ViewpointsofPornography

Springville,UtahThursdayApril21,20163pages

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Societytodayisranbytechnology
thathasgreatlyprogressedsince
the1900s.Wenowhave
computersinourhands,fullof
insurmountableinformation.
Mediaplaysaroleinalmostevery
Americanhome.Technologyhas
neverbeensowidelyusedin
history,andtodaythemost
prominentuseforthistechnology
is,yepyouguessedit,
pornography.
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Therehavebeennumerous
opinions,studiesandresearch
doneonpornography.Sincethis
isthenumberonemostviewed
thingontheinternet,it'sno
wondersomanyplaceintereston
thissubject.Today,Iamhereto
presenttoyouthefactsonthis
topic.Ifirstwantyoutoask
yourselves,whatisyourstanceon
thesubject?Next,Iwantyouto

askyourselfwhyitisyoufeel
that
way.Iamgoingtoassume
thatitisbecauseofoutside
influences,suchasauthority
figures,religionorothersocial
connectionsinyourlifethathas
influencedyouropinion.Asyou
readthroughthisarticle,letyour
mindopentothepossibilities
thatyoumaynothavethoughtof
before.

Whatdoesthe
researchsay?
Becauseofallofthecontroversy
onthismatter,Ifiguredan
appropriatewaytobeginwould
bebyshowingthefactsofwhat
pornographydoestothehuman
brain.ANeuroscientistnamed
AndrewDoanconductedastudy
onInternetPornography
Addiction.Hestudiedthe
reactionsofthebrainwhenitwas
presentedindifferentsituations.
Attheconclusionofhisstudyhe
saidTheresearchersfound
activationofthesamelimbic
system/rewardcircuitryin
subjectsshownsexualcuesas
whenshowndrugrelatedcues
[3.2.4].Thisisa
groundbreakingdiscovery,now
weknowthatsomeonethat
watchespornographycan
becomephysicallyaddictedto
viewingit.Withanyaddiction,

comesconsequences.The
questiontoIaskedmyselfwhenI
foundthisoutiswhatarethe
consequences
associatedwith
thesefacts?
IntheirarticlePorn
ChangesTheBraintheFight
theNewDrugCorporationis
helpingustounderstandthe
effectsthatpornographyhasona
person.Theysaidthat...once
addictionsetsin,theuserhasa
wholenewsetofproblems...
becauseaddictiondamagesthe
partofthebrainthathelpsyou
thinkthingsthroughtomake
goodchoices[9].Nobodywants
tofeelenslavedtoanythingand
thatiswhatthisgroupisstanding
for.

Whatroledoes
pornographyplay
inamarriage?

Amongthemostaffectedpeople
areyoungmarriedcouples.With
pornographysoeasilyaccessible
inthisgeneration,thenumbersof
viewersareincreasing.Some,
likeLizaFeatherstonehave
lookedatthepositiveeffectsona
couplewhentheyview
pornographytogetherorapart.
Featherstoneapublisherfor
PsychologyTodayexploresthe
differenteffects,studies,and
opinionsthatpornographyhason

relationships.InherarticleYou,
MeandPornMakeThree
Featherstonedoesn'ttakea
personalstanceonbeingeitherfor
oragainsttheviewingof
pornography.However,she
wantsustoconsiderand
determinethenegativeand
positiveeffectsthatxrated
materialhasonourrelationships
byengagingusinvariousstudies
ofhumanbehavior.Atonepoint
ofherarticleshesaysthat
...porngazingwhetherchronic
orcasualcanbecomean
explosiveissueforacouple,
corrodingintimacyand
demolishingthesexual
connection...Yetinsome
situations,eroticmaterialcanbea
healthyoutletforsexualfantasy,
possiblybringingacouplecloser
together.[3]Therearemany
coupleswhowatchpornography
togethertoaddpassiontotheir
marriageandmanyofthese
peopleclaimthatthisworksfor
them.Therearealsothosewho
claimtheexactopposite.Some
couplescanlosetrustandfaithin
oneanother,whentheyfindout
theirpartnerisviewingthese
typesofvideos.Itseemsthatit
differsfrompersontoperson
whetherornottheydecidethat
pornographyishealthyor
negativeontheirrelationship.In
aNationalReviewawoman
sharedapersonalexperience.She
decidedtoconductasmallstudy
andshefoundoutthat
According
toDr.VictorCline,anationally
renownedclinicalpsychologist
whospecializesinsexual
addiction,pornographyaddiction
isaprocessthatundergoesfour
phases.First
addiction.Secondescalation
Thirddesensitization.Last

