Recognize the problem of pornography
On Monday the governor of Utah signed an ordinance that declared pornography a public health hazard, according to CNN.
The resolution stated that pornography has individual and societal harms. The ordinance does not ban pornography or offer any new punishments. According to local senators, the goal is to communicate the addictive nature of pornography.
We The Threefold Advocate believe that Utah is taking strong steps to making people realize the danger of pornography and support it ordinance.
Pornography has led to many social problems. One is that it actually leads to violence. A group of researchers analyzed 50 of the top porn movies, and 88 percent of the scenes in these movies contained physical violence. Nearly half contained verbal abuse. In 95 percent of these instances, the victim was indifferent or responded positively, according to Fight the New Drug.
Even if a viewer avoids violent pornography, he or she can still be affected. A study of viewers found that both non-violent and violent pornography leads to increased violent behavior.
The director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Dawn Hawkins, said, “Pornography encourages viewers to view their sexual partners in a dehumanized way, and it increases the acceptance and enjoyment of sexual violence and harmful beliefs about women, sex and rape,” according to CNN.
Pornography is also addictive. “Your brain comes equipped with something called a ‘reward pathway.’ Its job is to motivate you to do things that keep you and your genes alive—things like eating or having sex to produce babies. The way it rewards you is by releasing dopamine into your brain, because dopamine makes you feel good. ”
But your brain is sometimes motivated to do things that are not in your best interest. “When a person is looking at porn, their brain thinks they’re seeing a potential mating opportunity, and pumps the brain full of dopamine. And unlike healthy sexual relationships that build up over time with an actual person, porn offers an endless stream of hyper-sexual images that flood the brain with high levels of dopamine every time the user clicks to a new image.”
We the Threefold believe these are all reasons to take pornography seriously. While banning pornography would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights, more serious restrictions need to be enacted and more treatment available for addicts.
There is also the problem that pornography does not just affect the viewer; it also affects partners. Fight the New Drug cited reports that viewers’ partners feel “loss, betrayal, mistrust, devastation and anger when they learn that the other half of their committed relationship has been using porn. Many show physical symptoms of anxiety and depression.”
The affects can also have a strong affect on marriage and family. “Research has found that marriages in which one person has a porn problem or sexual compulsion are often plagued by less intimacy and sensitivity, as well as more anxiety, secrecy, isolation and dysfunction in the relationship. And since many porn users end up losing their jobs as a result of looking at porn on a company computer, these marriages can end up with less financial security as well.”
We the Threefold believe that pornography needs to be taken seriously. There are many potential problems that come from this drug. Two established researchers on pornography have said they found no redeeming value in this process, according to Fight the New Drug.
People and organizations at John Brown University provide many resources for students interested in speaking out against pornography.
A few weeks ago Nick Ogle, former psychology professor who now works as the program director of behavioral health at Mercy hospitals, visited the University and spoke on the problem of pornography its affects.
Residence Life and other organizations have hosted a variety of events in recent years to discuss the problem of pornography on college campuses and in our culture. These events can provide both anti-porn activists and those struggling with addiction with resources.
We the Threefold also encourage students to actively petition their home state to establish an ordinance similar to Utah’s. If they see the government recognize pornography as a medical problem, officials will take the addiction and its effects on society much more seriously.
Students can accomplish this by calling their representative, signing petitions and getting involved with the Fight the New Drug campaign.