Pornography and Its Bad Side - Essay Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Pornography and its bad side Course: 9. Pornography and its bad side Introduction Pornography elicits controversial debates all over the world. There are people who think that it is an exercise of one’s freedom of enjoyment while others seen indulgence in pornography as a perverse act that should not be condoned. Pornography is any material describing or depicting sexual conduct or human body in a manner that arouses sexual feelings. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, pornography is a depiction of materials, erotic behavior (in writing or pictures), and acts in a manner that is sensational with the aim of causing or arousing intense emotional reactions (Audi, 1999, p.293). Cases of small girls being cheated into pornography with the allure of good jobs in the western countries have been on the rise. The consequences of spread of pornography in the society are well documented and the end results are disturbing as well as alarming. No doubt rising teenagers in modern cities has become challenging for parents with the increase in the influence social media and peer pressure. There is no doubt that obsession with pornography can affect the relationship of couples in marriage. The victim of pornography can fall into the habit of demanding acts that the other partner sees as perverse or strenuous. From the religious perspective pornography is considered as sin and an act of immorality. Pornography encourages other vices like masturbation rape, and masochism. There are instances where nudity does not translate to pornography (Rea, 2001, p. 121). Technology has advanced ways in which pornography is being accessed and parents have a hard time monitoring what their children are being exposed to. This essay seeks to explore what does wrong mean in pornography. Is there anything wrong with pornography? There are many dissenting voices when the word pornography is mentioned but are their concerns and agitations about pornography justified? Pornography can be very bad to children. Children who are exposed to pornography end up acting it and they get destroyed. The subjects and the users in pornography are devastated and the societal cost in immense. Pornography is only beneficiary to those who make it a business. Those who profit from selling pornographic material see nothing wrong with pornographic but a genuine source of livelihood. People have a right to chose what they want and pursue what their heart desires (Cahill, 2011, p.214). Those who claim that it is one way of exploring his imagination explain that it makes someone human. It is about desire, fantasy, and imagination. Sexual behavior is rationalized and anyone can justify what she or he wants. This applies to homosexuals in the society. There are many people who claim not to see anything bad with pornography. Pornography is addictive and time consuming. Addition to pornography can lead to debt. The convenience and comfort of credit card transactions on the internet encourages impulse spending without thinking about tomorrow. It is like drugs, a victim cannot do without it. Employees who waste company’s time enjoying the fantasy that porn brings result into financial losses on the part of the company. Pornography can lead to other socially abhorred practices like masturbation as the victim becomes insatiable by just looking, reading or watching pornographic material. Other vices that can be encouraged by pornography include bestiality, child porn, sadism, rape, and masochism (Ruse, 1990, p.34). Pornography is like drug addiction where a hitherto small does that had the victim satisfied requires double amounts of the material or powerful images than before. It makes sexual enjoyment in marriage difficult. The victim views his made as inferior and old fashioned and unable to fulfill his fantasies. The habit of being obsessed with pornography put a strain on relationship and the other partner may not be able to put up with the pervasive demands of the victim. One major step of marital dissatisfaction that result from pornography habits is bringing pornography into the bedroom. This act acts a man who has lost the joy of loving and longer sees the value of the wife and the need to deny himself for her. It is selfless on the part of the man and turn women into mere objects of sexual satisfaction (West, 2000, p.23). The victim will see the partner as wanting and even start cheating on him or her. It is desolate and reclusive venture that has someone locked up in a room or in any private place and not desiring public scrutiny. Married couples who have tried to use pornography realize that their marital problems worsen. Pornography turns women into objects of sexual desire as opposed to people with dignity and nobility. People who are obsessed with pornography is seen to lack self control and living in bondage (Baird & Rosenbaum, 1991, p.127). People who are into pornography become slaves of the habit and the conscious mind cannot be in charge any longer. Victims will hide to indulge into the affair. Lust is described