Porn's Rise and Smoking's Demise
by Motte Brown on 04/29/2009 at 11:00 AM
According to this article from Stanford University's Hoover Institution, attitudes about pornography and tobacco have switched places in the last 50 years. Meaning, most people in our grandparent's generation thought that smoking was simply a personal preference and that pornography was morally wrong. Today, most people find smoking "disgusting" and think pornography is a matter of individual taste.
From Mary Eberstadt's "Is Pornography the New Tobacco?":
Today's prevailing social consensus about pornography is practically identical to the social consensus about tobacco in 1963: i.e., it is characterized by widespread tolerance, tinged with resignation about the notion that things could ever be otherwise. After all, many people reason, pornography's not going to go away any time soon. Serious people, including experts, either endorse its use or deny its harms or both. Also, it is widely seen as cool, especially among younger people, and this coveted social status further reduces the already low incentive for making a public issue of it. In addition, many people also say that consumers have a "right" to pornography -- possibly even a constitutional right. No wonder so many are laissez-fair about this substance. Given the social and political circumstances arrayed in its favor, what would be the point of objecting?
But for all the similarities between the two "substances," there's no getting around the differences in harm -- smoking causes cancer, porn doesn't. Not that porn is harmless. Aside from the debate about porn's correlation to sexual violence (and there is, btw), the havoc wreaked on the workplace and home should be enough to give anyone pause about their own "laissez-fair" attitude.
More from Eberstadt:
According to a 2007 survey by the American Management Association and the ePolicy Journal, 65 percent of corporations now use pornography-detecting software, up from 40 percent in 2001. According to the same study, fully 84 percent of the 30 percent of bosses who said they fired someone for internet misuse cited pornography as the reason why.
And,
According to a meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, ... 62 percent of the 350 attendees said that [Internet pornography] had been a significant factor in cases handled that year ... Numerous pastors and priests and ministers and therapists have reported that pornography use is now the leading cause of marital trouble and breakup they encounter as counselors.
Not to mention it's effect on the delay of marriage.
And like second hand smoke, these factors are what Eberstadt believes may ultimately re-stigmatize porn consumption.
Just as secondhand smoke finally shattered the "so-what?" social consensus about tobacco, so might the potential harms to others -- marriages, jobs, and relationships disrupted; loved ones and children inadvertently exposed -- ultimately threaten to deep-six the current "so-what?" consensus about pornography.
Ultimately, what she's envisioning is a more chaste society in 50 years. And I pray that God brings about revival. But it seems that for now, we're headed in the exact opposite direction on matters of sex and cigarettes.
1. Dan Gill said the following at 11:39 AM on Apr 29:
I pray that we are reaching the end of the growth of porn. It devastates families. It devastates lives.
2. Melissa said the following at 12:02 PM on Apr 29:
"Not to mention it's effect on the delay of marriage."
??????? Is there documented evidence on this?
3. Brendan said the following at 12:05 PM on Apr 29:
This is an interesting post, and it gives me hope that what seems to be a social norm can one day be stigmatized.
What gives me pause, though, is the fact that smoking is still pretty common, and that in order to stigmatize smoking, people had to make some ads that I thought were a bit overreaching. And unfortunately, porn is more of a moral thing than a physical thing, which makes the case harder (and is the reason why gay marriage is a difficult fight).
I hope porn goes down hard though. It's a blight on society.
4. J.T. said the following at 12:22 PM on Apr 29:
This gives me hope that one day pornography will be looked down upon as just plain wrong.
5. obewan said the following at 12:40 PM on Apr 29:
We can thank Big Brother for the dichotomy. While I hate to see the existence of Porn, if I had to choose between Porn and Tobacco, I would not pick the latter.
I am allergic to tobacco and have severe asthma attacks from the slightest exposure -even second hand. Since I don't view porn, I don't have any personal health issues to worry about.
I don't support porn, but this scenario is a false dichotomy.
6. Keith said the following at 1:04 PM on Apr 29:
I remember when I was in a second year criminology class when the professor, a man who hated Christianity and who was a committed leftist, started to go on a rant about how dangerous pornography was to society. No one seemed to agree with him - And when he went silent and everyone else in the class was snickering at him, I spoke out in his defense, proclaiming the dangerousness of pornography. Everyone in the class burst into intense laughter at me. I kept speaking, but everyone kept laughing. I just couldn't understand - if this leftist-Christianity hating professor could understand the dangerousness of pornography, then how could so many young people be so ignorant.
