🚀 go-pugleaf

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I recently posted an article stating the results of some studies on
the effects of pornography.  Since there seemed to be an interest in
where I got my "evidence", I am now posting some references to studies
which may be of interest.  I shall do this by following up on one of a
series of postings responding to my original posting.

Before I do this, however, let me say a few words.  Someone pointed
out to me that for every study which concludes pornography is harmful
there is another which says it isn't.  This may be true.  Social
science is not "hard" science; humans are complex.  I believe that the
truth lies somewhere between the two statements "no one is adversely
affected by pornography" (David Cohen's belief) and "one look at
pornography will make one a rapist" (probably someone else's belief).
Possibly it is a situation where some people are more adversely
affected by pornography than others.  Obviously, from this post and my
previous post you can see that I am closer to the latter statement
than, say, J. Greely.

Anyway, here are some references.

>>>>> On Wed, 5 Aug 1992 18:35:43 GMT, jgreely@morganucodon.cis.ohio-state.edu (J Greely) said:
J> In article <ADNAN.92Aug5081635@redstart.icd.ab.com> adnan@redstart.icd.ab.com
J>  (Adnan C. Yaqub) writes:
>I think that you are mistaken here.  There is plenty of evidence that
>pornography has a harmful effect on people and society.

J> Please provide references to all these *fascinating* claims.  I've
J> heard them before, and usually they seem to be the result of shoddy
J> research.

>1) Studies show that a diet of pornography desensitizes people to rape
>and other sex crimes.  (The effect was more pronounced in men than in
>women.)

J> A "diet of pornography"?!?  What, like watching reruns of "Charlie's
J> Angels" every night?  Is subscribing to Playboy enough, or doesn't it
J> have enough calories?

J>   Seriously, I'm aware of studies that show some correlation between
J> _violent_ "pornography" and the effect you claim, but clearly it's the
J> violence that makes the viewer more accepting of violent acts.  If
J> true, "First Blood" is much more dangerous than "Christy Canyon and
J> the All-Star Tit Queens".

Zillmann, D and Bryant, J. "Pornography, Sexual Callousness, and the
Trivialization of Rape", Journal of Communication, 1982.

This study exposed subjects to no, a moderate amount, and massive
amounts of *non-violent* pornography.  The subjects were then asked to
recommend a prison sentence for a man convicted of raping a female
hitchhiker.  The results were something like:
	Recommended Sentence for Convicted Rapist (months)
		Exposure to Pornography
	none		moderate		massive
	----		--------		-------
women	140-150		100-110			80-90
men	100-110		70-80			40-50

>2) A high percentage of all sex crimes (rape, child abuse, etc.) have
>pornography involved, during and/or immediately before.

J> References, please?  Even if it's true, my response must be a loud "so
J> what?".  How many people read "Penthouse Variations" and then *not*
J> commit rape?  Sales figures for the huge number of books and magazines
J> labelled "pornography" should give you some clue about the effect, or
J> lack thereof, of "porn".  It's likely that you're simply confusing
J> cause with effect (is it "I read Playboy, so I'll go out and rape
J> cheerleaders", or "I like raping cheerleaders, so I read Playboy"?).

Marshall, W. "Pornography and Sex Offenders", in "Pornography:
Research Advances and Policy Considerations" (Academic Press, NY,
1989)

Carter, D. Prently, R., Knight, R., Vanderveer, P., and Boucher, R.,
"Use of Pornography in the Criminal and Developmental Histories of
Sexual Offenders", Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1987.

Silbert, M., Pines, A., "Pornography and Sexual Abuse of Women", Sex
Roles, 1984.

One result of the Silbert-Pines study is that of the women
(prostitutes who had been raped) 24% said, without being asked, that
their attacker had specifically mentioned his use of pornography as he
raped them.  Similar, 22% who had been molested as children said that
the molester either used pornography or mentioned it during the crime.

>3) Studies also indicate that the use of pornography tends to reduce a
>persons satisfaction with their current sex experience.

J> What, you mean they might want to try something new?  Heaven forbid
J> someone might get bored with twenty minutes of once-a-week man-on-top
J> whuffa-whuffa.

Zillmann, D. and Bryant, J. "Pornography's Impact on Sexual
Satisfaction", Journal of Applied Social Psychology", 1988.

This study found that exposure to *non-violent* pornography diminished
people's satisfaction with their sexual partner's physical appearance,
affection, curiosity, and sexual performance.

>4) Child pornography, in particular, is very damaging to the children
>abused during the making of the material.

J> Kiddie porn is also extremely rare; the biggest producer of the stuff
J> in the US is the Customs Office (for their sting operations).

I have no statistics on hand about the amount of child pornography in
the U.S.  I don't believe that the U.S. Customs Office "produces"
child pornography.  They probably buy it for their investigations.

>5) Studies indicate that pornography is addicting, with subjects
>tiring of the "old" and wanting "newer, harder" pornography.

J> Yeah, I started smoking National Geographic once a month, but now I
J> can't get through the day without shooting up a copy of Bizarre
J> Fetishes.

I have no studies on hand to back my original assertion, but I will
keep looking.

-- 
Adnan Yaqub (adnan@icd.ab.com)
Allen-Bradley Company, Inc., 747 Alpha Drive, Highland Hts., OH 44143, USA
Phone: +1 216 646 4670 FAX: +1 216 646 4484