For all of you anti-porn elitist out there (I don't really know any - but I'm sure they exist), you're finally being put in your place today. A new study from the University of Montreal has found that porn does not turn men into twisted individuals with revolting sexual fetishes.
The study, headed up by Associate Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse at the School of Social Work was able to find no correlation between pornography and angry or aggressive behavior towards women.
"Not one subject had a pathological sexuality. In fact, all of their sexual practices were quite conventional," says Lajeunesse.
Furthermore, all of the participants studied said that they supported gender equality and felt "victimized by the rhetoric demonizing pornography." All of the individuals were able to separate fantasy from reality. In addition, they did not want girlfriends who dressed or acted like porn stars.
"All the guys said, 'oh, my God, never!' " Lajeunesse recalls. "The fantasy is broken in the real world and men don't want their partners to look like a porn star."
"Pornography hasn't changed their perception of women or their relationship which they all want as harmonious and fulfilling as possible," explains Lajeunesse. "Critics who claim porn negatively influences male behaviour simply don't understand how men watch porn."
Many anti-porn feminists believe that porn degrades all women because it "prompts men to objectify women," says Simon Fraser University criminologist Sara Smyth.
But "no causal link has ever been found between porn and harm," she says.
The consensus is that, at most, it's possible porn reinforces some already existing misogyny, she adds.
I think North American society has come to recognize it as a healthy habit that all men partake in. That being said, I'm sure there has to be some sort of link between psychological issues and pornography. Too much of one thing is never good, especially when it comes to sex.
However, I question the research conducted. There has to be some sort of association, doesn't there? Ultimately these scenes of violence and objectification are in demand due to men who have some interest or hidden fantasy in taking part in this type of behaviour. Furthermore, there was no mention of how many men took part in the study and no real comparison in terms of violent men who hadn't watched pornography vs. men who were violent and had watched pornography.
Lajeunesse states, "We started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography - We couldn't find any."
With this being said, how should we view these results? With sex being naturalized within North America, the continual promotion of sexual behaviour is bound to grow.
At this point it's such a cultural norm, that it can't be blamed.
Amen.
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