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Audience Statement and Enthymeme Cover Sheet

Audience Statement

My audience is PRO valuing pornography.

Who is your audience? Why do they find your claim initially unacceptable?

My audience is high school age to young graduate students, both single and in a relationship,
that believe that viewing pornography is either neither bad nor good, or believe that viewing
pornography is a healthy way for them to strengthen their relationships, or channel their own
sexual expression. They believe that those who oppose pornography are geophonic, old
fashioned, and controlling. They don’t inherently believe that everyone everywhere needs to be
watching porn, but they believe that in moderation there's nothing wrong with it.

What does your audience value the most?

My audience deeply values mental health awareness and compassion. They want to be able to
have stable relationships and believe that other habits can negatively affect their mental health,
such as keeping secrets or projecting their reality on their partner. They value making a positive
difference and respect other people’s life experiences. They value compassion.

What does your audience fear the most?

They fear being controlled by societal expectations and not being themselves. Like most in their
generation, they fear the impact that allowing certain societal practices to continue can have on
future generations. They fear loneliness and judgment and not fitting in with those that also
believe as they do. They fear hurting other people and being hurt by just doing the status quo.

Audience Counterarguments:

But . . . if we watch it together it makes our relationship better

But . . . it educates about sex
But . . . there is nothing morally wrong, it’s a natural part of life
But . . . I feel good when I watch it

Enthymeme
What are the consequences of viewing pornography on mental health and relationships?
Claim:
Viewing of pornographic material degrades mental health and relationship quality.
Because unrealistic expectations restrain our ability to have strong relationships.
Implicit Assumption:
Whatever restrains our ability to have strong relationships/ our connection to reality, also
degrades mental health.
Contract Question:
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What are the effects of viewing pornography on mental health and relationship quality?
Brielle Hansen

Courtney Bulsiewicz

WRTG 312 Rogerian Argument

6 December 2020

Supporting the Vulnerable

Pornography is a difficult topic. When debated or discussed, powerful emotional and

moral judgments are readily tossed around, and personal opinion is rampant. Because

confirmation bias is so often leaned on in this discussion, reasonably finding neutral evidence

for either side can be nearly impossible, especially in popular media. Moral discussions have

their place, but they are not the only ones we need. The purpose of this paper, specifically, is to

discuss the effects of pornography on mental health. Proponents of pornography say that it can

help- that it’s apparent evils are created by those who oppose it. Those against it say that it

pollutes the mind, addicts like drugs, and destroys families. As it is undeniably important,

however, the topic needs more rational discussion and evidence-based reasoning. This topic

has a broad range, so to narrow the focus, here the main topic of inquiry will be pornography’s

effects on relationship quality, and further, its effects on mental health.

On the topic of sexuality, the World Health Organization has said, “It is not merely the

absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful

approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable

and safe sexual experiences.” Accordingly, pornography may well be an unconventional

approach to education, fulfillment, and opening the conversation between partners, as the
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WHO suggests is necessary. Everyone wants to have fulfilled, safe, and loyal relationships, and

so the media encouraging paths to this is often seen as a good thing. We know that other

simple habits, like cooking dinner together, can positively affect relationships, but what about

this one? Traditionally frowned upon in a moral society, and recently praised by media and the

rising generation, viewing of pornography alone and in relationships does have an effect— but

to what end?

As a trigger warning, nothing written here is explicit, but the personal accounts and

topics in this are discussing explicit material and may be emotionally triggering for some. The

goal of this paper is to analyze the effects of viewing pornography on mental health, so if your

personal struggle is already related, please use discretion. And to clarify/specify, although

pornography and masturbation are almost always connected, the research done for this paper

focused mainly on the viewing of pornography. It is natural to assume, however, that because

of the interconnectedness of the two, most statistics on viewing pornography fall in line with

the effects of masturbation as very similar. However, no such claim is being made here, only an

observation.

