The pornography industry

Before we get into the body of the article, I would like to issue a trigger warning for sexual assault, explicit content, abuse and domestic violence. While these topics are relevant for the topic at hand, if you in any way are triggered by these topics, this article is not for you. 

The articles that I have written in the past that have left me the most fulfilled have been my Christian articles. Whether politics, the church or biblical truths, all have tapped into topics I felt called to talk about on my platform. When I was challenged to write a column, one on Christians was the right choice. 

Some of you want to explore religion but don’t feel welcome at church. Some people have had super negative experiences with Christians. Some were told that you have to be perfect to be a Christian.

I am here to tell you that no matter your past, your present or how you feel about Christians, you are welcome here.  

That being said, this will be a recurring staple of my tenure as an opinion editor. Bi-weekly I will be publishing this column talking about biblical truths, Christian politics and commenting on culture through a biblical worldview. 

If you have any issues, questions or anything else under that umbrella that you would like me to address, you can email me at opinion@ndsuspectrum.com. Please enjoy. 

I want to start off this article by stating the obvious. This article is heavily religiously-motivated, and I do believe pornography consumption to be a sin. But this is in no way, shape or form written in a way that would make you feel ashamed. If you have watched porn before I don’t have any grudge that I hold against you, nor do I think less of you. 

In fact, the grudge I have against porn has nothing do with the person and everything to do with the industry. Do not be fooled by the historical context of the rise of pornography during the sexual revolution. That does not mean that pornography is sexually empowering. 

Porn and consent 

The Washington examiner published a story explaining that during the pandemic there has a been a huge increase in the viewing of pornography. PornHub premium content was also made free and has been known to include sexually expoloited videos of minors. 

And according to the story, “A missing 15-year-old girl was restored to her family after investigators tracked her down using the 58 videos he had uploaded to porn hub.”

The links between sex trafficking don’t stop there. In a 2005 book published by Blackwell Publishing entitled, “Contemporary Debates in Applied Theory,” the story of Evelina Giobbe is told. 

She too was sex trafficked, threatened and raped. She was then sold to another pimp who she described as, “The most brutal of them all.” He would produce pornography videos in which these girl would be forced to be a part of. 

Which leads me to one of my biggest problems with the pornography industry. You have no idea if the people in the videos are actually consenting to being filmed, consenting to sex or are of age. 

You could unknowingly help someone prophet off one of them victimizing the people in the videos.

In this context, the argument that porn helps people feel sexually empowered pales in comparison to the realities that some of the “stars” in the industry may be experiencing.

Furthermore, even the industry giants have been accused of mistreating their infamous Playmates at the Playboy mansion. There have been accusations of manipulation, mistreatment, cult-like mentalities and behavior, drugs and drinking to cope with the atmosphere and prison-like conditions in the mansion itself. 

To summarize, the porn industry can be super detrimental to the actual people who are apart of the industry. 

Pornography and relationships 

Pornography undoubtedly affects the way people view sex. A great example of this in film is the first episode of Euphoria when Cassie and McKay have sex after McKay, without Cassie’s knowledge, views sexual content of Cassie without her consent. 

In the pilot when they sleep together McKay actually chokes Cassie, with the show citing that McKay did that because of what he saw watching pornography and assumes she would like it. Unfortunately, pornography is some people’s introduction to sex. They don’t understand that the way sex is depicted is unrealistic or not respectful of your partner.

 I actually know real life people who have a strained relationship with sex because they were exposed to pornography at a really early age. It’s not a phenomena that happens just in movies. 

Some studies report that the idea that overconsumption of porn is related to less relationship satisfaction. Some studies simply don’t find that. This could be due to more research needing to be done or biases by the researchers. 

What I can tell you is, the more violent pornography and the higher quantity consumed, the more negatively I have seen it have an impact, especially on developing minds. 

Pornography use has been, in some cases, linked to issues concentrating, low motivation, depression, social anxiety, negative self perception and erectile disjunction. 

Revenge porn 

The example I gave from Euphoria has another glaring problem that I glossed over earlier. Cassie never gives her consent for Nate Jacobs to share her nudes with others, especially not an entire house full of guys, nor is it ever told to us that Cassie has given her nudes to Nate willingly. 

Revenge porn is something that happens outside of television too. Sometimes with real, lasting consequences for the people whose photos or videos were shared without their permission. Even more concerning, the nonconsensual sharing of pornography is on the rise during the pandemic. One in twenty-five Americans has been a victim of this crime. 

Often the victims can face career-ending consequences while the perpetrators rarely face any form of lasting consequences. However, the laws around revenge porn are starting to adapt to the times. In the last six years we have seen 46 states and the District of Colombia enact laws around revenge porn. 

This also has effects on victims of domestic violence. Abusers have been known to threaten partners who have left the relationship with sharing their nudes with their workplaces. Keep in mind, these jobs are a lot of the time one of the only things standing in the way of the victims retuning to their abuser. 

These photos can be posted online, on websites for this specific purpose with some of the photos revealing the identity of the person and with other personal information posted with the images. 

Which brings me back to one of the original problems I have identified, you have no way of knowing if the images or videos you have looked at actually serve in any way to benefit or empower the women in the photos. Furthermore, your viewing of the images could actually be causing someone immense distress if they knew there images were available to the public.

Conclusion

There is a whole lot more to talk about when it comes to this topic and how it can affect the individual. However, I found that I actually have so much to say on this topic that I will be splitting this into two major themes. The first being the pornography industry and my absolute distain for it.

While I am sure some people love being a part of the pornography industry, I think we seriously need to talk more about how it is often a tool for abuse. I think the way that massive companies like Porn Hub profit of the exploitation of rape victims and minors is nauseating.

What people do in the privacy of their own homes and between two consenting adults is none of my business. But we need to do more to enforce the laws we have in place to protect vulnerable individuals from these crimes.