Kimberley Linford

11/23/14
ENG 1010
Issue Exploration Essay
The Many Sides of Pornography
Throughout my whole life, Ive acknowledged the existence of pornography but I
had never realized how taboo the matter really was until I became older and involved
with boys. At first I always acknowledged that theres a good amount of people will
watch porn, or look at pictures, but I never realized all the controversies behind the
pornography industry and even the effect it has on our society. The reason why I used
this as my final paper is because I wanted to learn more about pornography from different
points of views.
Pornography is a topic that has been address many times, by many different
people in the world. Some subcultures see pornography as natural and something that all
people experience at some point in their lives, while there are others who see it as
disgusting and evil. I wanted to learn more about why both cultures see pornography in
that way, and overall I wanted to gain more knowledge behind my opinion of
pornography.
Most of the information I found was all about how porn ruins lives, but I found
sources talking about how porn can enrich lives as well. All sources had very valuable
information that had reasoning behind it, but there were some sources I found online that
came off as some sort of blind hatred or fear of pornography, which I didnt believe was
credible. Overall though, I have learned there are many parts of pornography: theres the

effect it has on us, as a society, in industry itself, and the different ways people classify
pornography.
Many of the sources discovered elaborated on the damaging effects pornography
has on people, but what I learned as well is that pornography, and online sex, has
damaging effects on individuals as well as family life. (Fagan n. pag.) Individuals with
some sort of marital, biological, or compassionate bond between them form a family, so
we shouldnt forget the impact a single individual can have on the whole family. Along
with that, the family is the nucleus of society, so if theres discord in a lot of families
theres usually a lot of discord in society. The Family Research Council stated:
Pornography alters both sexual attitudes and behavior, undermining marriage, which in
turn, undermines the stability of the entire community. (Fagan n. pag.) What really
interests me is the passion that people have behind keeping their communities and
societies in order by preventing pornography or fighting against it. I feel like deeming it a
disruption of societal peace seems a little bit dramatic to me. Society is too full of
different personalities, and morals for it to be corrupted so easily but something that
doesnt affect every single person the same way.
I can understand though, how people believe that pornography can heavily
damage a marriage, or a family. The Family Research council states: Pornography
devastates marriages, as husbands report to loving their spouses less due to the addiction,
and the wives of these users have deep psychological wounds, with feelings of betrayal,
mistrust, and anger towards their partner, sometimes requiring clinical treatment for
trauma (Fagan n. pag.) Although this statement is a little dramatic, I do believe that
these are common consequences of pornography or a pornography addiction. Even if the

husband doesnt see his pornography as a problem, the wife might start to have feelings
of inadequacy or self-esteem issues, which can cause a disruption in the family. This was
a main point brought up in most of my research. A lot of the sources that are against
pornography make points by saying that pornography is selfish because it just focuses on
the one persons desires rather than what the relationship needs. There are even studies
that show that people who have viewed pornography are much more likely to cheat on
their spouses than those who have not watched or seen pornography (Douthat n. pag.)
While they are many other factors to why people commit adultery, pornography seems to
play an interesting part as well.
Pornography isnt just about viewing or watching videos of explicit random
sexual acts, but it involves real people. Some people dont see a difference between
renting out a hooker versus paying for porn on a TV or a website, but what it comes
down to is how you make the distinction between infidelity and entertainment. (Douthat
n. pag.) I dont believe that if I saw my husband watching pornography I would accuse
him of committing adultery, but I would feel like he is betraying me in some sense. That
feeling of not being enough could ruin any marriage.
There is a statement from Ross Douthats article Is Pornography Adultery in
The Atlantic that says: One perspective, broadly construed, treats porn as a harmless
habit, near-universal among men, and at worst a little silly. I dont feel like this
perspective is entirely accurate because there are too many sources stating the addictive
nature of pornography, but it just depends on how much you allow it to affect you. Just
like any addiction, or even hobby, we are in charge of how much time and devotion we
put into it. If we allow something to govern our relationships and life in general than it

can be harmful. But pornography is seen as so natural, since it involves sexual acts that
people do or even see everyday people see it as something trivial, like mentioned above.
That brings me back to the fact that different pornography is viewed differently
depending on your subculture. Even the subculture of being a parent can have you view
pornography differently, or have a different definition of pornography. Cole Moreton, in
his article in The Telegraph entitled: "Children and the Culture of Pornography: 'Boys
Will Ask You Every Day until You Say Yes'" states that Our children are becoming
victims of pornification. In his article he talks thoroughly about how pornography isnt
just pornography form websites or magazines, but also about sexting in general and
explicit pictures that can be shared throughout a school. I think in his article he brings up
valid points about pornography in todays culture and how its shaping our children. Even
though Im not a parent, this view thoroughly intrigued me because I grew up in a high
school where naked pictures traveling the school were a regular occurrence. It was
interesting to see the points he made about the internet and pornography, he said:
Thanks to the internet, our boys and girls are the first children to grow up with free,
round-the-clock access to hardcore pornography. (Moreton, n. pag.)
As society grows and develops new forms of technology, it allows better access for our
children and everyone in general. What could this mean for society? It could mean a
variety of things, included a more intense immersion into sex and sexual acts, more
intense than it is now at least. Moreton even noted that the pop industry teaches little girls
to bump and grind. Even though these are problems of the media, not the pornography
industry, (Langely n. pag.) they still affect us, and the sexualization of children.

