Pornography: Don't Protect It, Reject It

Please Note: This backgrounder is intended for concerned adults; some of its content may not be appropriate for children.

Introduction: Pornography Defined

The growth of the pornography business to an $8-10 billion dollar industry in the U.S.¹ has sparked a lively debate over what sort of sex-oriented materials should be permitted. At the heart of this controversy is a question of definitions.

Pornography is the term used to describe a work which uses sexual images with the primary purpose of causing sexual arousal. Some of this material may be "indecent," that is, offensive to some but still protected by the First Amendment. But some pornography is "obscene," and is not constitutionally protected.

What makes a pornographic work obscene? Unfortunately, that is difficult to define, and often comes down to the personal views of a judge or jury. But in Miller v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court put forth a three-part test for obscenity, and that test has been codified in state obscenity law (Minnesota Statutes 617.241).

1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, when taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex.
2. The work depicts conduct specifically defined as patently offensive.
3. The work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.²

A less technical way of classifying pornography divides it into two categories: hard-core and soft-core. Hard-core porn often features total nudity, lewd display of genitalia, actual representation of sex acts, bestiality, incest, fetishes, homosexuality, exploitation of children and violence. Soft-core porn, such as Playboy magazine, may also include full nudity and lewd presentation of genitalia, but will not emphasize violence and sexual perversion.

While sales of "traditional" erotic are declining, technological advances have expanded the reach of porn. VCRs have made in-home viewing of sex films commonplace. Home video cameras have opened adult movie production to amateurs. Computer bulletin boards and software programs, some of which are advertised in mainstream computer magazines, present a wide variety of sexually explicit images. Future technological advances, such as video phones and "virtual reality" computer worlds, are becoming the new frontiers of the pornography industry.

Pornography merchants work to target various interests and demographic groups. There are trading cards featuring porn celebrities. One can find group-specific pornography for Asians, African-Americans, older people, pregnant or lactating women, obese men and women, and so on. If there is the slightest chance that the depiction of a sex act will titillate people, someone will produce and market it.

The Effects of Pornography

Though pornography is often described as a "victimless crime," it is anything but; in fact, it exacts a high social cost. Pornography affects not only those who use it, but also society at large.

A. The use of pornography as a compulsive pattern

Much of the current discussion of pornography centers on its compulsive qualities. It is unclear how many people are addicted to pornography, but some estimates run as high as five million.⁴ Researchers identify four states of compulsive behavior, each resulting in consequences which are increasingly serious as addiction progresses.

• Addiction/Compulsion: A person, quite often during the teen or early adult years, begins regular pornography use. As the behavior continues, it becomes more and more difficult for the person to break off the habit. In the first stages of addiction, a user tends to stick to soft-core material.
• Escalation: Studies have demonstrated that regular viewing of sexual materials actually lessens a person's capacity for sexual excitement.⁶ When what was once arousing no longer works, the addict turns to more explicit and risky forms of entertainment, including live sex shows and increasingly deviant pornography.
• Desensitization: Things that were once shocking to the addict now seem acceptable, even normal. He or she is able to rationalize an escalating variety of perversions such as homosexuality, bestiality, violence, or group sex. At this point, a person might regularly visit private booths in local adult book stores.
• Acting out: Various forms of deviant behavior can occur at any point in the development of compulsion. As the process continues, however, there is a growing tendency to live out either the pornographic depictions or sexual fantasies that have become so much a part of the addict's life. The victim of these activities can be a spouse, child, neighbor, or a complete stranger. Extreme cases such as those of Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer demonstrate that heavy use of erotic materials can be tied to sex crimes involving extreme violence. The great majority of sadomasochistic murderers are porn users.⁷

B. Pornography's unwitting victims

Sexually explicit material would be bad enough if it merely brought distress to its patrons. Unfortunately, it is impossible to limit the damage: people associated with a pornography user may also end up enmeshed in the downward spiral of degradation. Who are candidates to bear the burden of the addict's disorder?