actingout[6].
Asyoucansee
fromthisstudy,pornography
seemedtodomoredamagethan
goodforthiscouple.However,
asImentionedbeforeitseemsas
thoughitmightbegoodandeven
healthyforamarriageto
continuetothrive.
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Howdoes
pornographyaffect
oursociety?

Almosteveryjobthatinvolves
workingatadeskwitha
computer,callsforasenseof
professionalism.Formanyofus
withtheinternetatourfingertips,
itcanbecomehardtokeepthe
distractionofsurfingthewebat
bay.Withtheaddictionto
pornographysointense,itcan
becomehardtonotclickon
xratedmaterialwhileonthe
clock.KeithNaughtonwrotean
articletohaveusconsiderhow
muchtimeiswastedonsurfing
thewebespeciallywhileatwork.
Themainthinghewantsusto
considerishowpornographyhas
leakedintotheworkfieldand
timeandmoneyisbeingwasted
onemployeesnotfocusedon

theirjob.Toshowushow
seriousofaproblemthishas
becomeheincludesthat...this
yearXeroxhasfiredmorethan
40employeesforallegedly
mixingparticularlyperverse
pleasureswithbusiness.The
workersidledawayuptoeight
hoursadayonpornography
websites,accordingtoXerox
[8].Forthiscompany,and
manyothersalike,thiscan
transformintoaseriousproblem
andcauseadownhillmotionin
oursociety.However,insome
areas,itistaughtthatanything
thatissemiexplicitisbad.Kids
arebecominguneducatedon
normalsexualbehaviorofhuman
beingsbecausetheyarebeing
taughtthatthesethingsareand
willalwaysbewrong.Nadine
Strossen,agraduatefrom
HarvardLawSchooltalksabouta
nudephotographthatwastaken
downatatPennsylvaniaState
Universityfromaclassroomwall
becauseofacomplaintofa
feminist.Shewantedtoshowus
thattherearecertainthingsthat
shouldbecensored,butthereare
manythingsthatpeopleare
overlyconcernedabout.She
believesincensoredmaterialbut
alsosaysthatCensorship,
however,isneverasimple
matter.First,theoffensemustbe
described.Andhowdoesone
definesomethingsoinfinitely
variable,sodeeplypersonal,so
uniquelyindividualizedasthe
image,theword,andthefantasy
thatcausesexualarousal?[6]
Oneotherpointshemakesisthat
TheNationalResearchCouncil's
PanelonUnderstandingand
PreventingViolenceconcluded
"demonstratedempiricallinks
betweenpornographyandsex

