I found a rather disturbing article by Milton Diamond in the March edition of ‘The Scientist‘ magazine. Basically, the article claims that research shows that pornography is not bad for you, and that there is no provable link between the availability and use of porn and the incidence of sexual crime.
Read the full article here.
I must admit I find this conclusion completely bizarre and counter-intuitive, and seemingly at odds with other articles and books that claim the opposite. I also find some of the comments posted in response to the article very telling and informative – have a look and see what you think.
But which is true? Is porn damaging or not? Does frequent exposure to sexually explicit material make men objectify women, and so increase the likelihood of them becoming sexually deviant?
This is an interesting question, and one that I am not qualified to answer, but I can’t help but feel that history is repeating itself. Fifty years ago the debate raged as to whether tobacco caused cancer or not. Some argued that it did, but the tobacco industry argued that it didn’t. Research was produced by both sides to support their position – some of it real science, some of it pseudo-science funded by interested parties who had a point to prove. Ultimately, it took many years for the truth to come out – but eventually it did!
What will the future hold with respect of pornography? The genie is well and truly out of the bottle. Will it prove to be a boon to our culture and society or will it be seen for what it is, destructive, damaging and divisive – the ruin of marriages and the jailer of many a good man?
But what do I know? Time will tell the truth, I suppose, but what damage will be caused in the mean time?
Deliberate Disciple 