Breaking from the mold of setting out to prove porn as a social plague, recent studies,
such as “High-Frequency Pornography Use May Not Always Be Problematic,” from psychologist
Beáta Bőthe Ph.D. and other researchers, challenges the traditional views. By studying
individual cases rather than just trends, researchers are learning that the numbers of people
with “non-problematic” frequent pornography use are much higher than expected (Bőthe et al
1). Most studies on pornography use focus on variables as the key indicator, but this one took
an individual-centric approach, looking at how the usage affected their daily lives. While the
numbers with problematic use are still high, this study suggests that many individuals use
pornography frequently, but it does not affect their ability to work, enjoy time with others, or
draw them away from what they consider to be important aspects of their lives. (These
attributes are what define a problematic addiction.)
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Traditional beliefs further say, however, that the problems that pornography use
creates- lack of trust, addiction, unhealthy expectations- are not exclusive to individuals viewing
alone. In light of this, viewing pornography as a couple is another growing trend. In popular
media and countless web articles, there are positive examples and personal accounts of this
trend- despite the fact that peer-reviewed research indicating a real, positive correlation is
difficult to find. The claim is that couples can watch pornography to open a conversation about
their needs and wants, and “spice up” their relationship. According to his expertise, sex
therapist Jason Winters says that the real problem may not be with porn itself only how we
view it. Winters believes that with proper intimacy education, clarifying that pornography is
supposed to be entertainment, not a replacement for the “real deal,” then the issues would
disappear. Pornography does cause damage to society and individuals, Winters says, but “it's
not the pornography that's doing the damage-— it's the lack of conversation about what
they're seeing that's setting [us] back” ("Pornography should be...). Arguments such as this one
do deserve consideration and may hold true, but to find the full effect pornography has on
mental health and relationships, we need to keep digging.

In reality, the biggest concerns about pornography revolve around the horrible climate

of its industry. Ignoring the deep history of abuse and trafficking is not an option, but many

proposing pornography as beneficial aren’t trying to. With less stringent social norms, those

involved in the industry are speaking up and being a legitimate part of the conversation.

Members of the industry are aware of the effects their content has on lives and some are trying

to balance that with better regulation. An adult film performer, Stoya, even discusses this

openly, praising diversity in the industry, and spreading light on those in her field that seek to

create educational, context filled, content (Stoya). Stoya, and others, claim that addiction rates

to pornography are way lower than most people expect them to be, and that pornography can

be a way for the individual to learn about their preferences or have experiences when they

would otherwise be isolated and lonely. While the actual rates of pornography addiction are

debated, Stoya’s voice does hold some weight. Even popular media’s depictions of people’s

outlook on pornography have shifted. In shows like Friends and New Girl, it is a regular gag, and

it’s rare to find a show that doesn’t address the topic in at least one of it’s episodes. ABC’s The
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Good Doctor even has an episode exploring an autistic character's thoughts about pornography.

These lines of thought and others propose a compelling argument for society to rethink how it

views pornography.

However.

As traditional as shunning pornography is, it is not the same as other strict and uninclusive

practices healthy and progressive society is trying to abandon. I am not to pigeon hole this

argument into outright rejecting porn because of traditional values, but regardless of the

morality of pornography, in digging through article after article, journal after journal, the

research truly is consistent. On both the individual and relationship level, viewing pornography

is detrimental to relationship quality, mental health, and self-esteem. The positive experience

stories and research does exist, and they are written by real people, but they are vastly

outnumbered by frankly terrifying horror stories of abuse, neglect, addiction, and latent misery

both in industry and individually— not to mention the solid analytical data. As much as popular

media seems to say that it is harmless or neutral at best, research says otherwise. Friends may

have “made a punch line out of casual sex and hookups and portrayed them as consequence-

free. No STDs, no trips to the abortion clinic, no staring at their phones waiting for the one-

night stand to call. Just a good laugh about fighting over the last condom in the apartment and

a porn marathon, ” but when that causal representation turns into people thinking they should

treat their own relationships so casually, reality will indefinitely be much harsher than they

thought (McGuire). This trend does open up a conversation about the real problems we are

facing, but it is also trivializing a major issue present in many people’s lives.
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In the Bőthe study referenced earlier about problematic porn use, the point was made

that problematic usage rates aren’t as high as expected. However, the researchers also clarified

that trends in their test group showed that the cases of problematic pornography use were

almost always connected to those individuals struggling with “hypersexuality, depressive

symptoms, boredom susceptibility, self-esteem…” and other concerns. In another peer-

reviewed article looking at the connection between pornography use and loneliness,

researchers found that for three different test groups and testing models there were significant

associations (Butler et al 1). It is from these trends that I want to make my main argument.

When someone who is mentally healthy watches pornography, they will most likely

move on and continue being stable and content. But how many people, especially in this, the

rising generation, are actually like that? As the world seems to get more and more heated and

confusing, how many people will stay like that? Anxiety, depression, PTSD, toxic—

perfectionism, ADD, ADHD, autism— no matter how severe or slight the condition, they are

affecting nearly everyone. Viewing pornography, even if it is not habitual or an addiction,

makes mental health worse. A study on mood changes and pornography concluded exactly

that, while also stating that for their test group, “at-risk” individuals were more likely to

transition from the initial gratification of porn to experiencing “increasing diminished control

over the pornography use” (Brand et al 1).