7. Pak said the following at 1:14 PM on Apr 29:
Just because there's no "physical" harm associated with porn does not make it more safe. The harm that is caused by it is more "social" and the degradation to our morals can have a longer, more devastating effect on the family as a whole. Yes, smoking has a physical effect on the user (and to some extent others that are exposed to it) but the damage is somewhat contained to the user (and immediate associates). The effects of porn, I would venture to say, can cross generations. The examples that we set for others to follow have great consequences. Those who view it would see less value in others and, in effect, pass on those values to the next generation.
8. Autumn said the following at 2:15 PM on Apr 29:
Brendan(#3) wrote, And unfortunately, porn is more of a moral thing than a physical thing
I'm not sure that pornography is non-physical so much as its physical effects are mostly subtle. Pornography has real, tangible effects on how people respond to sexual stimuli. It's basically behavioral conditioning, and that's why the "serious people, including experts" alluded to above endorse it. People are already conditioned to respond to porn by its ubiquity in our everyday lives. Most people in the US have grown up surrounded by the "soft" porn that's a staple of advertising and entertainment and that has had a hand in shaping how they view themselves, other people and porn itself.
9. Kate said the following at 2:17 PM on Apr 29:
Keith #6, you may be interested in a book called "Getting Off" by Robert Jensen. He is definitely liberal and definitely not Christian. Your teacher is not the only non-conservative or non-Christian who is thinking about this! Much of the reason that students are so silly about this is that they just really haven't done a thorough analysis of what pornography entails from a women's rights or social justice perspective. They have not truly examined the violence present in pornography and have not noticed that part of the reason it is exhilarating to use is because it presents a way of gaining power over women and ultimate control over sexual gratification, a way that is actually "socially acceptable." This kind of analysis is what Robert Jensen provides in this book.
I have to warn though, that this book describes the sexual violence exhibited in pornography in a pretty detailed way. I don't know that anyone would find this erotically tempting, since it is written in a way to bring light to just how terrible and tragic and violent and disgusting it really is... but those who haven't been exposed to such knowledge may wish not to know about it. It might be very painful for women to read, or for men who actually haven't used porn.
I didn't like some of his conclusions about what what is negative about a male identity or what "masculinity" "has" to be, but I thought his critiques of how pornography is related to men's devaluing, objectifying, and at times violent and hateful attitudes about women were absolutely spot on. And I think this level of analysis is relevant to the Christian perspective too, in addition the the adultery part.
Christians say pornography is wrong because it is adulterous and we look at all the bad effects it has on souls and families for this reason (which is important!). At times, but I think less prevalently, we also examine how pornography influences men's attitudes about sex, masculinity, and the role of women/what women deserve and how this ends up in violence. It's really really sick! I think most people who think porn is fine today are just living in denial about these themes and effects, and they are just more interested in the cheap thrill than they are in realizing what is truly going on. Making fun of it and mocking objections is just a way to get away with denying and simultaneously endorsing the underlying violence.
10. rushncap said the following at 3:28 PM on Apr 29:
Boundless -- your dishonesty is, while not surprising, pretty disgusting. You are, of course, allowed to censor whoever you want, but your supposed moral superiority is degraded to the point of nonexistence by your refusal to put up my posts. Sad...
11. Jo said the following at 3:49 PM on Apr 29:
As of last summer, smoking is now illegal in all indoor public places in the UK. And I LOVE it. And really, it's happened with minimal opposition. So it should raise our hopes that these things can happen. Everything isn't always on a consistent downward path towards destruction; sometimes things get reversed. Yay!
12. Broken wife said the following at 5:54 PM on Apr 29:
I just discovered my husbands 6 year liking of porn and believe me it's the most painful thing a wife can experience. Talk about breaking every ounce of trust I ever had for him! We're getting help but our 21 year marriage is in jeopardy. Porn is a marriage wrecker!!!
