Why oppose pornography and indecency
By Bill Johnson (American Decency Association
Frontline, February 2005)

Pornography is defined as:
Sexually explicit pictures, writing,
or other material whose primary
purpose is to cause sexual arousal [Houghton Mifflin]

As I consider this definition, how does it apply to that which is thrust
before our faces, often unexpected and uninvited, more aggressively
than ever before? What do you think of as you consider this? Here are a
few things that I think of:

Mall window and wall displays - especially Victoria's Secret stores;
their television ads and catalogs.

Erotic magazines at the checkout counter - like Cosmopolitan, Sports
Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, Glamour, Maxim, Shape, Fitness, InStyle, In
Touch, Miral, Muscle Fitness. ...

Magazine and newspaper ads - at times show very erotic images of
women in undergarments and partially clad men.       

Sexual television ads - recently, even a Dentyne gum advertisement,
though not actually graphic, shows a teen-aged girl sticking a piece of
Dentyne gum in her mouth, taking off her blouse and jumping her
boyfriend.

Television shows - too numerous to mention but certainly including
NBC'S Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search,
ABC/Disney's Desperate Housewives.

Howard Stern's radio show - of course, would qualify. That's what his
show simply is.

The motel/hotel Industry- has also found the pornography
business to be very profitable, with satellite, cable, and/or video
offering. This, too, presents a very concerning scenario.

So-called "Gentlemen's Clubs" with their lap dances, couch
dances, and, again, many of the concerns previously listed above.

Internet pornography - The Internet is permeated with porno-
graphy sites and unwanted email invasions.

Consider as well a definition of pornography from feminist
University of Michigan law professor Catherine A. MacKinnon:

Women are presented as sexual objects for domination, conquest,
violation, exploitation^ possession, or use, or through postures, or
positions of servility or submission or display.

MacKInnon's definition carries great description and weight and covers a
lot of territory.

Why do we oppose pornography?
The reasons are many, but let me list a few.

(1) People, primarily men, are vulnerable to pornography. As Dr. Dobson
stated years ago while serving on the Attorney General's Commission on
Pornography, when a man watches pornography, there is a chemical
released in the brain locking in images for weeks, months and even
years. That person can then call back particular images again and again.

(2) Pornography is lust producing. Jesus makes it clear that we aren't to
lust.  Lust is a sin.

(3) Pornography is highly addictive; it's an addiction that is very hard to
break.

(4) Pornography desensitizes. As individuals are exposed to more and
more pornography, it takes more deviant images to satisfy them.

(5) Pornography is a masturbatory tool that plays a major role in the
addiction process.

(6) If pornography entrepreneurs are allowed to profit from and
manipulate a culture, they push for more and more ground, working to
legitimize their destructive products. This is what has happened in
America today.

(7) Pornography reduces men and women to physical, sexual creatures
only, with little to no regard for the dignity of each person. This plays right
into the hand of the pornography entrepreneur.

(8) Because of insecurity, many women fall into the trap of wanting to
match up to "the look". Many succumb to cheapening themselves in
accordance with entertainment icons such as Britney Spears. Many will
be damaged along the way.

(9) Men become trained through their pornography addiction to look at
women as objects of sexual gratification rather than as creations of God.

Now the question: So what? The implications of pornography are
immense.

Consider the following scenarios for a young single man, for a single
woman and for marriage.

A young man becomes addicted to pornography. He becomes enslaved
to a life of lust. Wherever he turns, there is this bombardment of images
that elicit sexual interest and desire tor gratification. He is more likely to
participate in pre-marital sex and to ultimately be dissatisfied with
whomever his sex partner is. Without a miracle, he may live for years in
bondage to lust and unfaithfulness to a girlfriend and ultimately to his
wife.

The single woman. A single woman, in her insecurity, can feel that the
only way that she can get the attention of a man is to dress more scantily
and posture herself as a sexual object, conveying sexual messages
inadvertently or overtly. What too often she doesn't understand is that if
you communicate cheapness you're likely to draw someone, but it will
likely be a person who is looking for a cheap fling. The repercussions are
devastating: promiscuity, the contraction of sexually transmitted
disease(s) being merely a few of the by-products.

The married man and married woman. Rather than only having eyes for
his wife he is lusting after another. What a tragedy! This erodes his
relationship with his wife as she discovers that her husband is unfaithful
to her in his thought life and perhaps he is acting out his unfaithfulness
with another or others. His pornography/lust problem undercuts his wife's
ability to feel loved and be secure in her relationship with the man who
vowed to be faithful to her alone. He, in his insensitivity and blindness,
cannot understand why she is no longer attracted to him or interested in
him physically. This only compounds his sexual desire as their own
physical relationship becomes neutralized by pornography and lust.

Pornography presents a great temptation to all people. Pornography is
often a silent victimizer. But it is a victimizer. Behind many rapists,
molesters, adulterers, fornicators is a person who is well acquainted with
pornography. So many American corporations are making it all so much
easier.