There was a time that Playboy existed, but in private. Started in 1953, this famous magazine amassed a large following ... mostly secretly. The joke prevailed. "Oh, sure, I read Playboy, but only for the articles." Because pornography was bad ... in the collective mind of the culture. Your dad might indulge, but he would hide the magazines both from your mom and the kids. Young teens would exult at finding "Dad's hidden stash," but it was secret.
Something has changed. Back then it was secret; today it's mainstream. Back then people -- guys, primarily -- would sneak into "adult theaters" to watch naughty stuff; today they do it in the comfort and privacy of their home computer ... or worse. Back then it was mostly guys; today it includes a sizable segment of women. Back then it was "wrong," a guilty pleasure; today it is boasted about, shared freely, to be expected. "Sure I look at porn; you don't??" Something is different.
Part of it is obviously the Internet. Before the Internet, pornography was "out there" and you had to go get it to have it "in here." That meant possible detection and shame. When the Internet first started up it remained "out there" in a sense, limited to 1) those who had access to such things (which was limited) and 2) put down in "dark recesses" of the Internet where it wasn't easy to find. No longer. Now it's up front, in your face, prevalent. A coworker once did a search for a bipolar junction transistor (a specific electronic device) and it took him to a porn link. He wasn't even looking for it; it found him. With the sheer availability of the stuff, it stands to reason that it would be more ... available. And, so, more prevalent. And, so, more acceptable. I get that.
But that's not all. I think there has been a circular effect. More porn availability has led to more porn consumption which has led to more porn acceptance which has made more sexual immorality acceptable which has led to more porn availability which ... you see how that goes. Studies suggest that heterosexual porn users are more accepting of homosexual behavior than non-porn users. That seems reasonable. The more you see, the more you accept as "normal." Like movie violence desensitizes people to real violence, video sexual immorality desensitizes to sexual immorality.
Thus, where pornography was once outside the cultural moral norm, today it is normal, accepted, and expected. It is a product of a cheapening of God's intention for human sexuality and has accelerated that cheapening.
Pornography lies. It lies about what is "normal." It lies about what is "good." It lies about what sex is for. It boldly calls God a liar and ridicules those who disagree. All of this is to be expected of the world, ruled as it is by the prince of the power of the air and all. The really disheartening part is that believers are involved and even defend it. Believers have been so immunized that they don't even see the problem and God's design for sex. Engulfed by the lies of the world. Brethren, these things ought not be.
3 comments:
Yet, you hear from the feminists about how porn empowers women. You hear from progressive christians that porn is not a big deal.
Then you hear from the news about pron actresses committing suicide because of the social media pressure from the fans. You hear about how rampant drug use is in the industry. You hear about the gender pay gap. Then you hear the story of a young woman named Mia Kahilfa (not sure of the spelling). I saw an interview with her recently where she discusses her short tenure in the industry and how it's damaged her life. Not to mention the unhealthy body image issues.
Finally, you see the data that shows how much porn warps the understanding of young men and women about what sort of things are "normal' in a sexual relationship, and how that drives the expectations of young men toward behavior that degrades women.
Yeah, other than the folks making lots of money, I don't see how anyone things porn is a good and healthy thing to consume.
Precisely.
I’d highly recommend the interview with Mia K if you can find it. It’s an interesting story.
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