PORNOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

Pornography disempowers women. It is a billion-dollar industry that teaches people that violence against women is acceptable and encouraged. It teaches that sexual stimulation is about the power and control by men over women and children.

The following are statements on the definition and impact of pornography:

"Pornography is about violence, degradation and abuse in a sexual context....it teaches people violence is sexy and good sex is violent; that women like to be sexually dominated and abused; that sexual contact with children is harmless; and that men are expected to be sexually aggressive." - Marie Fortune

"Pornography promotes a climate of opinion in which sexual hostility against women is not only tolerated, but ideologically encouraged. The intent is to deny the humanity of women, so that acts of aggression are viewed less seriously, and to encourage aggression." - Susan Brownmiller

"The term pornography refers to only one form of sexually explicit media: commercially produced sexual material that promotes and legitimizes a particular set of attitudes and behaviors based on abusive male power." - Marty Langelan and Deborah Chalfie

“Pornography is the ideology of a culture which promotes and condones rape, woman-battering, and other crimes of violence against women." - Laura Lederer

"Pornography has a central role in institutionalizing a subhuman, victimized, second-class status for women." - Catharine MacKinnon

"Pornography is the theory, and rape the practice." - Robin Morgan

"Erotic: a mutually pleasurable, sexual expression between people who have enough power to be there by positive choice...Pornography: its message is violence, dominance and conquest. It is a depiction of sex in which there is clear force, or an unequal power that spells coercion." - Gloria Steinem.

"Child pornography is...the depiction or portrayal of children for the purpose of sexual arousal...in both pictorial child pornography and writings such as paperback books with written descriptions of sexual activities involving minors." - Lore Stone and David Finkelhor

"Child pornography is the permanent record of the sexual abuse of a child. It is photographs of a crime in progress." - Kenneth Lanning

STATISTICS

Pornography (hardcore sexual videos, peep shows, live sex acts, adult cable programming, computer porn and sex magazines) is an $8 billion/year industry in the U.S. The size of the pornography industry dwarfs the conventional movie industry and exceeds the revenues of the rock and country music industries combined.¹

Hardcore video rentals increased from 75 million annually in 1985 to 490 million in 1992, and to 665 million in 1996. The availability of cable sex programming, home video rentals, and telephone sex services has shifted the industry from bookstores and movie theaters to homes.²

In 1978, approximately 100 hardcore feature films were produced; in 1996, almost 8,000 new pornographic videos were released, due in part to the widespread availability and lower cost of video equipment.³

The number of strip clubs in the U.S. doubled between 1987 and 1992.⁴

Phone sex came about in the 1980s; by 1996, Americans spent close to $1 billion on sex calls alone.⁵

Mainstream companies are the major profiteers of the sex industry; including AT&T, Time Warner AOL, and major hotel chains which provide pornographic films in their rooms.⁶

According to one study of almost a million "adult" web sites:

• 84% of digitized images stored on Usenet groups were pornographic;
• 99% of Internet porn consumers are men;
• Pornographic web sites depict extreme behaviors and interests;
• Internet pornography is highly profitable.⁷

 

Playboy’s web site averages about 5 million hits a day.⁸

AGE OF USERS

Young people ages 12-17 were the primary purchasers of pornography. The average age at which an adolescent first views a pornographic magazine is 13½. Their first pornographic film or video is usually viewed at age 14½. 46% of junior high school students had viewed one or more X-rated movie, 66% of 6th graders had seen cable TV programs with heavy sexual content.⁹

Another survey found that all the high school males surveyed had looked at a Playboy or other soft-core magazine, and the average number of issues seen was 16.1. 84% of high school students of both sexes had seen X-rated films, a higher percentage than the adults surveyed.¹⁰

IMPACT

Studies have established a link between the viewing of sexually violent and violent media and the commission of sexually violent acts. It is generally believed that pornography alone does not cause rape or child sexual abuse, but it does lower inhibitions in men already inclined to committing sexual violence. Viewing violent pornography and general violence against women also promotes belief in rape myths and increased tolerance for violence. Pornography that does not include overt violence against women is less likely to encourage viewers to commit sexual violence, according to most studies.

There is evidence that pornography - particularly with sexually violent content - can lower inhibitions and encourage someone who wants to commit sexually violent behavior. According to Dr. Robert Freeman-Longo: "In essence, pornography says to the man: Here are the pictures; other people are doing it; the pictures are published; I can purchase them; so it must be okay to some degree."¹¹

Dr. Diana Russell has testified that pornography contributes to sexual violence because it supports the four preconditions for sexually violent behavior developed by David Finkelhor: ¹²

• Someone must want to abuse;
• Internal inhibitions are undermined;
• Social inhibitions to acting out are undermined;
• The perpetrator must undermine or overcome the victim's ability to resist (by using pornography with victims).

