I heard an interesting question the other day: what does pornography teach? So what does porn teach? What does it teach about males? about females? about sex?
This is very interesting because many, if not most, people see porn as “good” education. The average age a person discovers porn is somewhere between 8 and 11 years. It is where many boys learn what it is to be a man, and it is where boys learn about women. In sum total, it teaches a course of human sexuality through a variety of images, videos, and scenes.
However, the fact of the matter is that everything that pornography teaches is contrary to the Word of God and Truth.
So what does pornography teach? As Joe Dallas said in The Game Plan so aptly, “Men were gods, women were objects, and physical beauty was power.”
About Men
As Dr. Gail Dines from Weeklock University in Boston says, “Pornography delivers an image of masculinity that is dominant, that is removed from emotion, that is removed from any moral decision.” Just as women are depicted as sexual objects, men are depicted as sexual objects. They are this supreme sexual giant able to satisfy any woman without any regards to rules and/or regulations. They are gods above all. While not all pornography portrays this image, it is the predominate depiction of males.
About Women
Dr. Gail Dines said, “Pornography portrays women as things…things to be penetrated. That’s what women are in pornography very clearly. I think what men learn from that or relearn, again and again, from all the images, is that women are for male use…and that’s what pornography is very good at doing; it’s good at stripping away the humanity of women and delivering this object to man.” Women exist for men’s sexual pleasure only. They are less than human, often being called “bunnies,” “shorties,” or “playmates.” Sometimes they are only referred to by their body part, and some pornography only shoes the body parts and not the people/face behind it. They are not real human beings with emotions, desires, etc. Women are depicted as “sport,” someone/thing to do. They are depicted as property, merchandise to be used, looked at, ogled, and bought as if I as a man take a girl out in return she owes me sex.
Women must not only always be ready and willing, but they must always be sexual. Everything is sexual. They must be continuously orgasmic and should derive pleasure from everything, no matter how degrading or humiliating. They should want sex more than men and they should always be ready for sex. So much so that rape begins to fade from the scene.
Dr. Jerry Kirk of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families said, “The most common characteristic or principle by hardcore pornography is that women love to be raped. They say, ‘No,’ but they mean, ‘Yes.’ They say, ‘No,’ but if you force yourself, they will ultimately yield to you. And when they do, they’ll enjoy it and they’ll enjoy it so much that they will finally ask for more.”
Finally appearance is all that matters. Her value is intricately intertwined with her appearance and her age. Overweight or less attractive women are ridiculed in porn, though now, they have their own genre of porn. No, not genre, but rather fetish, which means sexual obsession or hang-up that isn’t “natural,” as though those women were a body part or some thing.
About Men/Women
Pornography teaches self-gratification without regard for the welfare of sexual partners, thus resulting bjectification (sex objects), voyeurism (emphasis on the body, not the person), and trophyism (to be displayed as one conquered).
About Sex
Probably more than anything else is that pornography teaches a person sexual positions and sexual techniques. They film people in all kinds of positions; however, that is because the traditional position, known as missionary style, is the toughest to film, even though some studies show that it is the most gratifying. Beyond these positions, pornography turns people on towards other types of sex and pleasure. Someone once asked me, “Do you think people would want to have (xxxxx) sex if it were not for pornography?”
Pornography teaches that sex can legitimately be divorced from love and tenderness, or equated so much that Sex = Love and Love = Sex. It teaches that violence is sexy and arousing. It teaches that beauty is sexuality and that violence is sexy. Pornography also exalts sex above everything else as the only means to pleasure.
In conclusion, “Pornography teaches unrealistic and inappropriate sexual expectations, decreases satisfaction with monogamy and lowers family loyalties, objectifies and degrades women, links sex with violence and children, encourages promiscuity, and increases susceptibility to sexually acting out in ways harmful to others (Cline, 2002)” as Amber Brewer and Rachel Jamieson of BYU said.
So what have you learned from pornography?
