Two things I think the author has mischaracterized—the feminist critique of pornography and escalating porn use. The author describes the feminist critique of pronography as a moral judgment. That pronography is morally wrong. It is not just feminists who know that pornography is inherently harmful to women and children. It is harmful to those involved in making pornography and is harmful to women because it normalizes violence against women. That is a documented fact, not a moral judgment, though the facts may certainly lead people to adopt the moral position that pornography is wrong.
And another factual misrepresentation by the author is that men are simply watching new or different pronography, as a desire for novelty. Not true. The pronography of today is categorically more violent, and violent toward women and children, than pornography of 15 or 20 years ago. And again, men's documented use of pornography does show not just novelty seeking on a level plane of violence, but rather more violent, hardcore porn viewing over time. These two mischaracterizations by the author that porn use by men for masturbtory enhancement is a benign evoltuionary phenomenon makes the point about masturbation but misses the broader implications of porn by a mile
The piece has a serious logical flaw. Variety is not the same as escalation. I read many books and watch many TV shows with variety, but not escalation. The author should not be so dismissive of the desensitization argument. I would argue that the specific cases being described in that passage are unambiguously desenzitization. Variety is different from escalation.
So is there a difference in the men seeking porn showing adult men and women versus those seeking to view increasingly deviant sexual acts ? Is this a different mechanism than the path of a serial killer? I can understand your explanation of the addiction versus shame, guilt but what about the constant exposure to porn changing the neural pathways in our very plastic brain? Perhaps that contributes to the addiction like behavior ( but not producing the same chemical response as addiction)?
I am disturbed that this piece discusses only men and not women. The author may have justifiable reasons for doing so, but I do not care if most hear attacks snd baldness occur in men: I still want adequate attention to women. If one uses whatever justification the author here has and then 100 articles are published about men and 0 about women, the outcome does not meet the standards of an egalitarian.
The reasons given why men masturbate make total sense. My immediate reaction to the title was 'Because it feels good'. I don't know how much online porn compulsion differs from other online compulsions. This article doesn't deal with the pornography industry's harms to the women who work in it, or to children's developing ideas about sexuality. It's all true.
Because that's not the focus of my essay. They are separate issues. Protecting women and children from the real harms of pornography is a legitimate MORAL concern that tends to eclipse the issues I’m trying to raise.
Thank you for this very interesting article, indeed. There is certainly a lot of good information here. I would suggest, however, considering masturbation in a broader context than frustrated or stressed primates. Masturbation is common in a wide variety of animals, including, for instance, squirrels and lizards, among others. Consider some of the thoughts in this essay: “Is Animal Sex Like Porn?”
Like all things biological, there is no simple, monotonic, and consistent reason for the behavior. I would also argue against the promulgation of the dopamine theory of pleasure which, as I teach, is fundamentally illogical from a neurophysiological point of view — although I recognize it is wildly popular.
I’m glad I read this piece through to the end. I had been believing all this hype about the dangers of pornography addiction. I should have known better. Thanks for opening our eyes.
You’re welcome. For sure there's a lot of hype out there. I’m not saying that widespread porn use isn't an issue but I believe we're discussing it in the wrong light.
People spend much time a day doing things one could argue are a silly waste of time, like binge watching sitcoms. No one often cares, in fact they often get together and bond over the experience the next day.
People spend much time doing physically stimulating activity, and this may not be too different in this specific regard...there are mental and emotional impacts associated with physically stimulating activity.
People spend much time engaging with artifical or real violent content (e.g. action movies or contact sports), and no one seems to care, in fact we often bond over it. Nobody actually wants to be in a fight or high contact sport, but many find it valuable to entertain others doing it in real time. In some regards it's fairly perverse...people are getting real injuries.
People are fed fantastical content, at all ages, that is significantly disconnected from the real world, which certainly affects who we are. Consider moody teenagers who might be more stable if they engaged with less moody content and drama.
There is hyper sexualized content all over the place, in advertisements, music, etc. Where is the line to draw?
