Does Porn Contribute to Rape?
Throughout the years, porn has developed many sub-genres in order to acquire a larger fan base and also to better cater to peoples individual likes. Even though these sub-genres make the porn industry boom, they also have turned the industry into a rather raunchy business. Studies and reviews of examinations of content suggest there are a few basic themes in pornography: (1) All women at all times want sex from all men; (2) women enjoy all the sexual acts that men perform or demand, and; (3) any woman who does not at first realize this can be easily turned with a little force, though force is rarely necessary because most of the women in pornography are the imagined “nymphomaniacs” about whom many men fantasize (Jensen, 2004). While experimental works sometimes offer interesting hints at how pornography works in regard to men’s sexual behavior, it suffers from several serious problems that limit its value. First, the measures of men’s attitudes toward women, such as answers to questions about the appropriate punishment for rapists, do not necessarily tell us anything about men’s willingness to rape. Men often view their sexually aggressive or violent behavior not as aggression or violence but as “just sex.” In other words, men who rape often condemn rape, which they see as something other men do. Also, sexual behavior is a complicated mix of cognitive, emotional, and physical responses, and the answers one gives to a survey may or may not accurately reflect that mix (Jensen, 2004). One method of investigation includes interviews with men who use pornography and are sexually aggressive, and women involved in relationships with such men — does not hold out guarantees of conclusive judgments about the effects of pornography, but such work can help us achieve deeper understanding. It is especially important to include the experiences of women, the main targets of violence, who have crucial insights. What we learn from the testimony of women and men whose lives have been affected by pornography is how the material is implicated in violence against women and how it can perpetuate, reinforce, and be part of a wider system of woman hating. Rather than asking whether pornography causes rape, we can ask how pornography helps make rape inviting (Jensen, 2004).
Based both on the lab research and such interviews, Diana Russell has argued that pornography is a causal factor in the way that it can: (1) predispose some males to desire rape or intensify this desire; (2) undermine some males’ internal inhibitions against acting out rape desires; (3) undermine some males’ social inhibitions against acting out rape desires; and (4) undermine some potential victims’ abilities to avoid or resist rape. Even without making claims that strong, the public testimony of women, Jensen's interviews with pornography users and sex offenders, and various other researchers’ work, have led him to conclude that pornography can: (1) be an important factor in shaping a male-dominant view of sexuality; (2) be used to initiate victims and break down their resistance to unwanted sexual activity; (3) contribute to a user’s difficulty in separating sexual fantasy and reality; and (4) provide a training manual for abusers. (Jensen, 2004)
Based both on the lab research and such interviews, Diana Russell has argued that pornography is a causal factor in the way that it can: (1) predispose some males to desire rape or intensify this desire; (2) undermine some males’ internal inhibitions against acting out rape desires; (3) undermine some males’ social inhibitions against acting out rape desires; and (4) undermine some potential victims’ abilities to avoid or resist rape. Even without making claims that strong, the public testimony of women, Jensen's interviews with pornography users and sex offenders, and various other researchers’ work, have led him to conclude that pornography can: (1) be an important factor in shaping a male-dominant view of sexuality; (2) be used to initiate victims and break down their resistance to unwanted sexual activity; (3) contribute to a user’s difficulty in separating sexual fantasy and reality; and (4) provide a training manual for abusers. (Jensen, 2004)
References
- http://new.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/AR_PornAndSV.pdf
- http://new.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/AR_PornAndSV.pdf
