Hardcore pornography is significantly harmful to society

Thanks to Bennet91 for accepting. Let's jump right in!I. Pornography and aggressionIn a 2007 study by Dr. Malaamuth of the University of California, an expert in the field who has done 14 studies regarding pornography and sexual aggression (and even more regarding other psychological aspects of pornography) [1][2], and Dr. Vanessa Vega of Stanford University, it was found that the use of pornography increased the amounts of hostility and aggression towards women, and also significantly increased the “rape myth” among men (r^2 = 0.361) [3]. A 1994 study by Dr. Boeringer found a significant correlation between hardcore pornography and sexually aggressive behaviors, as well as an increased likelihood of rape [4][5] (ranging from r = 0.22 to 0.4 for softcore and violent pornography). A 1991 study found a significant correlation between pornography exposure and likely hood to sexual harassment (r = 0.42) [6]. In yet another 2010 study by Dr. Malaamuth, Dr. Hald, and Dr. Yuen, they claimed, “Across four studies and 1,394 participants the average correlation between violent pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women using a fixed effect model was found to be significant (r = .24) [7]. The table from this study is shown below: Why is there a significant relationship between pornography and sexual aggression? Because pornographic material frequently depicts such scenarios. A 2010 study selected 50 random pornographic films from the most rented adult films (As rated by the Adult Video Network) and found that 88% of the scenes involved physical violence, anywhere from slapping and spanking to rape [8]. Considering all this, it is no wonder that the Attorney General claimed, “When clinical and experimental research has focused particularly on sexually violent material, the conclusions have been virtually unanimous. In both clinical and experimental settings, exposure to sexually violent materials has indicated an increase in the likelihood of aggression.” [9] Furthermore, as Dr. Jensen from the University of Texas states, “no lab experiment can replicate the common male practice of masturbating to pornography…Orgasm is a powerful physical and emotional experience that is central to the pornographic experience…most critics of the experimental research caution that such studies may overstate the effects, for these reasons it is just as likely that the research underestimates pornography's role in promoting misogynistic attitudes and behavior.”[10] In yet another study, sexually abused women were asked: “Has your partner ever upset you by trying to get you to do what he'd seen in pornographic pictures, movies, or books?”. 39% responded yes. [10] In another study [11], 198 abused women were asked if their partner used pornography. Of the 198 sexually abused women, 40.9% claimed their partners frequently used pornography. Roughly 300,000 women are raped annually [12] II. Pornography harms relationships Another point to make is that pornography is harmful to relationships. Roughly 40-50% of marriages in the US end in divorce [13]. According to divorce attorneys, the use of pornography is a contributing factor to 56% of divorces [14]. 26.2% of women consider pornography use unacceptable while in a relationship [15]. Yet another study has shown that male pornography use causes negative sexual quality in a relationship [16]. Another study shows that 30% of women thought that their partner had failed them for using pornography [17]. It also found that 24% of women felt weak or stupid for not taking a stronger stance against their partner’s pornography use. Finally, it found that 25% of women thought their partner’s pornography use meant he cared about them less. 33% felt replaced by the women in the pornography. For these reasons, pornography is harmful to relationships, which are the backbone of society. III. Pornography is habit forming Pornography causes arousal, which causes a surge in dopamine, a chemical in the brain which causes pleasure [18][21]. I don’t think anyone disputes men find pornography and the accompanying masturbation pleasurable. However, the problem is that this becomes habit forming. The reason is that pornography is very similar to internet addiction [19][23][24]. The way this addiction works is that there is always something new to click on. When something becomes old and boring, and the dopamine levels in the brain decrease, there is some new novelty to look at, which causes a new surge in dopamine. Pornography is the same way. A medical study found that repeated exposure to the same erotic literature was correlated with a decrease in arousal [20]. The more the subjects saw the same porno over and over again, the less arousing it became. Here is a graph which illustrates the arousal of the subject: Do you see the massive jump in the penile circumference and subjective arousal around 19-20? Guess what happened there. They changed it to a new erotic clip of a different woman. This means since pornography is similar to internet addiction, and since people get bored of the same porn, one would expect to see a decreased sensitivity to pornography. In a survey of online pornography users, when asked if their tastes in pornography had changed [22] This is exactly what we expected. 