Pornography is often not violent or dark, but sometimes. It is ultimately portraying something most people will come to reasonably appreciate in life... physical affection and/or procreation. There is a certain beauty in people. There is also very dark pornography too though, stuff people would never condone in real life, yet it is maybe not unlike people who watch horror movies... yet no one ostracizes those people as if they're crazy, even though the content is extremely disturbing and dark. Obviously one major issue is the ethics of production... people should never be forced into things they don't want to do, etc., and that is very challenging to discern in content. In a horror movie, people aren't actually subjected to torture. It can be hard to tell what's real vs staged, and people push their limits in all kinds of ways such as body building, tattoos, dare devils, etc. One might consider the ethics of AI...is it more moral in that it may decrease the production of actual content?
We must also be careful about the video game fallacy, i.e. that violent video games make kids more violent... they basically don't. Does pornography affect people in such a way? I haven't looked for the data. I think pornography ultimately does affect people in a negative way, but I think it's often partly because of the taboo culture around it. Imagine if we could just talk about it and be able to move on. Of course it's a challenging line to draw, but again, we often promote other things like strength through force in a very young age, basically subconsciously hoping those will grow up to be soldiers and protect, but the degree to which we do that is also somewhat controversial.
We do live in an unprecedented time of the ability to consume anything imaginable at nearly any time with nearly complete privacy, i.e. phones. For the overwhelming majority of humanity, for thousands and thousands of years, people basically dealt with these topics in a way that is so starkly different that they are hardly related at times... no internet, no TV, no radio, no electricity, no books, very different notions of privacy and social functioning and hygiene, etc. Either way, the modern reality is not going to go away or subside anytime soon. Some people are already having AI girlfriends.
I agree with the difference between addiction and compulsion. I think your thoughts and feelings predict your destiny in many ways. My friend just passed away and I am reminded of him because of the places I often visit in town where there were so many memories, it is triggering, objectively. I feel compelled to pause and grieve some, for some innate reason which is another topic I'm sure. Eventually I'll learn to associate those places with happiness and something better in that sense. For pornography, there is so much sexualized content publicly, it might seem nearly impossible to escape, it's everywhere you look, it's such a slippery slope. One second everyone is celebrating a beautiful scantily clad woman accepting a movie award, the next you are feeling shame for going the logical next step which doesn't seem that far.
Overall there are likely worse addictions to have, and, who is really being harmed, they might ask? Isn't everyone addicted to something in some sense? Is this the least bad option? They may say I'm not stealing money, my health is fine, and my social relations aren't really suffering (except maybe with a primary partner, but some partners are in agreeance here). It may be the case that it is not so hard to be a "high functioning" pornography addict more than for most other major addictions, e.g. drugs, alcohol, gambling. Is one alternative to sleep around a lot... and is that more or less ethical? We don't seem to shame that culture in the same way one might perceive to be the case with pornography. Overall I think it can be a downward trapping spiral though that prevents healthy long term relationships. I believe the only relationship that will truly last positively is one with a high level of openness and honesty, and I think it's less reasonable to think you're going to change all of a sudden rather than living the life you want heading into such a relationship.
I think men and women likely have very different experiences and perceptions that create a divide, some for obvious reasons such as regarding the need to manage for consequences of pregnancy. I do think the advent of the pill and abortion access has significantly altered social and individual perceptions and behavior around these things in a controversial way, including pornography.
It is a challenging situation to consider "protecting the vulnerable", especially kids, while also respecting the first amendment and considering other factors and whatabouts. I think being honest about many of these factors is helpful for the conversation.
I wish strength for those hoping to overcome addiction, there are many testimonies out there that it is possible, like with any addiction. If people need help, seeking it is a good thing, and it is worth it, life can be better.
Outstanding article.
