pornographic materials at a “personal views and personal values,” the 1960s,” says Christopher J. Fergu- later age than noncriminals. In 1992 Twohig says. In other words, the effects son, a professor of psychology and Richard Green, a psychiatrist at Imperial of pornography—positive or negative— criminal justice at Texas A&M Interna- College London, disclosed in his book have little to do with the medium itself tional University. The same goes for oth- Sexual Science and the Law that patients and everything to do with the person er countries: as access to pornography requesting treatment in clinics for sex of- viewing it. M grew in once restrictive Japan, China fenders commonly say that pornography and Denmark in the past 40 years, rape helps them keep their abnormal sexuality MELINDA WENNER MOYER is a freelance statistics plummeted. Within the U.S., within the confines of their imagination. science writer and frequent contributor to the states with the least access “Pornography seems to be protective,” Scientific American Mind. between 1980 and 2000—and therefore the least access to Internet pornogra- (Further Reading) phy—experienced a 53 percent increase in rape incidence, whereas the states ◆◆Pornography, Public Acceptance and Sex Related Crime: A Review. Milton Diamond in Getty ImagesGetty with the most access experienced a 27 International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Vol. 32, No. 5, pages 304–314; September/ a y October 2009. V

c percent drop in the number of reported ◆◆Viewing : For Whom Is It Problematic, How, and Why? Michael P.

n M rapes, according to a paper published Twohig, Jesse M. Crosby and Jared M. Cox in & Compulsivity, Vol. 16, a y

R in 2006 by Anthony D’Amato, a law No. 4, pages 253–266; October 2009.

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