PORNOGRAPHY AND RAPE

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND RAPE?

1. THERE IS NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE CONCERNING A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP, HOWEVER,

2. RESEARCH IS HELPING TO SHOW SOME VERY POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

3. STUDIES DONE IN DENMARK IN EARLY 1970'S; LEGALIZED PORNOGRAPHY RESULTED IN DECREASE IN SEX CRIMES

   CRITICISM; NON-AGGRESSIVE SEX CRIMES WENT DOWN

   1970 U.S. COMMISSION ON OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY CONCLUDED THAT PORN WAS NOT RELATED TO SEX CRIMES

   1985 ATTORNEY GENERALS COMMISSION ON PORNOGRAPHY (MEESE COMMISSION) CONCLUDED VERY DIRECT CONNECTION

   THE BIG ISSUE SEEMS TO BE THE LINK BETWEEN SEX, VIOLENCE AND POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF RAPE IN THE MEDIA (REACHING ORGASM, ENJOYING THE RAPE, WANTING MORE, ETC.

4. SOME DIFFERENCES THAT RESEARCHERS OFTEN MAKE:

   EROTICA - PORNOGRAPHY

5. THERE IS ALSO A DEBATE WITHIN FEMINIST THEORY CONCERNING THE ANTI-PORNOGRAPHY V.S. THE ANTI-SEXIST PORNOGRAPHY PRO FIRST AMENDMENT (REMEMBER THE STATEMENTS FROM THE FILM RAPE CULTURE)

6. THE RESEARCH MAKES A DISTINCTION BETWEEN SEXUAL PORN AND VIOLENT PORN

7. IT IS TRUE AT SOME LEVEL PORNOGRAPHY THAT DEPICTS ONLY WOMEN IN A SENSUAL WAY IS BOUND TO RESULT IN THE CONCEPTION OF WOMAN AS SEX OBJECT, THAT IS ULTIMATELY GOING TO IMPACT MANY MEN

   BUT TO DIRECTLY SHOW THAT CONNECTION IS DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE; HARD TO DO THE RESEARCH THAT IS NECESSARY

8. MEN WHO ARE RAPISTS WHEN SHOW VIOLENT RAPE IN PORN FLICKS GET SEXUALLY AROUSED; MEN WHO ARE NOT RAPISTS ARE NOT AS LIKELY TO BE AROUSED;

9. SUGGESTED RELATIONS BETWEEN MEDIA AND RAPE; VIRTUALLY ALL DONE ON COLLEGE STUDENTS

   • A. WORK BY MALAMUTH; DONNERSTEIN OVER TIME HAS SHOWN THAT ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN BECOME MORE CALLOUSED; AGGRESSIVE; INSENSITIVE

   • B. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEX AND VIOLENCE: LINZ, D., DONNERSTEIN, E., AND PENROD, S. (1987) "SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE MASS MEDIA: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS."

     SHOWN DIFFERENT TYPES OF FILMS:

     VIOLENCE AND SEX

     VIOLENCE

     SEX

     NEUTRAL

     1. HIGHEST LEVELS OF AGGRESSION STEMS FROM SEX/VIOLENCE FILMS

     2. AGGRESSION ONLY

     3. SEX ONLY AND NEUTRAL HAD SAME IMPACT

        ALTHOUGH BOTH MEN AND WOMEN SHOWED HIGH LEVELS OF AROUSAL TO DEPICTIONS OF RAPE WITH INVOLUNTARY FEMALE ORGASM, MEN SHOWED HIGH AROUSAL WITH DEPICTION OF ORGASM AND PAIN, WOMEN DID NOT

        ALSO; MALES TEND TO SHOW AGGRESSION TOWARDS WOMEN AND NOT MEN AFTER SEEING VIOLENT PORN AND THEN ANGERED BY A WOMAN OR MAN

PORN SEEMS LESS DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO RAPE IN GENERAL; MORE LIKELY RELATED IN TERMS OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN, PEPETUATION OF RAPE MYTHS; MAINTAINING RAPE CULTURE

MORE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO PEDOPHILES