by Blackburn (2004) as ‘furtive, headlong, and always sizing up opportunities’ (p.21). Blackburn seeks to the change the perception of lust being a deadly sin to that of a virtue. Despite the fact that explicit performance, literature, and pictures can be pornographic, it is quite clear that not all such items have to be pornographic. Photos of people who are naked and sometimes showing sexual arousal or human genitalia in documentary films, the works of art or renowned magazines such as National geographic and Life can appear non-pornographic (Rea, 2001, p. 121). The porn industry is supported by consumers of porn who indirectly encourages sexual of exploitation of women since some are forcefully signed into the business from poor country after being promised well paying jobs in the Western countries. Young girls are lured and sold into sex trade that is hugely responsible in producing porn movies (Diamond & Uchiyama, 1999, p.22). Exploitation of children has been encouraged by the pornography industry which is booming due to advanced technology and faster methods of paying for the services. Christian values and Muslim teaching do not condone pornography. From a religious perspective pornography is seen as a pervasion that comes with being in bondage of sin. Even the Holy Bible condemns sexual immorality which is cultivated by lustful desire that emanates from being exposed to pornography. In 1st Corinthians 6:18-20 Paul calls on Christians to run away from sexual immorality. He points out that every other sin committed by a person is done outside the body but sexual immorality is within the body itself. He calls on mankind to use the body for the glory of God since it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself says in Mathew 5:28 that anybody who looks at a woman with lustful desire has already committed adultery in his own heart with her. Both Paul and Jesus advised followed to flee from the lustful desires that may lead them to eternal condemnation. Pornography is controlled by the desire of the flesh and the insatiable nature of the body to discover and to be fed from all perspectives. John summarizes the Christian perspective on pornography and other lustful desires aptly in 1st John 2: 16, “for all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life-is not from the Father but from the World”. There are numerous verse in the Bible with condemns perverse obsessions and sexual immorality. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah as recounted in the Bible because they had been rampant in sexual immorality. In the Bible sex is seen as a gift that has been given to couple in marriage but not in other circumstance like in the porn movies. Lust of the eye and lust of the flesh cannot be satisfied and a person needs total abstinence from indulging in porn into to overcome the challenge (Reist & Bray, 2011, p.74). Victims of pornography who are addicted can be helped by seeking professional counseling. Conclusion As observed in the argument in this essay very few people can positively advocate for pornography as being a harmless pastime. Children are at high risk of being exploited by pornography peddlers. Sex slaves who are used in pornography production have been found out to be mostly children. This essay has discussed some of the side effects of pornography and what is really wrong with it. What it does to the victim is wrong. It turns them into recluse who have unsatisfied urge to seek their self interest. Their partners in relationship suffer and they forget that they have to love and cherish their partners. People who benefit from pornography are those who are in the industry for commercial reasons. Sex slaves particularly children have nothing positive to say about pornography. There some desire to explore ones imagination that can lead to a point of no return and after a person for a lifetime. Pornography addiction is a habit that can change the situation in a relationship and cause irreversible damage. Both Christians and Moslems teachings condemn pornography and its intended aims. Counseling can help addicts to seek true freedom. Bibliography Audi, R., 1999, Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p.293. Baird, R. M. & Rosenbaum, S. E. (eds.), 1991, Pornography: private right or public menace? Prometheus Books, Buffalo, N.Y. p.127. Cahill, A.J., 2011, Overcoming Objectification: A Carnal Ethics, Routledge, New York and London. p.214. Diamond, M. & Uchiyama, A., 1999, Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japan, International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 22(1): 1–22., p.22 Ruse, M., 1990, Homosexuality: a philosophical inquiry, Blackwell, New York, NY, p.34. Simon Blackburn, 2004, Lust, Oxford University Press, Oxford, p.21. Rea, C.M., 2001, What is Pornography? NOUS 35 (1): 118-145, p. 121. Reist T. M. & Bray, A. (Eds), 2011, Big Porn Inc: Exposing the harms of the global pornography industry, Spinifex Press, North Melbourne, Australia, p.74. West, C., 2000, Good News About Sex and Marriage, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant Publications, p.23. Read More