• Women: Most of pornography's customers are men. As a result, women are most often the victims of the distorted thinking of the addict:
  • The belief that any kind of sex, even that involving violence, is pleasurable. This can lead to an acceptance of coercive acts in sexual relationships, both married and non-married.⁸
  • Exposure to violent pornography leads to an increase in certain kinds of punitive behavior against women.⁹
  • Viewing violent sexual activity leads both men and women to trivialize rape and to see it as a reasonable sex act and not as criminal brutality.¹⁰ In fact, much pornographic material actually advances the myth that women desire to be raped--that they prefer being violated over consensual sexual relations.
• Families: The person addicted to pornography often substitutes media or anonymous sex for his or her marriage relationship. Again, this pattern is more frequently found in men, who tend then to avoid family responsibility, choosing instead to invest their energies in the pursuit of elusive personal sexual satiation. Some of the features of a compulsive mentality:¹¹
  • The husband devalues commitment and fidelity to his wife.
  • Pornography fosters the belief that adultery and promiscuity are both normal and to be expected.
  • The addict develops the philosophy that the best sexual relationship is one without commitment.
  • The addict becomes dissatisfied with his wife for not measuring up to the erotic images that appear in both pornographic material and in fantasy world.
• Children: The type of erotica which elicits a unified denunciation is pornography that exploits children as subjects. To combat it, Congress passed the Child Protection Act of 1984, which made it illegal to distribute sexually explicit material involving youth. The law drove the child porn industry underground, and has resulted in better success in securing convictions. Child pornography is an important link in the chain of child sexual abuse.
  • Pedophiles and molesters seek to break down a child's natural resistance to sexual advances, often using child pornography to demonstrate that their desires are "normal."
  • Even soft-core publications may feed the perversions of child molesters by using young adult models who appear to be in their teens. This avoids legal ramifications while preserving the attraction to pedophiles.¹²
  • One police officer estimated that, of the 700 child molesters he has seen arrested in ten years, more that half possessed child pornography; 80 percent owned some kind of pornography.¹³
  • Around eighty percent of child molesters studied admitted to the regular use of hard-core sexual materials.¹⁴
  • In general, surveys show that about 1/3 of child molesters (and about the same number of rapists) at least occasionally sought out pornographic materials to help plan or stimulate a sex crime.¹⁵

Pornography, of course, is not the exclusive cause of sex crimes or of hostility toward women (except in "copy cat" crimes, where a person imitates violent porn). It is clear, however, that pornography fuels perverse behavior in what seems to be a growing number of deviant individuals. Many who study the problem agree that pornography's effect on society is growing, and the more and longer porn is used, the greater its impact on an individual.¹⁶

Taking Action against Pornography and Its Purveyors

Sexually graphic materials are widely available throughout Minnesota. Many people are under the illusion that pornography is confined to seedy adult book stores, and that only "dirty old men" are pornography users. The truth is much more shocking:

• Over 80 percent of all video stores rent or sell erotic movies, often displaying them in plain view.
• Such mainstream bookstores as B. Dalton, Waldenbooks, and Barnes and Noble carry pornography.
• The large majority of neighborhood convenience stores sell obscene material.¹⁷
• Adolescents are especially prone to seeing pornographic material. One Canadian study revealed that children between the ages of 12 and 17 were most apt to be frequent users of erotica.¹⁸
• At the same time, this seemingly "mainstream" industry is heavily controlled by organized crime. According to the Meese Commission Report, both law enforcement officials and mob members themselves claim that it is almost impossible to be involved in the production of pornography without mafia permission. The main reason for this interest is the easy profitability of both the production and protection ends of the business (see chapter 19 of the Attorney General's Final Report for details).

Despite the seemingly broad acceptance of pornography, several cities--including Cincinnati, Dallas, Omaha, and Oklahoma City--have successfully opposed the presence of pornography within their borders. For anyone who would like to consider a similar campaign, here is an outline for putting pornographers out of business in your areas.

• Step one: Organize like-minded individuals. These can often be people from a neighborhood, church, school, or other group. The broader the representation, the better.
• Step two: Determine the boundaries of the geographic area you want to influence. The target region must be small enough for you and those with you to handle. It is crucial that you concentrate your efforts where you are most likely to have influence.
• Step three: Educate yourself about pornography. You should know where you stand legally and what you are opposing. This involves:
  1. understanding federal, state, and local law. Learn the provisions of Minnesota's obscenity statute, and any local ordinances and how they are enforced. For example, it is helpful to know that, in addition to defining obscenity, Minnesota has laws prohibiting:¹⁷
  • the employment of minors in sexual performances or literature, whether real or simulated;
  • the possession of pornography which portrays children in sexual situations;
  • mailing or otherwise distributing, or receiving with intent to convey, obscene material;
  • disseminating or exhibiting sexually explicit material; and
  • displaying sexual materials for sale without keeping them in an opaque plastic cover.
  1. discovering the extent and types of pornography in your target area. Are there adult bookstores? Do local convenience stores, video outlets or publishers sell adult media? Are there strip clubs, massage parlors, or other places which provide sexual "entertainment?" Do local hotels have pornographic films available for viewing?
  2. learning the history of your target area. Have there been previous complaints and/or prosecutions? Against whom were they filed? What is the attitude of local law enforcement?

