Acceptability and the myth of harmlessness

Pornography is often misrepresented as a harmless pastime (using euphemisms like “adult entertainment” or “gentlemen’s club”) or even promoted as good—for example, as an aid to marital intimacy. It is not uncommon to hear pornography use described as “normal” for men, implying that they are “hard-wired” to look at it. Many people, more men than women, do not consider viewing pornography to be cheating, that is, being unfaithful to one’s spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend.54 Pornography also desensitizes its viewers, who may seek out and watch more extreme and degrading content over time as their tolerance increases.55

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Technology

The rise of the Internet presents the most dramatic difference between pornography in decades past and more recently. While online media can be a fruitful avenue for evangelization and personal encounter,56 the Internet also runs the risk of appealing to a desire for instant gratification and replacing human presence with “virtual reality.” Online, pornography is instantly accessible, seemingly anonymous, mostly free, and has the appearance of being endlessly novel. This potent combination has had devastating effects on many men and women. The widespread availability of the Internet means that pornography is in the home, at work, and often literally at one’s fingertips with the prevalence of mobile devices. The Internet’s perceived anonymity can entice a person to view images or engage in activities that he or she would hesitate to do off-line, and the novelty of Internet pornography can itself be intoxicating, affecting brain chemistry and seducing viewers to keep clicking.57 In contrast to a magazine, the Internet has no final page.

An industry of sin

Pornography is a big business. Estimates of revenue stretch easily into the billions of dollars every year.58 The pornography industry is aggressive, savvy, and regulated only sporadically, even though child pornography or content that is considered “obscene” is illegal to make, sell, own, or view.59 Many companies invest heavily in lobbyists to push “free speech” ordinances to counter legal charges of indecency and obscenity.60 Pornographers often use free online content as bait to entrap and addict new users who will then pay to access “exclusive” material. Marketers target young men especially with sexual ads on popular sports and social media websites. Other businesses, such as hotel chains, cable companies, and drugstores, profit greatly from the widespread use of pornography and contribute to its accessibility. The pornography industry and its pervasive reach is a clear sign that pornography has become a structure of sin in our society.

Content

All pornography exploits both the persons portrayed and the viewer and is devoid of love and relationship. But the kinds of content available today are becoming increasingly coarse, violent, degrading, and even satanic with overt portrayals of occult practices. A majority of pornographic scenes include physical or verbal aggression and violence, communicating the message that sex is abusive, rough, and degrading.61 Many scenes also include sexual activity between persons of

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the same sex, portrayals that are viewed by persons regardless of their real-life attractions. Pornographic scenes usually involve real people, but they can also be computer-generated.

Users and increasing vulnerability

Given how widespread and easily accessible pornography is in today’s society, everyone is vulnerable. Many people struggle with pornography use, including faithful Catholics, people of faith, people of no faith, married and single people, fathers and mothers, the young and the old, clergy and those in consecrated life.62 Some people have only seen pornography a handful of times, perhaps unintentionally; some view it occasionally; while others find themselves compulsively viewing pornography, perhaps despite their best intentions to resist. While more men than women use pornography, the number of women users is growing.63 Pornography use is especially high among young adults,64 and it has been reported that the average age of first exposure to pornography is as early as eleven, with boys being more likely than girls to be exposed at an earlier age and to view more extreme content before the age of eighteen.65

{ This post is another in the series of posts that I am posting here on Abyssum.org consisting of the serialization of the document CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART issued last November by the bishops of the United States in an effort to stop the plague of pornography afflicting our society}