www.physorg.com/news187448961.html
com) -- The arguments against pornography are many, ranging from insistence that porn degrades women and is morally reprehensible to the assertion that pornography viewing is the cause of sex crimes. However, over the years, there have been numerous studies done on this subject. And, reports The Scientist, it appears that there are links between sex crimes and pornography. Just not the sort of links many of us might have expected. Instead of causing sex crimes, porn might actually contribute to reducing their incidence.
The Scientist reports on the matter: Over the years, many scientists have investigated the link between pornography (considered legal under the First Amendment in the United States unless judged obscene) and sex crimes and attitudes towards women. And in every region investigated, researchers have found that as pornography has increased in availability, sex crimes have either decreased or not increased. While that is far from a ringing endorsement, it does at least seem to indicate that pornography isn't contributing to sex crimes. While some naysayers may point out that most offenders in prison have been exposed to porn, the fact of the matter is that nearly every male -- and a good number of females -- is exposed to pornography at some point. It stands to reason that most offenders have viewed porn. But other studies found that being punished for porn use might contribute to someone becoming a rapist, and not the porn use itself. Indeed, continues The Scientist, a repressive religious upbringing might be more of a factor in rape than porn: Looking closer, Michael Goldstein and Harold Kant found that rapists were more likely than nonrapists in the prison population to have been punished for looking at pornography while a youngster, while other research has shown that incarcerated nonrapists had seen more pornography, and seen it at an earlier age, than rapists. What does correlate highly with sex offense is a strict, repressive religious upbringing. Richard Green too has reported that both rapists and child molesters use less pornography than a control group of normal males. This sort of assertion is bound to raise a few eyebrows and even cause a little controversy. Especially when taken alongside studies that seem to indicate that porn doesn't result in feelings of misogyny. Additionally, while there is anecdotal evidence that porn users are abusive toward their female partners, there is no evidence that pornography use is the cause of these actions. Perhaps there are other factors, such as alcoholism or violent tendencies, that are bigger influences.
Skeptic_Heretic - Mar 10, 2010 + Rank: 26 / 5 If you want to determine what flavor of a new media technology will be widely adopted, watch the porn industry. HD DVD vs Blu-Ray, porn industry backs blu-ray and blu-ray wins. Tried and true metrics to determine what format people will buy.
El_Nose - Mar 10, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 actually the porn industry went with HD DVD if you remember 2004-2007 blu rays was an expensive medium and very few studios released porn on blu ray. The only reason I remeber this is me and my roommate had an argument over blu-ray vs HDDvd - he choose HD-DVD because the porn industry went with it so he bought a HD player and I went with a playstation 3 because I felt blu-ray was going to win out by sheer number of options the format allowed to the producers and consumers - especially the mandate for a local harddrive to update software and firmware.
Skeptic_Heretic - Mar 10, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 actually the porn industry went with HD DVD if you remember 2004-2007 blu rays was an expensive medium and very few studios released porn on blu ray.
slaveunit - Mar 10, 2010 + Rank: 5 / 5 It needs to be remembered that at the time VHS/Beta was being decided the only other format was film. So the ability to comsume porn was highly restricted but the demand was there so it played a decisive role. With blue ray/hd war peeps could already watch tape/dvd so combined with the high cost to convert no such decisive playing field was established, in short it was too close to call.
Skeptic_Heretic - Mar 10, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 By the way this article confirms hat I already though strict religious upbringing creates criminals, hypocrites and socially disfunctional individuals I have no idea how you came to that conclusion. I even re-read the article to make sure I hadn't missed something.
Dr_Yoinkel_Finkelblatt - Mar 11, 2010 + Rank: 37 / 5 The real question is what effect watching porn has on us both in the short and long term psychologically. While it may decrease incidence of crimes by giving people who would act criminally an outlet, what are its effects on depression, anxiety, quality of relationship etc... I'm no puritan, but it would be interesting to find out.
xamien - Mar 11, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 This makes a lot of sense and I agree with what some other people said about this, in that the repression makes sense and points to clear needs to avoid repression in our society. However, it also makes sense that porn in itself should be examined for the psychological repercussions (whatever those may be) to the individual, the local community, and society as a whole. Would it not make sense that ideally, we are an educated, un-repressed, well-adjusted group of individuals with a healthy sense of our sexuality and no, if not minor, need for pornography in the first place?
rproulx45 - Mar 11, 2010 + Rank: 5 / 5 The largest consumers of online porn, worldwide? The Middle East and coming* in second, the Bible Belt States of the US, and has been for years. Conservative,hot summers, religious, and just a little bit crazy around the edges.
Skeptic_Heretic - Mar 11, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 The reason BluRay won is simple. A customer goes to buy a player: "Can I have one of those dvhdvdd... Bluray players please" With how many people purchase Linski rooters, I'm sure that wasn't a concern.
To some, simple nudity is porn - though millions of people who go to clothing optional beaches and resorts would disagree. Some insist that any depiction of sex is porn but I'm sure others would agree with me that it isn't unless there is an element of violence. I would never think that sexuality with violence or depiction of sex with children could be "good" in any sense, but I strongly agree that repressing nudity and sexuality is harmful.
Skeptic_Heretic - Mar 11, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 Please define porn. Physical penetration with intent for physical stimulation or gratification depicited via a "media" medium. That's the standard defining line between porn and art according to law, penetration.
jimbo92107 - Mar 11, 2010 + Rank: 37 / 5 "What does correlate highly with sex offense is a strict, repressive religious upbringing." That statistical bombshell is a MUCH bigger story than saying porn is harmless. The headline should have been "Strict, Repressive Religion Produces Sex Offenders."
thudo_novo - Mar 11, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 it was always an evident fact repression degenerates the human capacity, it causes you to think you are wrong, end it makes you stay inside, traped, without going out to the world and having fun among the ones like you or not, fuck the religion, do what you love, do what you are, love what you are.
hylozoic - Mar 12, 2010 + Rank: 1 / 5 Why say 'porn', when to be curt we mean observing other conscious agents engaging in sexual activity? Yes, fixed-medium mass distribution recordings of said phenomena seem to be the most common manner by which one engages in such observation, but I would like people to analyze the experience in an ethological manner (IE comparing different modes of said experience).
superhuman - Mar 12, 2010 + Rank: 4 / 5 All males are potential rapists as rape was a valid reproductive strategy for millions of years. This is why porn is certainly beneficial - it helps defuse violent sexual urges of male population. It's somewhat similar to hunger - most people would never eat human flesh if they had an alternative but prolonged starvation would induce many to change their mind. Likewise most men would never rape as long as they have an alternatives and porn is on...
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