Two things I think the author has mischaracterized—the feminist critique of pornography and escalating porn use. The author describes the feminist critique of pronography as a moral judgment. That pronography is morally wrong. It is not just feminists who know that pornography is inherently harmful to women and children. It is harmful to those involved in making pornography and is harmful to women because it normalizes violence against women. That is a documented fact, not a moral judgment, though the facts may certainly lead people to adopt the moral position that pornography is wrong.
And another factual misrepresentation by the author is that men are simply watching new or different pronography, as a desire for novelty. Not true. The pronography of today is categorically more violent, and violent toward women and children, than pornography of 15 or 20 years ago. And again, men's documented use of pornography does show not just novelty seeking on a level plane of violence, but rather more violent, hardcore porn viewing over time. These two mischaracterizations by the author that porn use by men for masturbtory enhancement is a benign evoltuionary phenomenon makes the point about masturbation but misses the broader implications of porn by a mile
The piece has a serious logical flaw. Variety is not the same as escalation. I read many books and watch many TV shows with variety, but not escalation. The author should not be so dismissive of the desensitization argument. I would argue that the specific cases being described in that passage are unambiguously desenzitization. Variety is different from escalation.
So is there a difference in the men seeking porn showing adult men and women versus those seeking to view increasingly deviant sexual acts ? Is this a different mechanism than the path of a serial killer? I can understand your explanation of the addiction versus shame, guilt but what about the constant exposure to porn changing the neural pathways in our very plastic brain? Perhaps that contributes to the addiction like behavior ( but not producing the same chemical response as addiction)?
The evidence that watching porn leads them to seek ever more deviant videos is unpersuasive. But that's an issue unrelated to the theme of my essay.
I am disturbed that this piece discusses only men and not women. The author may have justifiable reasons for doing so, but I do not care if most hear attacks snd baldness occur in men: I still want adequate attention to women. If one uses whatever justification the author here has and then 100 articles are published about men and 0 about women, the outcome does not meet the standards of an egalitarian.
It would seem the opening paragraphs answer the question: there are sex differences in behavior from an Evolution standpoint.
The reasons given why men masturbate make total sense. My immediate reaction to the title was 'Because it feels good'. I don't know how much online porn compulsion differs from other online compulsions. This article doesn't deal with the pornography industry's harms to the women who work in it, or to children's developing ideas about sexuality. It's all true.
Because that's not the focus of my essay. They are separate issues. Protecting women and children from the real harms of pornography is a legitimate MORAL concern that tends to eclipse the issues I’m trying to raise.
Thank you for this very interesting article, indeed. There is certainly a lot of good information here. I would suggest, however, considering masturbation in a broader context than frustrated or stressed primates. Masturbation is common in a wide variety of animals, including, for instance, squirrels and lizards, among others. Consider some of the thoughts in this essay: “Is Animal Sex Like Porn?”
https://everythingisbiology.substack.com/p/is-animal-sex-like-porn
Like all things biological, there is no simple, monotonic, and consistent reason for the behavior. I would also argue against the promulgation of the dopamine theory of pleasure which, as I teach, is fundamentally illogical from a neurophysiological point of view — although I recognize it is wildly popular.
Thank you again for an excellent read.
Sincerely,
Frederick
I’m glad I read this piece through to the end. I had been believing all this hype about the dangers of pornography addiction. I should have known better. Thanks for opening our eyes.
You’re welcome. For sure there's a lot of hype out there. I’m not saying that widespread porn use isn't an issue but I believe we're discussing it in the wrong light.
Here are my thoughts, more or less related:
People spend much time a day doing things one could argue are a silly waste of time, like binge watching sitcoms. No one often cares, in fact they often get together and bond over the experience the next day.
People spend much time doing physically stimulating activity, and this may not be too different in this specific regard...there are mental and emotional impacts associated with physically stimulating activity.
People spend much time engaging with artifical or real violent content (e.g. action movies or contact sports), and no one seems to care, in fact we often bond over it. Nobody actually wants to be in a fight or high contact sport, but many find it valuable to entertain others doing it in real time. In some regards it's fairly perverse...people are getting real injuries.