 

Below are the results of studies which have been conducted on the effects of sexually violent media on men:¹³

• 5-30% of men who view sexually violent media identify with the rapist. After only ten minutes of exposure to aggressive pornography, men are much more willing to accept rape myths. Men also accept ideas that women are excited by force and aggressiveness.¹⁴
• A group of men who watched five minutes of a video in which a woman was being raped and shown to enjoy it gave these responses: 25% said women they know would enjoy being raped; 57% would commit a rape if they wouldn't get caught.¹⁵
• Media that depicts aggression against women but does not contain heavy sexual content affects rape-supportive attitudes in men. After viewing five violent videos in five days, men, but not women, became desensitized to the violence. Their attitudes toward rape victims were less sympathetic than those of a control group that viewed non-violent, sexually suggestive, or sexually explicit films.¹⁶
• In one study, three groups of men were shown the same film edited three different ways. Those who viewed a film showing violence against women showed the greatest acceptance of rape myths; those shown the film with both violent and sexually explicit content showed somewhat less acceptance of rape myths; and those shown the film with sexually explicit content showed the least acceptance of rape myths.¹⁷
• In one study, men began by viewing R-rated material, then viewed violent X-rated films, then viewed non-violent X-rated films. The study found: "Subjects find less violence against women in these films over repeated exposure. They are just as sexually aroused .... They feel much less likely to censor the material, they are less offended by the material, they see it as less graphic and less gory, they look away less. What this means is on the first day when they saw women being raped and attacked it bothered them. By day five, it does not bother them at all - in fact, they enjoy it."¹⁸
• In one study, a group of men who watched a series of "slasher" movies took part in a mock rape trial. These men were more likely than a control group to acquit and excuse the defendant, place responsibility on the victim, and question the victim's resistance.
• Adolescent boys who receive no other sex education may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of sexually violent pornography.¹⁹

 

SEX OFFENDERS AND PORNOGRAPHY

Most experts believe that offenders utilize pornography to:

• serve a pre-existing disposition;
• meet emotional needs;
• facilitate and perpetuate the sexual assault cycle;
• sexualize relations with victims.²⁰

 

Pornography legitimizes abusive activity for men inclined to commit sexual assault. It may be used as part of the preparation for committing sexual assault. It helps offenders to depersonalize and objectify potential victims.

65% of rapists in one study used pornography and often mimicked it in their crimes.²¹

In one survey, offenders at an outpatient treatment clinic used highly explicit pornographic material more often than non-offenders. 83% of the rapists, 67% of the pedophiles, 53% of the incest offenders, and 29% of the non-offenders used pornography.²²

All the child sex abusers in one treatment unit had used some type of pornography: ²³

• 14% used commercial child pornography;
• 16% took photographs of children for personal use;
• 49% used adult pornography to seduce child victims;
• 49% used adult pornography for personal use.

 

Pedophiles with a large number of victims are most likely to use child pornography.²⁴

87% of girl child molesters and 77% of boy child molesters admitted to regular use of hard-core pornography.²⁵

Between 25-30% of male college students selected at random admit that there is some likelihood they would rape a woman if they could be assured of getting away with it. The proportion of potential rapists increases to 57% after the young men are exposed to sexually violent images, especially those of women shown as enjoying being raped.²⁶

88% of convicted rapists said they were regular users of pornography, with the majority admitting direct imitation of pornographic scenes in the commission of their sexual crimes.²⁷

A study of sexual assault victims and their abusers found the following: ²⁸

• 68% of the abusers sexually assaulted and/or beat the victim after viewing pornography;
• 58% of the abusers pointed out pornographic pictures or articles to their victim;
• 47% of the victims were upset that the abuser attempted to get them to act out a pornographic scene;
• 14% of abusers took pornographic pictures of their victim.

 

A Minnesota survey of over 2000 sexual assault victims and offenders found that the majority of abusers viewed pornography prior to physically and/or sexually assaulting their victims, and many utilized pornographic materials in their attacks, by pointing out pictures to their victims or by pressuring the victim to act out activities seen in the pornographic materials.²⁹

RESPONSE

LEGAL ASPECTS / CURRENT LAW

Adult Pornography

In Miller v. California, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court defined obscene materials as those which: "...depict or describe sexual conduct. That conduct must be specifically defined by the applicable state law...a state offense must be limited to works which, taken as a whole, appeal to the prurient interest in sex, which portray sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and which, taken as a whole, do not have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value."³⁰

Child Pornography

In U.S. v. Ferber, 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court found that there is clear harmfulness demonstrated in the production of child pornography. Because a child cannot consent to a sexual act, sexual abuse - a criminal offense - occurs during production of child pornography. According to the law, the protection of children is more important than free speech, and so child pornography is not protected by the First Amendment.

The MacKinnon / Dworkin Ordinance

In 1984, feminist scholars Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin developed language for an anti-pornography ordinance which addressed pornography as a violation of civil rights. This ordinance, presented to the Minneapolis City Council, stated that pornography, because it discriminates against women, is a form of sex discrimination. Because pornography silences women and denies them freedom of speech, it is therefore not subject to protection by the First Amendment. Pornography, MacKinnon wrote, "undermines sex equality, a compelling state interest and legitimate concern of government, by harming people, differentially women." She cited group libel, privacy, child pornography and obscenity laws as legal precedents. The ordinance was vetoed by the Mayor of Minneapolis on the grounds of being too broad and vague.

