Effects of Porn Use
Presented by Dr. Mary Anne Layden, April 5, 2021
Dr. Mary Anne Layden defined the term “Pornified,” and depicted the seamless interconnected continuum from prostitution to sex trafficking. Internet pornography makes a perfect learning environment for the pornification of culture, and here are a few reasons why:
- It starts with permission-giving beliefs: “What I’m doing is normal, and everybody is doing it.”
- It miseducates about sex: it says it’s not about intimacy, caring, child-creation, etc. Instead, Internet pornography is about designer sex–the “perfect” and always-available bodies.
Porn-trained men are more likely to believe rape myths. They stop thinking it’s a bad crime and become sexually calloused. Porn-trained men become less sexually satisfied with their own partner and more open to infidelity. They sometimes use sexual violence to arouse themselves, and are more likely to sexually harass women.
Meanwhile, women exposed to porn are also trained that rape isn’t such a bad crime, and are more likely to accept rape myths. They reduce support for the women’s liberation movement. They’re more critical about their bodies and more likely to be victims of rape.
Pornified kids are more likely to get STDs, get pregnant, use alcohol or other substances, engage in sexual harassment, and engage in sexual violence against other kids.
Porn performers and other victims of the sexual exploitation industry, are verbally abused, physically groped, and stalked.
- Porn is not victimless. Many of those in the industry abuse drugs and prostitute themselves.
- Porn use makes its users less sensitive to crimes like rape, violence, and abuse.
- Laws against obscenity are rarely enforced. Statistics show an increase in certain countries where prostitution has been legalized.
Question: What causes the callousness to sex when people porn use?
Answer: It’s a focus on pleasing yourself and on body parts, not a focus on a relationship with someone else. Porn is sex education for many people, and they’re not learning the beauty of the way God designed it.
Mary Anne Layden, PhD, is a psychotherapist and Director of Education at the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program and the Director of the Social Action Committee for Women’s Psychological Health.
She co-authored the book Cognitive Therapy of Borderline Personality Disorder with C. Newman, A. Freeman and S. Morse. She has written numerous chapters on Cognitive Therapy especially on treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. She has co-authored a chapter with Linnea Smith called “Adult Survivors of the Child Sexual Exploitation Industry” in Cooper, S. et al (Eds) Medical, Legal, & Social Science Aspects of Child Sexual Exploitation: A Comprehensive Review of Pornography, Prostitution, and Internet Crimes.
