Societal Perceptions of Pornography

Pornography has received considerable attention in the modern society largely because of the rapid technological advancements that have made it easy for people to access pornographic material. The increased proliferation of pornography is today’s society has also been fueled by the changing opinions on sex. While pornography is a practice that dates back to the beginning of time, it has obtained significant attention and increased proliferation in the 21st Century. The changes in people’s opinions on sex and increased consumption of pornographic materials have made pornography to become a multibillion dollar industry. As this industry continues to grow due to increased demand, it is now considered as one of the facets of the entertainment industry.

Despite the increased growth of pornography as an entertainment industry, it has remained controversial because of the divergent views. The divergence of views on pornography across the society is largely linked to its benefits and/or harms to the society. On one hand, the society views pornography as an entertainment industry that is beneficial to people with regards to sexuality. In this regard, pornography is considered beneficial since it helps in decreasing sexual assault and rape. In societies where pornography is legal and widely accepted, sex crimes have either remained stagnant or decreased over time, which has led to the belief and opinion that pornography is beneficial to the society. Moreover, pornography has been considered beneficial with regards to raising revenues for government, particularly in regions where it is a legal practice. However, pornography has been viewed negatively in today’s society because of its potential harms on people. The disadvantages brought by pornography to a society cannot be compared to its minimal benefits. The consideration of pornography as harmful to the society is attributable to the fact that it does not portray the real picture of sex and sexual intercourse, but immoral practices that are centered on making profits.

In my opinion, pornography is an immoral practice with numerous harms on the society that significantly outweigh any benefits. Generally, pornography is a practice that is relatively difficult to view objectively and a societal plague that does not benefit the society. One of the reasons for my position that pornography is an immoral practice that should not be encouraged is that it promotes destructive behavior. Throughout the years, the consequences of pornography have clearly demonstrated that it is not a suitable or responsible way for exercising or fulfilling sexual impulses. This is essentially because those pornographic actors portray an incorrect picture where either gender, particularly females, is used as sex objects. The fulfillment of sexual impulses in pornographic films is not based on love, but simply acts that the characters engage in to make money. Therefore, pornography does not demonstrate the appropriate and responsible way for fulfilling sexual impulses and can create an environment where people are treated as sex objects rather than human beings with feelings and emotions.

Secondly, I believe that pornography has devastating impacts on the society since it contributes to broken relationships, addictions, rape, and violence. These damages are the consequences of uncontrolled, irresponsible sex, which is a common feature in pornographic materials. Increased consumption of pornographic material has been found to result in addiction through rewiring the brain to embrace overindulgence in pleasure chemicals. As the consumer develops tolerance, he/she desires and looks for more graphic content. In some cases, the consumer opts to utilize performance enhancement drugs to achieve desired impacts in his/her sexual life. Pornography also contributes to broken relationships through changing the viewer’s perceptions of sexual norms and practices. As these perceptions become skewed, the individual is likely to engage in rape and other forms of sexual violence in order to fulfill his/her distorted sexual desires and impulses.