The city of Indianapolis, Indiana passed a version of the MacKinnon/Dworkin anti-pornography ordinance. The U.S. District Court struck it down, ruling that the interest in prohibiting sex discrimination did not outweigh the interest in free speech. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld this ruling on the basis that the ordinance was so vague that any work of art that portrayed women as submissive or dominated could lose the protection of the First Amendment. The Court stated that the Constitution forbids "a state to declare one perspective right and silence opponents." The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the appeal court's ruling in 1986.

In 1992, a law based on the MacKinnon/Dworkin ordinance was upheld by the Canadian Supreme Court. Obscenity in Canada is now defined by the harm it does to women's pursuit of equality. In its unanimous decision, the court clarified the obscenity law, stating that, "The portrayal of sex coupled with violence will almost always constitute the undue exploitation of sex. Explicit sex which is degrading or dehumanizing may be undue if the risk of harm is substantial."

PUBLIC OPINION

57% of individuals surveyed by the Washington Post favored stricter anti-pornography legislation. Men and women responded differently: 10% of men found the current laws too strict, 41% found them not strict enough, 47% found them just about right. Of women, 2% found the laws too strict, 72% found them not strict enough, 23% found them just about right.³¹

 

73% of those polled believed sexually explicit movies, magazines and books led some people to commit sexual violence. 76% said such media led people to lose respect for women. 67% said it led to "breakdown of public morals."³²

A survey conducted by Women's Day found that 21% of readers were sexually assaulted as a direct result of pornography. 24% said they were forced to perform sex acts portrayed in pornographic videos and movies. 88% said that pornography encourages violence against women.³³

WAYS TO OPPOSE PORNOGRAPHY

Robin Morgan proposes the following strategies to oppose pornography which are consistent with the First Amendment: ³⁴

1. Use the logic that pornography interferes with civil rights, presenting a clear danger to women, inciting violence against women and violating public nuisance laws.
2. Limit distribution of pornography through zoning and display laws.
3. Discuss how men use pornography to pressure women into sexual activity.
4. Boycott advertisers, media and businesses that distribute or display pornography.
5. Picket businesses that display pornography.
6. Urge newspapers to resist advertisements from theaters that show pornography.
7. Research and expose pornographers and their backers.
8. Pressure public officials.
9. Resort to civil disobedience.

 

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¹ Schlosser, E. "The Business of Pornography: Most of the Outsized Profits Being Generated by Pornography Today Are Being Earned by Business Not Traditionally Associated with the Sex Industry." U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 10, 1997, v. 122, n. 5 p. 42.
² Schlosser.
³ Schlosser.
⁴ Schlosser.
⁵ Schlosser.
⁶ Schlosser.
⁷ Carnegie Mellon University study of pornography on the Internet. Georgetown Law Review. 1995, cited in Virginia Child Protection Newsletter, VA Dept. of Social Services, Vol. 49, Fall 1996, p. 11.
⁸Schlosser.
⁹Osanka and Johann, 1989.
¹⁰"Two New Books on Pornography Effects." Sexual Assault Report, Vol. 2 No. 2, p. 31.
¹¹Rosenberg, Jean, 1989.
¹²Rosenberg, Jean, 1989.
¹³Rosenberg, citing Krafka.
¹⁴Rosenberg, Jean, 1989., citing Donnerstein.
¹⁵Rosenberg, Jean, 1989., citing Malamuth.
¹⁶U.S. Department on Justice, Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography. Final Report, 1986.
¹⁷Rosenberg, citing Donnerstein.
¹⁸Rosenberg, citing Donnerstein.
¹⁹Rosenberg, citing Stickrod and O’Brien.
²⁰Rosenberg, citing Freeman-Longo.
²¹Rosenberg, citing Scully.
²²Rosenberg, citing Marshall.
²³Rosenberg, citing Wall.
²⁵William Marshall, Ph.D., A Report on the Use of Pornography by Sexual Offenders. Canadian Department of Justice, 1983.
²⁶Donnerstein, Edward "Unpublished transcript of testimony to the public hearings on ordinances to add pornography as discrimination against women." Committee on Government Operations, City Council, Minneapolis, MN, p. 4-12.
²⁷Marshall, W. "Use of Sexually Explicit Stimuli by Rapist, Child Molesters and Non-Offenders." Journal of Sex Research Vol.25,(1988): p. 267. ²⁸Marshall, W. "Use of Explicit Stimuli by Rapists, Child Molesters and Non-Offenders." Journal of Sex Research, p. 267, 1988. ²⁹Brunniehner, Tanja. "Relationship between Pornography and Abuse," The Advocate, PAVSA, Duluth, MN., Nov., 1996. ³⁰Osanka and Johann, 1989. ³¹ Osanka, Franklin M. And Johann, Sara L. Sourcebook on Pornography. Lexington Books, 1989. ³² Osanka, Franklin M. And Johann, Sara L. Sourcebook on Pornography. Lexington Books, 1989. ³³ Osanka and Johann, 1989. ³⁴ Morgan, Robin. “Theory and Practice: Pornography and Rape,” Take Back the Night, ed. by Lederer, Laura. William Morrow, 1980.