Our pornified culture is leading to an overwhelming acceptance of sexual violence.
Studies show that porn users frequently believe:
- their behavior is normal, acceptable and common
- their behavior doesn’t hurt anyone;
- “NO” actually means “YES!”
- it is all about “ME” and there is no need to consider the needs or feelings of the other person;
- all men pay for sex and go to prostituted women;
- performers never say no to anything and never reject sexual advances;
- sex is always casual, non-intimate and recreational;
- rape victims experienced pleasure and “got what she wanted;”
- rapists deserve less jail time;
- women are sex objects;
- more self-reported likelihood of forcing a woman sexually;
- engaging in more sexual harassment behaviors;
- creating more sexually violent fantasies to get aroused;
Some of the current events we’re battling that demonstrate just how pervasive these myths have become:
- There has been a dramatic increase of sexual assault in the U.S. Military;
- There is a new reality show encouraging people to pressure their friends via Twitter into participating in a series of porn scenes. The popularity of the show further normalizes the violence in porn and lies that it is a glamorous, fun, safe life;
- Top universities around the country are hosting “Sex Week” where many of the events teach bondage and sadomasochism and feature parties where students watch violent porn together;
- The movie trailer for 50 Shades of Grey was released today with all mainstream news outlets covering it;
- Planned Parenthood is encouraging teens to engage in BDSM (torture sex), to get ideas from “online sex videos” and to experiment with other fetishes like urination and asphyxiation;
We cannot retreat now. There is urgent work to do! We need your help to stop this normalization of violence and degradation. We need your help to defend the inherent dignity in all men, women and children.
How can we expect our young people to have a healthy view of sex and to respect love and each other when this is the message that they are receiving on a daily basis?
Please support these efforts with a contribution if you can.
If you can’t donate, there is much more you can do! Take a stand. Don’t stop talking about it. Sign letters. Make phone calls. Get educated. Share facts and our projects online. Help us keep up with current events. Share with us ideas for projects. Follow what we are doing. There is so much that needs to be done in this fight—thank you for joining with us!
Yours in the fight,
Dawn Hawkins
Executive Director, Morality in Media and PornHarms.com
