Sociology

Pornography is sexually explicit material either verbal or pictorial that is basically intended to produce sexual arousal in viewers. Predominantly pornography upholds females as objects of sexual desire. This can be due to the difference in sexual behavior and attitude in both the genders towards sexuality and the pleasure they derive from it. Everybody will acknowledge the fact that males have more explicit sexual behavior and passion as compared to their female counterparts. It is estimated that on every five minutes a rape happens in the United States. (Statistical crime against women). Do the males who commit such crimes watch porn and are they inspired by these types of material to commit a crime of this magnitude Perhaps the two most detriments for woman so far as these relate to pornography is that they stand the chance of being exploited as sex objectives besides running the risk of sexual assault by criminals.

It is a common assumption that the consumption of pornography leads to adverse influences in males, who are the major consumers of pornography. Overt watching of porno and the indulgence with it in daily life will lead to a shift in their attitude towards women and family life. Family life always advocates monogamy, lasting love and care to partner and offspring. When a male overindulges in porno, the female becomes the sufferer and this is a detriment to her life. Another aspect of pornography is the image which it presents with regard to women, who get stereotyped as mere objects of sexual gratification. This is a major detriment for women and this aspect is being highlighted by feminists all over the world to denounce pornography. Several organizations in the society, especial religious ones, always detest visualization and expression of sex for its own sake. And such establishments have come up with umpteen arguments against pornography.

But through a study conducted by Kimberly A. Davies it has emerged that the effects of pornography on mens attitudes toward women remain an issue of debate. His findings suggest that calloused attitudes toward women may not be generated by sexually explicit videos but are more deeply ingrained in our society. (Davies 131). It is common knowledge that the attitudes and mentalities of humans result from their family background, social environment and circumstances which play a determining their attitude towards women. In the modern world, all men have access to free porn over the internet but only a very few of them commit rape or domestic violence or even keep a derogatory attitude towards women. However, a possibility exists that a male with a psyche that slants towards crime may be induced by the pornographic material he watches, and in this case porno can be discerned as an element that acts as a detriment to women.

There are cases and situations in the modern society where sexually explicit materials are used to nurture relationships between the genders. Mild pornography is used as an aid to enliven sexual relationship by many heterosexual couples. And this type of pornography will hinder breach in relationship among those couples who want to be faithful. Here the materials serve as a device to provide vent to their wild sexual fantasies.

The availability and spread of sexually explicit materials have increased drastically in the modern times, especially with the emergence of internet. But no studies so far definitively proved that the wide use of pornography has resulted in making the feminine life precarious and miserable. A study of Milton Diamond of University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine, titled Pornography, public acceptance and sex related crime A review, substantiates this aspect. (Diamond). However, this may be due to the limitations in the study or because the sample population may not have given a truthful or candid response due to obvious reasons. Another study by done by Dr. Claudio Violato, Director of Research at the National Foundation for Family Research and Education (NFFRE) and a professor at the University of Calgary considers use of pornography as a major social problem. They found out that regular exposure to pornography can lead to misbehavior towards women. (Calgary).

In fact, conservative societies across the world are of the opinion that pornography should be controlled. They think that it undermines the family value system, where sex should be performed for higher objectives rather than for its own pleasure. But pornography is also seen as a means of personal expression of freedom. All the sexually overt expressions are not any going to influence attitudes towards women. In this context, we have to differentiate what is detrimental to women and what is not. There are extreme cases of pornography which demean womanhood and womens identity in the society. That anyway is harmful to the womanhood.

In a study titled Pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women revisiting the relationship in non-experimental studies it is revealed that an overall significant positive association between pornography use and attitudes supporting violence against women in nonexperimental studies. In addition, such attitudes were found to correlate significantly higher with the use of sexually violent pornography than with the use of nonviolent pornography, although the latter relationship was also found to be significant. (Hald, Neil and Carlin Yuen).

The whole industry of pornography revolves mostly around the body of women as it is the object of desire being showcased. This has always remained a lucrative and booming industry, especially in the modern day because of the addition of new media like internet. Hence more and more women are lured or pushed or compelled to enter the profession as porn models or porn stars. This trade also has direct links to prostitution and hence we have to suspect women and child abuse will become rampant in the guise of porn. In conservative societies, the production of pornography is done clandestinely because it is unlawful. Sex Trafficking Fact Sheet published by National Human Trafficking Resource Center, USA establishes the link between sex rackets and pornography. One should not dispense the violence in violent pornography as just fiction. One has to consider the transfer of violent nature to the consumer s of such materials and how it is going to impact women as a detriment. The facts emerging from the above discussion amply makes it clear that extensive exposure towards extreme pornography can be detrimental to women. And the process of creating the images required for pornography entails misery to women.