Another study that tracked the effects of viewing porn on individuals with ADD and

ADHD found that it “exacerbated[s] their difficulty in forming secure attachment [in] adult life”

(Niazof et al.). Attachment and connection, already strenuous for those with a mental illness,
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can get even more difficult when the mind is focused on pornographic behaviors or images. Not

everyone has ADHD or a mental health disorder, but more and more people do. More and more

people have anxiety or depression or struggle with autism— and pornography is not only more

addictive to these people, but more harmful as well (Niazof et al.). Consistently, the research

points to the fact that if in any case pornography could help, it most certainly does not help

those who are vulnerable mentally or emotionally.

For some, pornography can trigger a dormant mental illness that would not have

affected the individual otherwise. Writing simply as “J,” one man shared with a porn recovery

and awareness website that his depression and porn addiction were completely linked,

explaining that it got so bad he contemplated suicide multiple times. Before his porn addiction,

he did not have depression. And on his recovery, he explained, “ I noticed how my depression

was absent as well. I felt happier… I felt connected to the people around me… Since that day of

October 24, 2013, my depression has not shown up once in my life.” (“True Story: Quitting

Porn...). For so many of us, there is not a specific, if you stop doing this, your mental disease will

go away. I wish there was. But in J’s case, had there been no pornography, there would have

been no depression. Pornography simply isn’t worth taking chances for so many who are at risk,

and it certainly isn’t worth normalizing if it will simply isolate the vulnerable even more. If

casually viewing porn without adverse consequences is socially expected, what does that mean

for those who don’t know that it could trigger them?

Think about how careful and supportive one needs to be when helping someone

overcome alcoholism— where you go, what is said, how the normal and every day has to be
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treated— it all must adjust if you are going to be compassionate and a force for good in their

lives. If someone expects their partner to be able to watch porn with them, side-effect free the

way lots of media portrays it, they run a huge risk. Is it really fair of us as a society to put

another pressure to conform to those who already struggle so much every day? Educating on

the dangers of alcohol still has not stopped a growing issue of alcoholism- how would educating

about the true purpose of pornography be different? Education is not a bad idea, but it is

simply not enough to protect the many who truly need it.

But again, it also goes beyond the individual’s ability to cope and be happy. An

examination of 30 national surveys on the effects of pornography found that “for married and

unmarried Americans alike, pornography use was either unassociated or negatively associated

with nearly all relationship outcomes” (Perry). Clinical psychologist Denise Puerto’s graduate

dissertation cites 80 different sources, finding that, “research has demonstrated that

pornography can physically impact a person… and decrease[e] sexual satisfaction in real-life

relationships… emotionally impact one’s ability to cope… increase cognitive dissonance, and

can negatively impact mental health.” A key to all of this, Puerto found, is that “pornography

can impact intimate relationships by increasing unrealistic expectations regarding sexual

activity… markedly decreasing trust between partners” (qtd in Puerto, Puerto). 110 studies and

thousands of participants later, and at best the results of them were “unassociated.” That

cannot be a good enough reason for us, as a society to put so many of the people we love,

already struggling with mental illness, at risk.

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One man who was molested as a toddler was introduced to pornography at 10 years

old. Already at risk because of something he had no control over, pornography became an

addiction in his life, and he was eventually arrested for viewing child pornography. During

recovery, he wrote,

I’m not a pedophile, I’m attracted to adult women. I was just so addicted to porn

that the high I was getting could only be achieved by viewing content that was

unusual and “taboo.” I’m not gay, but I viewed bisexual and gay porn. I’m not into

animals, but I viewed bestiality porn. This is what porn does— it warps your

sexual template to be interested in things you would never naturally be into

(“How I Went…”).

Not everyone would become that addicted to porn, but not everyone is that vulnerable to it

either. It shouldn't be about the statistical probability that someone will form an addiction—just

because something isn’t as bad as we imagined doesn’t make it good. Pornography has never

been scientifically proven to widely improve the individual’s quality of life, but it has proven

time and time again to take the at-risk and manipulate control right out from under them. And

as society continues to proclaim that viewing porn is normal and healthy, it isolates the vast

majority of people who will, if they watch even non-frequently, become lonelier, more

depressed, more anxious, and less able to develop a secure, loving relationship.

Anyone who has been to a counselor or therapist knows that becoming grounded in

reality as quickly as possible is the key to making important changes moving forward. Honesty

and openness, seeing things for how they actually are, and loving them for it, is central to our
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contentment, and eventual happiness, no matter what we struggle with. The purpose of

pornography is to entertain, to promote a false reality, but it is much more dangerous than

common escapist television or movies.