crimesingeneralareweakor
absent."Theoutlookthatshehas
onsocietyisremarkable.Itbegs
thequestion,howcanwehelp
childrentobeeducatedonthis
materialwithoutlettingthembe
exposed?Strossenisalsosaying
thatifsomeonewastowatch
pornographyonaconsistentbasis,
itwouldntmakethemmore
aggressiveormoreinclinedto
participateinsexcrimes.Oneof
themainreasonsthereis
controversyonthisissueis
becausemanybelievethatwhen
someoneviewspornography,it
causesahigherdemand,which
meansthepornographyindustry
needsmorewomenstarringin
theirfilms.Withthisinmind,sex
traffickingisbecomingmoreand
morecommon.Manybelievethat
pornographyandsextrafficking
havesomesortoflink,whether
thatbethecauseofdemandorthe
viewersthemselveschangingtheir
behaviorandcausingthemtoact
outirrationally.
ApublisherforNewYorkTimes,
namedNaomiWolfwantsusto
considertheoutlookthatmany
peoplehaveformedthat
pornographyturnsmeninto
perverts.Sheisteachingusthat
theeffectisalittlebitdifferent.
Sheisshowingthatporndoesnt
makemenrapists
..
.onthe
contrary:Theonslaughtofpornis
responsiblefordeadeningmale
libidoinrelationtorealwomen,
andleadingmentoseefewerand
fewerwomenas
pornworthy[4].BothStrossen
andWolfpointoutthat
pornographydoesntleadtosex
crimes,however,itdoeschangea
mansviewthathehasona
woman.Thiscouldgreatly
impactoursocietyifcontinued.

Inthepastandpresent,ithas
beenclaimedthatwomenarent
treatedaswellasmen.Whether
thatbewithjobsorrunningfor
variouspositionsinthe
community,menareknowntobe
putonahigherpedestalthanthe
womenofthenation.
Pornographycansimplybethe
turningpointfromwhereaman
respectsawoman,towherehe
doesnt.

Whatareyou
thinking?

Ihopethatbyreadingthisyou
wereabletofindoutsome
informationthatwasmotivation
foryou.Iknowthroughoutthis
study,Idefinitelyhave.Ihave
realizedthatalotmorepeople
areaddictedtopornographythan
Ithought.Idoagreewith
StrossenandWolfintheir
outlooksonwhatishappeningin
oursociety.Ithinkthatthere
doesneedtobemoreexposureto
adultmaterialtochildren
whentheyareyoung.Human
sexuallityclassesandeducation
aregoodthings,whenviewedin
therightway.Whenkidsare
taughtbeatrustedadultinstead
ofbeingcuriousontheirown,
thiscanbequiteempoweringfor
them.
Edelman,aresearcher,
foundthatregionswherepeople
regularlyattendreligious
servicesarenotstatistically
differentfromtheircounterparts
inmoresecularregions.But
userswhodoattendreligious
servicestendtoshifttheiradult
entertainmentsessionstoother
daysoftheweekthanthedayof
services.[11]Whenthesocial
normishindered,peopletendto

feelembarrassedandhidetheir
addiction,ratherthanfightingit
andgettinghelp.

NatalieNielsen

Citations

Doan,Andrew.Neuroscienceof
InternetPornographyAddiction.
2015.Web.26Mar.2016.

From:
http://www.mdpi.com/2076328X
/5/3/388

House,Dawn.UtahisNo.1For
OnlinePornography
Consumption.TheSaltLake
Tribune,2009.Web.16Apr.
2016.
<
http://archive.sltrib.com/story.p
hp?ref=/ci_11821265
>.

Featherstone,L.(2012).You,Me
andPornMakeThree.Web.
RetrievedApril7th2016from
http://www.psychologytoday.com
/articles/200508/youmeandporn
makethree
FightTheNewDrug.Porn
ChangesTheBrain.PornKills
Love,2014.Web.25Mar.2016.
<
http://www.fightthenewdrug.org/
pornchangesthebrain/
>.

NationalReview:Getting
SeriousOnPornography.2010.
Web.16Apr.2016.
<
http://www.npr.org/templates/st
ory/story.php?storyId=12538236
1
>.

Naughton,Keith,Cyberslacking.
Vol.134.1999.Web.15Apr.
2016.

Strossen,Nadine.ThePerilsof
Pornophobia.1992.Graduate:
HarvardLaw.Web.25Mar.
2016.

Wolf,Naomi.ThePornMyth.
NewYork:NewYorkTimes,
Web.16Apr.2016.
<
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news
/trends/n_9437/
>