  Information about your area is best gained through dividing your group into teams and conducting a thorough survey of your target area. Ask retailers what kinds of material they make available. It is especially helpful to meet government and police personnel; you will need them on your side. Ask questions in a non-threatening manner, and try to obtain data through simple observation. At this point, you are not seeking confrontation or debate.

• Step four: Decide what materials you want to target for elimination. Do you want to deal with convenience stores, strip clubs, video dealers, or hard-core pornography outlets? If you are new to the fight, you might want to focus on a smaller establishment. This is usually far easier than taking on a larger corporation or local "porn king."
• Step five: Approach the business owner or manager with your concerns. It is best to do this without animosity.
  • Try to communicate that you are assuming that the person is a reasonable individual with whom you would like to search for a mutually beneficial solution to the problem.
  • Have a variety of people contact the store personnel.
  • Take along educational material to familiarize the owner with the hazards of pornography.
  • Enlist the support of other businesses or similar stores which don't sell pornography.
  • Don't threaten a boycott at this stage.
• Step six: After failing to convince a business to cease its offensive activities, you might investigate legal options. If you are planning a complaint, you will need to:
  • Know whether or not the material has a good chance of being ruled obscene.
  • Persevere in working with local police and prosecutors, who are generally very pressed for time.
  • Educate civic leaders and authorities on the nature of porn and your reasons for opposing it.
  • Appoint someone who doesn't struggle with porn to view the material and file a complaint.
• Step seven: Picket or boycott the establishment. These are really "last resorts," to be used only when all else has proven ineffective. Organizing picketing or an effective boycott takes planning and energy to lay the proper groundwork and to galvanize public support. Picketing is particularly demanding, but can sometimes be the best approach with hard-core businesses, strip clubs, and massage parlors.

In any effort to rid your city of erotic material, your success will depend to a large degree on the sentiments of the local community, your ability to gather concerned individuals, and the cooperation of law enforcement and others in government. We would suggest contacting groups which have won victories in the porn war or who lobby against the porn industry (see below).

Notes:

¹ Barbara Hattemer and Rober Showers, Don't touch That Dial, (Lafayette, LA: Huntington House Publishers, 1993), p. 59.

² Minnesota Lay contains a variety of prohibitions on explicit materials; some are listed on p. 3 of this work.

³ U.S. Supreme Court ruling Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, (1957).

⁴ Hattemer and Showers, op. cit. p. 112.

⁵ Victor Cline, Where Do You Draw the Line, 1974 (out of print).

⁶ For a technical discussion of habituation see Dolf Zillmann, Connections Between Sex and Aggression, (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 1984), pp. 184-199.

⁷ See Hattemer and Showers, pp. 123-126.

⁸ cf. John Lyons and David Larson, "A Systematic Analysis of the Social Science Research on the Effects of Violent and Non-Violent Pornography." (paper given to the National Family Foundation Media Workshop, Pitt., PA. November 1990; also Pornography and Public Health, 1986 Report of the Surgeon General, (Washington, DC, 1989).

⁹ Mimi Silbert, Sexual Assault of Prostitutes, National Institutes for Mental Health, November 1980.

¹⁰ James Weaver, "Pornography and Men's Sexual Callousness Toward Women," in Pornography: Research Advances and Policy Considerations (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, 1989), pp. 105-125.

¹¹ See Dolf Zillmann and Jennings Bryant, "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography on Family Values," Journal of Family Issues, 9, 1988.

¹² Hattema and Showers, pp. 62-64.

¹³ Report of the U.S. Congress Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Child Abuse and Pedophilia, (Washington, DC, 1986).

¹⁴ Ibid.

¹⁵ Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1986), p. 268.

¹⁶ Ibid., pp. 265-266, 274-280.

¹⁷ CLEAN UP Project Survey, 1992-1993.

¹⁸ Final Report, pp. 251-253.

Organizations that you can contact for help:

• American Family Association, P.O. Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 28803, 601-844-5036
• Morality in Media, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115, 212-870-3222
• National Coalition Against Pornography, 800 Compton road #9248, Cincinnati, OH 45231, 513-521-6227

Published by The Minnesota Family Council, 2855 Anthony Lane South, Suite 150, Minneapolis, MN 55418-3265, (612) 789-8811. No restriction on reproduction if not taken out of context. Call, write, or use our contact us link for information on additional copies. Originally published September 1993. Posted November 1996.

Minnesota Family Council / Minnesota Family Institute
2855 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis MN, 55418-3265
phone 612.789.8811, fax 612.789.8858, www.mfc.org