People are fed fantastical content, at all ages, that is significantly disconnected from the real world, which certainly affects who we are. Consider moody teenagers who might be more stable if they engaged with less moody content and drama.
There is hyper sexualized content all over the place, in advertisements, music, etc. Where is the line to draw?
Pornography is often not violent or dark, but sometimes. It is ultimately portraying something most people will come to reasonably appreciate in life... physical affection and/or procreation. There is a certain beauty in people. There is also very dark pornography too though, stuff people would never condone in real life, yet it is maybe not unlike people who watch horror movies... yet no one ostracizes those people as if they're crazy, even though the content is extremely disturbing and dark. Obviously one major issue is the ethics of production... people should never be forced into things they don't want to do, etc., and that is very challenging to discern in content. In a horror movie, people aren't actually subjected to torture. It can be hard to tell what's real vs staged, and people push their limits in all kinds of ways such as body building, tattoos, dare devils, etc. One might consider the ethics of AI...is it more moral in that it may decrease the production of actual content?
We must also be careful about the video game fallacy, i.e. that violent video games make kids more violent... they basically don't. Does pornography affect people in such a way? I haven't looked for the data. I think pornography ultimately does affect people in a negative way, but I think it's often partly because of the taboo culture around it. Imagine if we could just talk about it and be able to move on. Of course it's a challenging line to draw, but again, we often promote other things like strength through force in a very young age, basically subconsciously hoping those will grow up to be soldiers and protect, but the degree to which we do that is also somewhat controversial.
We do live in an unprecedented time of the ability to consume anything imaginable at nearly any time with nearly complete privacy, i.e. phones. For the overwhelming majority of humanity, for thousands and thousands of years, people basically dealt with these topics in a way that is so starkly different that they are hardly related at times... no internet, no TV, no radio, no electricity, no books, very different notions of privacy and social functioning and hygiene, etc. Either way, the modern reality is not going to go away or subside anytime soon. Some people are already having AI girlfriends.
I agree with the difference between addiction and compulsion. I think your thoughts and feelings predict your destiny in many ways. My friend just passed away and I am reminded of him because of the places I often visit in town where there were so many memories, it is triggering, objectively. I feel compelled to pause and grieve some, for some innate reason which is another topic I'm sure. Eventually I'll learn to associate those places with happiness and something better in that sense. For pornography, there is so much sexualized content publicly, it might seem nearly impossible to escape, it's everywhere you look, it's such a slippery slope. One second everyone is celebrating a beautiful scantily clad woman accepting a movie award, the next you are feeling shame for going the logical next step which doesn't seem that far.
Overall there are likely worse addictions to have, and, who is really being harmed, they might ask? Isn't everyone addicted to something in some sense? Is this the least bad option? They may say I'm not stealing money, my health is fine, and my social relations aren't really suffering (except maybe with a primary partner, but some partners are in agreeance here). It may be the case that it is not so hard to be a "high functioning" pornography addict more than for most other major addictions, e.g. drugs, alcohol, gambling. Is one alternative to sleep around a lot... and is that more or less ethical? We don't seem to shame that culture in the same way one might perceive to be the case with pornography. Overall I think it can be a downward trapping spiral though that prevents healthy long term relationships. I believe the only relationship that will truly last positively is one with a high level of openness and honesty, and I think it's less reasonable to think you're going to change all of a sudden rather than living the life you want heading into such a relationship.
I think men and women likely have very different experiences and perceptions that create a divide, some for obvious reasons such as regarding the need to manage for consequences of pregnancy. I do think the advent of the pill and abortion access has significantly altered social and individual perceptions and behavior around these things in a controversial way, including pornography.
It is a challenging situation to consider "protecting the vulnerable", especially kids, while also respecting the first amendment and considering other factors and whatabouts. I think being honest about many of these factors is helpful for the conversation.
I wish strength for those hoping to overcome addiction, there are many testimonies out there that it is possible, like with any addiction. If people need help, seeking it is a good thing, and it is worth it, life can be better.