A Warped Worldview: Another Moral Effect of Pornography

By: American Decency Staff

 

 

The moral effects of pornography are, by now, well attested. The scourge of pornography has brought ruin and harm into the lives of millions of our friends and neighbors, destroying marriages, distorting sexuality, and poisoning minds. Even so, the pornography industrial complex continues to grow, representing one of the most lucrative segments of the Internet economy.

For the most part, previous research into the effects of pornography has focused on the psychological and physiological effects of pornography exposure. Among males, exposure to pornography is associated with addictive behaviors traced to the release of chemicals in the brain, stimulating arousal and excitement. In the larger context, pornography is also associated with an exaggerated masculinity, negative attitudes toward women, and relational breakdowns due to unrealistic sexual expectations.

Pornography reduces women to objects of sexual attraction and the endless permutations of sexual behaviors available on the Internet are evidence of the insatiable desire for innovation and excitement that pornography produces. This, to a large extent, is what makes pornography such an expansive industry. Its product builds an apparently insatiable appetite for more, and then even more.

 

More recently, research has emerged that points to another effect of pornography exposure — it warps the worldview of the viewer.

Late last year, Professor Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas argued that exposure to pornography may well influence views on the legalization of same-sex marriage. He suggested that viewing pornography leads men, in particular, to shift to more positive attitudes toward same-sex marriage. Regnerus cited the New Family Structures Survey and then reported that a majority of men who view pornographic material “every day or almost every day” agreed that same-sex marriage should be legal.

Read More: http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/03/04/a-warped-worldview-another-moral-effect-of-pornography/

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