Pornography engages very real hormones in the body, hacking the brain to “participate”

in something that is a fabrication. As we’ve discovered, that does some damage. One woman

shared her husband’s story on a recovery website: “He still loves me, he just didn’t find me

attractive. As we’ve been to counseling sessions, I’ve been able to understand more that this

has absolutely nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the unrealistic expectations

that pornography created for Dave.” Nine years of healing and emotional work for the couple

did not leave them without scars: “My husband developed a certain level of OCD where he feels

like he has to be perfect in a spiritual way to make up for the time spent viewing porn… He has

missed milestones with our son because of that. Our marriage has been strained because of

that” (“The Day I Realized…”). This woman is not alone, and there are many, many stories that

mirror hers. Pornography does not help those who are vulnerable— and happiness is hard

enough as it is.

In closing, pornography does affect those with mental health concerns, both individually

and in relationships, and it is not a positive change. Like all issues, this one is complicated and

full of nuance for each individual situation and should be treated as such. I believe that this is a

large scale societal issue- we are all influenced so much by the media and opinion around us.

Nevertheless, we are not powerless to stop it. We are a society. We can approach this problem

right where we are, and help. It comes down to each person, choosing not to watch, and
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encouraging others to stop as well. When individuals stop, and we help them to, change is

possible. Instead of making a bigger space to pressure people into watching pornography, we

need louder voices talking about the actual facts of the issue. And, because this is a human

issue, we do need an opinion and personal examples too. Pornography disproportionally

damages those with mental health concerns, which is a group gaining more and more people

every year. I do have a belief about the morality of pornography, and you can probably guess

what that is. But, my point isn’t whether the issue is morally good or bad, but if it has a positive

or negative influence on those with mental health concerns. You are allowed to believe that

there is nothing morally wrong with pornography— I’m not that concerned about that frankly.

Just don’t let the media fool you into thinking it will be good for you and the ones you love.
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Works Cited

Bőthe, Beáta, et al. “High-Frequency Pornography Use May Not Always Be Problematic.” The

Journal of Sexual Medicine, vol. 17, no. 4, 2020, pp. 793–811.,

doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2020.01.007.

Brand, Young, Laier, Wolfing, et al. “Mood Changes after Watching Pornography on the Internet

Are Linked to Tendencies towards Internet-Pornography-Viewing Disorder.” Addictive

Behaviors Reports, vol. 5, 2017, pp. 9–13., doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2016.11.003.

Butler, Mark H., et al. “Pornography Use and Loneliness: A Bidirectional Recursive Model and

Pilot Investigation.” Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, vol. 44, no. 2, 2017, pp. 127–137.,

doi:10.1080/0092623x.2017.1321601.

J. “True Story: Quitting Porn Helped in My Fight Against Depression.” Edited by Unknown Fight

the New Drug, Fight the New Drug, 28 Aug. 2020, fightthenewdrug.org/depression-

disappeared-stopped-watching-porn/.

McGuire, Ashley. “The Legacy of NBC's 'Friends'.” Institute for Family Studies, Institute for

Family Studies, 2019, ifstudies.org/blog/the-legacy-of-nbcs-friends.

Niazof, Daniel, et al. “The Contribution of ADHD and Attachment Difficulties to Online

Pornography Use among Students.” Comprehensive Psychiatry, vol. 93, 2019, pp. 56–

60., doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2019.07.002.

P. “How I Went from a 10-Year-Old Looking at Porn to a Suicidal ‘Sex Fiend.’” Fight the New

Drug, 17 Aug. 2020, fightthenewdrug.org/went-from-a-10-year-old-looking-at-porn-to-

suicidal/.

Perry, Samuel L. “Pornography and Relationship Quality: Establishing the Dominant Pattern by

Examining Pornography Use and 31 Measures of Relationship Quality in 30 National

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Surveys.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 49, no. 4, 2020, pp. 1199–1213.,

doi:10.1007/s10508-019-01616-7.

“Pipes.” The Good Doctor. American Broadcasting Network. ABC, Burbank. 16 October 2017.

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"Pornography should be part of sex education, says sex therapist Jason Winters." The Canadian

Broadcasting Corporation, 9 Sept. 2015. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A428129118/OVIC?

u=byuprovo&sid=OVIC&xid=e29c2d4e. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020

Puerto, Denise. “Clinical Implications of Pornography Acting as a Disconnect from Physiological

and Psychological Intimacy.” ProQuest, Dissertations Publishing, 2020, www-proquest-

com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/2402012961/abstract/9437445FECBB45CEPQ/1?

accountid=4488.

S. “The Day I Realized My Porn-Obsessed Partner Was No Longer Attracted to Me.” Fight the

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wont-have-sex-with-me/.

Stoya. "Can There Be Good Porn?" New York Times, 5 Mar. 2018, p. A27(L). Gale In Context:

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u=byuprovo&sid=OVIC&xid=820864b2. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.

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www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/sexual_health/sh_definitions/en/.