64% of these users claimed they developed a taste for more extreme porn. I’m sure most readers either know of a person who finds pornography very habit forming, or perhaps you are one of them. Remember, that in order for something to be considered significantly habit forming, it doesn’t have to hook everyone immediately. 80% of people who try cocaine do not become addicted [25]. Thus, while not everyone who looks at porn may develop a porn habit, pornography is still habit forming. IV. Pornography warps views of sex I’m going to be blunt and politically incorrect here. Pornography is a lie. With all the evidence I’ve weighed so far, I believe the readers will be lenient if I don’t source the hell out of this argument. Pornography depicts sexual fantasies which are almost non-existent in the real world. It completely ignores the relationship aspect, and focuses on mere sexual intercourse. In fact, I’m sure any pornography user knows very well that the focus is on the penetration or the sexual act itself [26]. Average pornography users find porn at a very young age (usually sometime during puberty. When an impressionable young mind is shown hardcore intercourse which completely ignores any sort of chivalry, this can form the way a young boy views sex and cause sexual promiscuity [27][28][29]. There are also studies which correlate higher genital and sexual insecurity as well as loneliness with the use of pornography [30][31]. In fact, 45% of men think they are sexually incapable of pleasing their female partner due to having a small penis [32][33]. However, 85% of women are satisfied with their partner. Furthermore, 28% of internet users age 10-17 stumble upon pornography unintentionally [34]. This means that porn will affect many people who do not want to be. Thus, for all the reasons outlined above, pornography causes warped views of sex and sexuality and is harmful to society.V. Porn causes an increase in STDs Yet another point is that porn causes an increase in STDs. Unsurprisingly, porn stars have a much higher rate of STDs [35][36][43][44]. Some studies estimate that 14% of adult porn stars have an STD, while other studies have put this number as high as 28% for gonorrhea and chlamydia alone [37]. This study also estimates that 11% of these cases would not have been discovered through urogenital testing alone. Gonorrhea in particular can be very dangerous, since 80% of women will experience no symptoms until serious damage occurs [38]. Many experts warn that the current testing in the adult film industry is unable to catch these STDs [39][40][42]. The reason that these diseases are so prevalent should be obvious; adult film stars have many different and dangerous sex with many different partners. Furthermore, 33% of adult film stars suffer from depression as opposed to 13% of women who are not in the adult film industry [41]. However, the main problem with this goes hand in hand with the above argument. Young people who watch porn are more likely to act out what they see in the porn. They have more anal and oral sex, as well as sex with more partners [28]. For example, girls who watched porn were over 400% more likely to have had anal sex. Since porn causes the users to act out what they see (indeed, they admit this themselves), and to have more risky sex, porn causes an increase in STDs among the pornstars and among the viewers. And for this reason also, it is harmful to society. Conclusion Porn is everywhere. 70% of men watch porn. Also, porn sites get more hits per month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined [45]. Over 2 billion people use the internet [47]. Every second there are about 30,000 people watching porn on the internet [46]. Thus, since I have shown that pornography causes sexual aggression, harms relationships, is habit forming, warps views of sex, and causes an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, it is significantly harmful to society. Even if pornography has only a small amount of negative impact upon the society in direct proximity to it, since so many people watch porn, the effects are significant, and ought to be taken seriously. Thus, I have upheld my burden, and have shown that pornography is significantly harmful to society. Finally, porn may be harmful simply because it divorces sex from love. All humans seek to love and to be loved. Porn takes the greatest expression of this and reduces it to a dirty movie. “If you wanna lose yourself, you have to lose yourself to another person…And she has to lose herself to you…It's a two-way thing” [48].Thank you. Sourceshttp://www.debate.org...