13. Brad O'Brien in Leesville LA said the following at 6:08 PM on Apr 29:
I always refer people to what Dobson heard from Ted Bundy in the hours before Bundy was executed. Dead or soon to be dead men tell no tales? Bundy pointed to early exposure to porn. Was he merely telling Dr D what he expected Dr Dobson wanted to hear? I won't discount the manipulative tactics of a sociopath.
The amazing thing about the porn industry is how it has been so normalized in the USA. I recall my shock at seeing antics at the PLAYBOY mansion receive coverage by the "reporter" from Entertainment Tonight. And of course now there is even a reality show about Hefner's 3 "girlfriends".
Dr Judith Reisman is a researcher who thoroughly documented porn's foreseen effects for a number of years. You won't see anything about her in the MSM though
14. Rachael said the following at 8:09 PM on Apr 29:
As for smoking, statistics may be influenced by such things like whether or not there are public limitations in the area in which one lives, and, as a commenter may have mentioned before, social status...
As for pornography, it's sad that it is so easily accessible these days. It would be easy to keep the sin hidden, especially for a single person. And even if you don't purposefully access it it's still easy to come across inappropriate images, even if they're not technically 'pornography'.
Hopefully the societal acceptability of inappropriate images will decrease over time, and maybe it will, if the objectification of women concept becomes increasingly prevalent. Or not...people will still want to see those images, and companies will still want to cater to them and make money.
If it were more common for people to confess hidden struggles - sexual or non- to a person or people who are not that close, it might serve as a motivating factor to deal with the problem, even if for the sake of embarrassment or shame. Sure that might not be the ideal motivating factors, but, it might provide incentive for an initial push.
15. Thomas said the following at 8:34 PM on Apr 29:
You won't find anyone here that will disagree the main point, but from a legal perspective, it's hard to see what can be done. It is hard to make an argument (especially from a libertarian perspective) that it should be illegal, especially now that its been let out of the bag so to speak (in contrast to the times before the Miller rulings).
Quite honestly, I think porn and premarital sex for that matter are wrong from a Christian-moral standpoint, but is it really from a secular standpoint? If someone is not Christian, it is hard to argue that they should not be allowed to partake in this destructive behavior if they choose. Should cheetos be illegal too? Or smoking for that matter.
And the way that secular society and conservative evangelical Christianity are increasingly at arms against each other (the two sides quite obviously dislike each other), it's hard to see how this secular cultural shift will stop.
Short of a revival of Christianity amongst the nation, we will see more and more lax attitudes to such things, and I don't see conservative evangelical Christianity (which this site is a bastion of) leading the way anymore, not with all the animosity that flows both ways.
16. Nancy said the following at 7:41 AM on Apr 30:
One of the biggest secular myths is that porn is a "victimless" crime, because it's one person's choice to view it, and another's "choice" to be in porn. What many people don't know are the personal stories of so many in the sex industry -- many have been victims of sexual abuse, or forced to participate in porn, then purposely given drugs so they become easier-to-exploit addicts.
I volunteer in a ministry to women who work as exotic dancers, and have heard some of their stories first-hand. Others I've read in books, including "The Silent War: Ministering to Those Trapped in the Deception of Pornography" by Henry Rogers.
The reality of pornography is far different and darker than the way it is portrayed on talk shows and sitcoms.
17. Victoria said the following at 10:18 AM on Apr 30:
Broken wife (#12): My heart goes out to you. Know that your husband's addiction has nothing to do with you, your worth, appeal as a woman, etc. Know also that you and he can get through this! God is so faithful, and He can bring healing and restoration. You are not alone, and your husband's struggle is all too common. I pray that your marriage will be healed and renewed through the power of Christ.
18. Freddie said the following at 1:20 PM on Apr 30:
Echoing Melissa (#2): "Not to mention it's effect on the delay of marriage." How's that?
As far as I can tell, it could just as well be the other way around - a delayed marriage (no hope of getting married) "leading" to porn, so to speak.