All these things can cause pornography to have a negative connotation, or stigma,
but I still believe that everything depends on how you let pornography affect you. Even
with all the information of the negative aspects of pornography that I gathered, it still
wasnt enough for me to form an exact opinion about the situation.
Some of the most interesting views that I found were those stating that porn was
good for you, and in some ways can be ethical. There was a study in the University of
Utah that was about porn addictions being problematic, but learning that the issue most
people overcoming a porn addiction was controlling their urge. (Langley n. pag.) This
goes to show that if you give something a negative stigma, it will automatically cause a
negative reaction to it.
In the article Why Porn Can Be Good For You (and Society) Written by Liz
Langely in The Alternet, Langely touches up on a lot of points that show that
pornography could, in fact, be good for you. The quote that I found most intriguing was:
So porn does have its upsides -- as a tool for sexual exploration, for talking about
relationship problems and desires, as one of the perks of living in a society where we
have to put up with the fact that other people have different tastes and interests than our
own. (Langely n. pag) I think that Langely made a valid point in saying that people have
different tastes; this means that pornography comes off different to different people as
well. All though this seems like it should be commonly known, not a lot of people realize
that some people actually enjoy porn, and not in a crazy binge-watching sort of way. It
could be beneficial to people to actually watch pornography, its the people who bingewatch and have a marathon that have a hard time getting their dopamine signals up

without pornography. (Langely n. pag) There are people out there are apparently see
pornography as another way to pass the time or maybe keep themselves entertained.
This fact was interesting to me because in the culture that I live in its very taboo
to even watch anything remotely explicit. Pornography in this culture is viewed as
something thats evil, but in this article it shows that it could give a chance for open
communication between couples to elaborate on interests and desires. (Langely n. pag.) I
think that this is something that is not discussed often but actually could really be
beneficial. If theres some sort of interest that the spouse is ashamed of, it might lead to a
better connection in their marriage.
Another positive thing about pornography that came up in my research was a lot
about the feminist movement within pornography, and the concept of ethical porn.
There seems to be more a feminist movement in the porn industry, even though the men
are usually the one who get paid less and are seen as less important. (Williams n. pag)
Theres a whole movement in the pornography industry that is focused on liberating the
woman involved and making an industry about what feels good, rather than forced
pleasure. (Williams n. pag.) Its all about liberating the individuality of the woman
involved and to make it so the industry isnt just about a point a to point b entertainment.
In Is there such a thing as ethical porn in The Guardian, Zoe Williams said It seems
that the more the sex industry tries to hammer us into one sexual identity, the more we
rebel with riotous weirdness. Individuality wouldnt sound like something that the porn
industry would be fighting for, but it seems that theres a strong movement towards it.
I thought this point was by far, the most interesting because it showed that even
the pornography industry is trying to adapt to make it more enjoyable for everyone. This

movement makes pornography seeming less like this path to immoral damnation, but
rather a place to express yourself and indulge in the things that makes you happy. This is
a totally different point of view than what has previously been stated from other sources.
The fact that people could see porn as beneficial is actually more taboo than people
watching porn in general.
All of these views and perspectives helped me to create my own opinion on
pornography. I believe that pornography is something in life that we can either allow to
be a negative force in our life or a positive one. I personally would not allow myself to be
involved in pornography or even be pleased if I knew someone that was, but for some
people it could be beneficial to their relationships and maybe even their own self
expression.
In conclusion, pornography has many different faces. Whether its traditional
porn, online sex, or even teenage sexting, porn comes in many different shapes and sizes.
This means it porn could mean different things to different people. Its not just about
adultery; as well its not just about expressing yourself, but so much more than that. Its a
concept that will always be in our society, its just up to us to determine how we will
allow it to affect us.

Works Cited
Douthat, Ross. "Is Pornography Adultery?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01
Oct. 2008. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Fagan, Patrick F. "The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family, and
Community." Family Research Council. Washington Connection, n.d. Web. 02
Nov. 2014.
Langely, Liz. "Why Porn Can Be Good For You (And Society)." Alternet. Alternet, 23
Feb. 2012. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Moreton, Cole. "Children and the Culture of Pornography: 'Boys Will Ask You Every
Day until You Say Yes'" The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 28 July
0027. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.
Williams, Zoe. "Is There Such a Thing as Ethical Porn?" The Guardian. N.p., 1 Nov.
2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.