Porn, Slavery and Women: The Parallels

Van F. White was the first person of color ever elected to the city council of Minneapolis. He writes about his evolving views of porn in “Pornography and Pride”, published in Men Confront Pornography (1990, p.290-292)… I’m 59 years old, and I’ve known something about pornography for many years. When I was young, I worked […]

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Porn Use Correlates with Infidelity, Prostitution, Aggression, Rape-Supportive Beliefs

The website Family Facts has gathered citations of numerous studies that find that porn consumption correlates with increased rates of infidelity, use of prostitutes, aggression and rape-supportive beliefs. We highlight a few of these studies here: In 1992, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence reported that “Childhood exposure to pornography is significantly related to rape fantasies […]

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Tommy Devine: “people like me, who in the past have taken an indifferent approach to pornography in the name of free speech, need to do more to educate ourselves and others about porn’s destructive properties”

Tommy Devine has been observing the Valley’s political culture for some years as the man behind The Baystate Objectivist [see interview]. In “Freedom and Decency”, posted on 1/13/07, he shares his reactions to one of NoPornNorthampton’s recent publications… Like most people who work in any field involving self-expression, I’m an absolutist where freedom of speech […]

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Hartford Courant: Judge Backs Sex-Business Ordinance

A federal judge has upheld the rights of Berlin, CT residents to protect themselves from the secondary effects of a topless bar near homes. Today’s Hartford Courant tells the story… BERLIN — In a key decision that upholds the town’s sexually oriented business ordinance, a federal judge has rejected a lawsuit from Gold Diggers LLC, […]

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The Importance of People’s Perceptions, Myths and Irrationalities

Robert Kaplan is a frequent contributor to The Atlantic and author of Mediterranean Winter: The Pleasures of History and Landscape in Tunisia, Sicily, Dalmatia, and Greece; Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History; and The Ends of the Earth: A Journey at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century. In his latest Atlantic article, “A Historian For […]

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Male Attitudes about Rape Can Be Learned…and Unlearned

Male attitudes about rape are not bred in the bone. They can be learned and unlearned. Edward Donnerstein and Daniel Linz report their findings in “Mass Media, Sexual Violence, and Male Viewers: Current Theory and Research”, published in Men Confront Pornography (1990, p.219-232)… Aggressive pornography, as used here, refers to X-rated images of sexual coercion […]

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Young New Yorkers Talk about Porn’s Effect on their Relationships (explicit language)

New York Magazine considers the impact of I-porn in “Not Tonight, Honey. I’m Logging On”. [T]he mass consumption of cyberporn has slyly moved from the pathetic stereotypes (fugitive perverts, frustrated husbands) into the potent mainstream (young professionals, perhaps your boyfriend). Thanks to the advent of cable modems and DSL connections, it’s now easier than ever […]

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Link of Media to Violence Accepted, But Porn Has No Effect?

When violent incidents like the Columbine shootings occur, some in the media rush to deny a link between media and violence. On the other hand, producers make millions from product placement in movies, on the premise that the mere appearance of a product in a movie will affect viewer behavior. ProtectKids.com elaborates (PDF)… Film critic […]

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Porn and Sex Crimes in Other Countries: The Historical Experience

One way to get a sense of the impact of porn in today’s America is to review the historical experience in other countries. ProtectKids.com (PDF) again weighs in with interesting things to say… One area where porn advocates are happy to talk about correlational studies is in relation to Denmark, where the government lifted pornography […]

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