19. Kate said the following at 2:17 PM on Apr 30:
Freddie 18,
You're suggesting men might turn to porn for sexual gratification since they can't "get any" while they are not yet married and feel hopeless about their chances... which in that case means their sexual gratification is more important to them than not committing adultery by lusting after a woman (Matthew 5:27 anyone?). I actually think this "I'm using porn because it's taking so long to get married" behavior you describe actually reflects underlying attitudes and maturity levels that may be the reasons why such a man isn't yet married, and further this behavior can definitely cause delayed marriage. Let me explain why.
If you think more about it... what kind of man decides he's going to get sexual gratification outside of its appropriate context in marriage, no matter how long he's been waiting and how hard it is? Is that man really ready for marriage if he's unable or unwilling to regulate himself and sacrifice his desire in order to follow God's commands about sexual behavior? Could there likely be other areas in his life that he approaches in a similar way? Why would a woman who is looking for a sacrificial leader husband be interested in a man who behaves that way?
One really concrete way porn use can lead to a delay in marriage is that a women may decide to flee far from a suitor after learning about his constant use of and positive attitudes about pornography! (I'm guessing even women who don't think porn's a big deal will feel at least little unhappy about it when it's their boyfriend using it all the time!)
And then there is how it relates to the way he treats her, and what he says or tries to do in the area of sexual relations with her. Considering the warped ways porn forms men's attitudes about sex and women, even if a marriage-minded women wasn't directly aware of the man's use of porn, it may influence his behavior towards her in other ways that would raise concerns about how good of a husband he'd make and turn her away.
At least this is the way I thought about it when dating, and yes, I really did turn away "Christian" men who used pornography and would argue with me that it was fine and good to use.
Incidentally, these men were also not strong Christians, had no accountability to other Christian men or participation in Christian community, and also were self-gratifiers in other ways, such as with their excessive use of videos games, procrastination on school work, and with spending money irresponsibly. And their treatment of me was objectifying and manipulative, and sexually inappropriate for unmarried people.
I'm not sure if this is what Motte meant by porn delaying marriage, since he didn't elaborate! Maybe he was referring to a massive study he didn't cite.
20. No name on this one. said the following at 4:06 PM on Apr 30:
@Melissa
I'm evidence.
So's my roommate.
And four or five other guys we know.
No statistics for you, but if I talk to another Christian guy, I know there's a very high (if not certain) chance that sexual sin has injured him in some way.
Did I get shot or shoot myself?
21. Bethany said the following at 10:16 AM on May 1:
Kate (#19), you are a wise and strong woman to turn away a man because of his unrepentant porn use. I want my support to be known, lest the rest of my comment be misunderstood.
I think the key descriptor here is "unrepentant." I have a couple close friends whose husbands continue to struggle (very occassionaly) with porn/masturbation, and I would still say they are good men. I say that because I know their husbands were very respectful and sexually pure prior to marriage, and they now confess to their wives when they return to the behavior in addition to talking to male Christian friends for encouragement. I would not exclude all Christian men who have *ever* succumbed to pornography from being a potential marriage partner. God's grace is better than that.
And Freddie (#18), yes, I agree with what I think you are saying - not that extended singleness is justification for a porn habit, but that extended singleness often makes people despair of ever finding holy fulfillment of their desires, and so adds fuel to the temptation to use porn. We know we should not despair; we know there is hope in Jesus, but it is hard, sometimes, to feel and act upon that hope. We are sinners, after all.
On a personal note, I found that despair was the most potent aphrodisiac when I was single. I look back now at those years of despair, which was at times very subtle, and I am amazed at what I could mistake for love in such a state.
I hope the tide does turn against porn as it has against smoking. For another secular look at the negative effects of pornography, I would recommend "Pornified," by Pamela Paul. Like the book recommended above, I should note that it goes into some detail and probably only be read with discretion. But it was wonderful to read a non-Christian discuss porn's negative "side" (the only side, as far as I'm concerned).
22. Freddie said the following at 2:20 PM on May 1:
Kate (#19), thanks for your eloquent comment from a female point of view! I understand what you're saying, and basically I agree with you. I wasn't defending porn use in any way.
But as Bethany (#21) said, I'm not really talking about men taking porn use lightly. I'm talking about serious Christians who know that porn is wrong in every way, who really fight to maintain high standards, but ultimately fail. Also, I'm talking about the guys seeing their friends getting married and having kids, while they are still left hoping they will get a date (at all) this year...