WASHINGTON, DC — Everybody “knows” that men who watch porn ultimately become callous, cold-hearted, self-absorbed, narcissistic sexual predators who think of women as nothing more than cum receptacles for their depraved, cock-focused sex fantasies, right? And everybody “knows” that porn fills men’s empty little heads with unrealistic expectations about what women will do and how they should look, right? Not according to a recent research study that focused on the affects of sexually explicit materials upon men.According to Reason magazine, claims by both religious/social conservatives and anti-porn feminists that increased availability of hardcore erotic material would translate into increased rates of violent sexual crimes against women have not only proven to be false but entirely opposite of reality.
Although feminist pundit Robin Morgan once intoned that “Pornography is the theory; rape is the practice,” and a 1986 federal commission concluded that “increased sexual violence” was simply destined to result from exposure to the morally corrosive materials – ultimately inspiring a short-lived Indianapolis law that permitted women to sue pornographers if they were assaulted by men they believed had viewed material depicting women in “positions of servility or submission or display” – the reality of male sexual response has simply refused to play along with anti-porn socio-political agendas.
With a quarter of all internet denizens admitting to Nielsen that they visited at least one of the 244 million U.S. based adult websites during the month prior to the survey, one would expect an enormous surge in reported sexual violence.
Instead, violent criminal behavior of all kinds has taken a nose dive since 1993. Given the surge in online connectivity and the copious internet sex options, that makes no sense – if you think watching sex turns a man into a slathering sex fiend, that is.
While those who can’t conceive of a world where sexuality is openly expressed and not forced upon others may attempt to credit the 58-percent drop in all violent crimes, 72-percent drop in rape, and 68-percent drop in all other sexual assaults on an eerie and unexplained refusal of women to report having been victimized, the FBI reports that even when violent crime rates surge, rape continues to wane.
Given the push to educate men, woman, and police agencies about the ills of sexual violence and the importance of both reporting it and addressing it compassionately, it seems unlikely that women have suddenly opted out of reporting violent sexual crimes – so maybe the decrease is related to something else, something good?
Economist Todd Kendall of Clemson University thinks it might have something to do with the fact porn is so easy to find and view, helping at least some impulse-control limited individuals keep their peckers in their pants.
As Kendall explains it in a paper he presented to Stanford Law School last year, when you make adjustments for various regional differences, states with greater access to the internet line up with rates of decline in rape. For instance, states with a 10-percent increase in internet access generally experienced a 7.3-percent decline in rape. Such does not prove to be the case with other kinds of crime, however. Although it’s possible that potential perps have discovered the joys of endless online gaming, Kendall proposes that it’s possible that Web porn may provide at least some sex pigs with a way to cut the craving.
While it’s possible that quick adopters of internet technology may also move swiftly in other areas, including less tolerance for sexual assault and better use of DNA analysis when crimes are committed, Kendall’s theory is provocative.
Whether online porn serves as some kind of balm for the soul of the sexually violent or not, the fact that it doesn’t appear to encourage criminally violent behavior clearly flies in the face of all claims to the contrary, whether they come from the White House or the house next door – and that’s good news for everybody except those whose agenda is less about truth and more about controlling the thoughts and actions of others.
