The effects of pornography on the brain have been labeled as “toxic,” analogous to drug addictions. Psychologists have long claimed that prolonged exposure to pornography causes the need for stronger stimuli in order to get sexually aroused.
Toxic Pornography: Such over-stimuli lead to what was formally called “perversions,” including group sex and other excess sexual activities, sadomasochistic practices including the active use of pain and suffering as a stimuli for orgasm, or bestiality – sexual intercourse with animals, writes historian of comparative religions, Hanne Nabintu Herland.
All this is readily accessible on the internet. The concept of masturbation while watching other people’s intercourse seems to suit the lonely Westerner well.
Toxic Pornography: A few decades ago, the only pornography that was available consisted of pictures of naked women in magazines that had to be purchased at stores. Many had these hidden under beds or in some available space, out of reach from mothers or girlfriends. Ever since the problem has inflated to out of this world proportions.
It is a revolution, a dramatic change, from the DVD-age when pornography was bought only during opening hours, to now, porn being available just a click away.
Still, hardly anyone reacts. It is a baffling apathy considering the damage. Maybe the lack of reaction is due to the degree of pornographic consumption amongst people in general. It is hard to stop it because too many love it.
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Toxic Pornography: Surveys seem to point in that direction, and modern technology is a factor. 90 % of the women watch porn accessible on the internet – the rate according to New York Times being that one in three women watch porn weekly. On a global scale, pornography is more than a $100-billion-industry; 66% of men under the age of thirty-four watch pornography monthly and 40% of women are involved in cyber-pornographic behavior.
This is a grossly heterosexual problem. There are actually very few homosexuals in the world, and yet they are wrongfully given much of the blame for the current hedonist trends. The 2013 National Health Interview Survey, in which 34,000 Americans participated, states that as few as 1.6% are homosexuals in the US and 0.7% bisexuals. Another 2011 survey showed that 1.5% define themselves as asexual and simply not interested in sex, while only 1% defined themselves as homosexual. So, there seem to be even more people who simply are not interested in sex than there are homosexuals – the non-sexual group being one that hardly anybody speaks about or whose challenges are hardly ever addressed.
Recent British surveys have shown that extreme pornography causes criminals and weak-minded individuals to commit murder, rape and other forms of sexual assault. A number of disturbing surveys over the past years have indicated that sexual propaganda aimed at minors, leads to unhealthy sexual development.
This led then prime minister, David Cameron to support the restriction of pornography in the UK. In recent years, the UK has made it illegal to show a whole range of sexual acts deemed to be unhealthy to the public. Considering that two-thirds of young people say they turn to pornography in order to learn about sex in the UK, according to the Guardian, the warning signals should cause major debates across Europe and in the US regarding the flow of porn into every home through the internet. Now, Iceland is considering becoming the first country in the West to ban pornography on the internet altogether.
What effect does the idealization of promiscuous performance and a self-invasive lifestyle – the use-and-throw-away – mentality have on the psyche and self-esteem? Do hedonistic liberals really want a society where trust and sexual responsibility disappear completely?
Teenage girls are under massive pressure in the sexualized Western culture. Violations of personal integrity early in life, such as incest, rape or physical/mental violence, affect all levels of human existence. Replacing violated limits by no limits is not the way to heal a damaged personality.
Studies show that especially vulnerable girls are those who entered puberty early, socialized with other youngsters who encouraged early sexual activity, placed little value on education and had a poor relationship with their parents, particularly their father.
A New Zealand study, in which one thousand young people in their mid-twenties were interviewed about their first sexual experiences, showed that on average the men were sexually active at seventeen, and women at sixteen. Looking back, more than half wished they had remained virgins longer; 70% of the women who started having sex before fifteen felt this way.
Rebuilding confidence and self-esteem often consist of re-establishing healthy limits in relation to other people, especially regarding sexuality. It is not true that the more limitless you are sexually and the more partners you have, men or women, the happier and more harmonious you will become in life.
Anne Layden, co-director of Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology at the University of Pennsylvania called “pornography the most concerning thing to psychological health that I know of existing today,” according to Wired.com. It should be quite clear to most rational people that not all forms of sexual contact produce healthy marriages and good lives.
In a volatile cultural climate like this, the rationality of religion and the reshaping force of its morality may be reintroduced into the Western culture. This happened in England at the end of the 1800s, when William Booth was moved by the despair of the English people and started raising his apologetic voice, speaking about the need for a social revolution that could set the nation on the right track. After being spat on and harassed by the angry mob for years, his message eventually took hold.
His work thoroughly reformed England as he helped the poor, gave prostitutes another source of income, educated the deprived, helped the young and was able to address the merciless alcoholism amongst English fathers and motivate them to become responsible men once again. William Booth founded The Salvation Army, an institution that is highly regarded until this day.
