Who are the Victims?

1. Victims: Wives of men pre-occupied with pornography and the sex industry.

• BD:  There is no proof that wives are being hurt, abused, or ignored because their husbands enjoy looking at sex pictures. There is much anecdotal testimony from wives about being hurt, abused, or ignored because of pornography. But most of these claims are based on religious objections to sexual images. Also behind most complaints lies a history of sexual dissatisfaction. Typically the wife doesn't like sex and avoids sex three times out of four; or the husband wants the wife to suck him off, for example, and she always refuses and he develops a fixation. These are the two most recorded areas of sexual friction. The husband turns to sex pictures or videos and masturbation to satisfy his desires. The wife claims he is obsessed by sex, that pornography makes him demand "unnatural" things from her, that he hurts her by sexually ignoring her, preferring pornography. Another complaint is the wife's self-esteem is damaged because she cannot measure up to the idealized female bodies commonplace in pornography. These images dominate every form of media and entertainment, in addition to porn, and apply not only to women but to men as well, and make us all question our desirability. To remove these images from porn would mean we'd have to do away with Hollywood too.

  The majority of the anecdotal testimony from wives about being hurt, abused, or ignored because of pornography is sponsored by Catholic and Fundamentalist Groups whose basic tenants hold masturbation to be an "unnatural" condemned act, that sex is for procreation not recreation, that abortion is illegal in the eyes of God, most support heavy censorship and ultimately oppose sexual liberation.

  The remainder of the anecdotal testimony is sponsored by Woman Against Pornography and allied women's groups whose basic UNproven tenant is that pornography is harmful to women in general and should be unlawful. Though many of these women claim to be feminists, their well-known anti-sex attitudes have alienated young women, discouraging them from counting themselves as feminists and split the whole movement into pro and anti sex camps. WAPpers support heavy censorship and ultimately oppose sexual liberation.

  The final irony of viewing wives as victins is that pornography is harmless form of entertainment and is usually accompanied by masturbation which probably keeps men's sexual interest in their wives alive in long-term monogamous marriages.

2. Victims: Women are being treated with (a) disrespect and (b) sexually abused.

a) Women are being treated with disrespect

• BD:   Sexism, not sex, disrespects women. Though sexism pervades our culture in many forms, we will not eliminate it by banning sex. Sexism and violence stem from long-standing economic, political and emotional factors. It is these that need addressing.

b) Women are being sexually abused.

• BD:   No research, including the Surgeon General's report, finds a link between sexual images and abuse or violence. Men have forced women to do things -- sexual and nonsexual -- for centuries. The problem is not sex, it's force.

3. Victims: Young women trapped in an industry that exploits them as mere sex objects.

• BD:   This is a myth. Today women freely choose to be part of the sex industry because they like the work and money and say their work gives then independence and a sense of accomplishment. Why would posing for sexy photos or being in an X-Rated movie be less disrespectful than working at a menial job with low pay? Or being married to a mean authoritarian man for no pay? There are many more women trapped in unhappy marriages where society exploits them as unpaid workers in the home with no recognition.

4. Victims: Boys and girls have lost their innocence by viewing pornography at an early age.

• BD:   The word innocence here really means ignorance. Controlling Christian parents want to keep their children uninformed about the nature of sex so they can force them to live they way they see fit. Part of which means no sex until marriage. This approach leads to unwanted pregnancies or unhappy marriages because of sexual incompatibility. An informed child would have choices instead of being forced into a life with an extremely narrow definition of sexual expression.

5. Victims: Children used for sexual satisfaction by fathers, stepfathers, or men they trusted.

• BD:  This is a red-herring. The reverse is most often true! Men who masturbate with pictures of sex are having regular orgasms and are less likely to want sex with minors especially with children they care for. Adults who have sex with minors are most often sexually repressed and too fearful to deal with adult women.

6. Victims: Young men are exposed to a false image of sexuality.

• BD:  The falsest image of human sexuality is that it can be controlled: to adhere to the abstinence model for children, long-term marital monogamy for men, or celibacy for those men who take religious vows. Teen pregnancy cases continue to grow, extra marital sex is commonplace, and priests and ministers succumb to the flesh.

7. Victims: Men who just can't stop using pornography or stimulating themselves while recalling those images.

• BD:  This is really a condemnation of masturbation. Solo sex has been shown to be a healthy sexual outlet especially for young men so they can avoid getting girls pregnant or spreading STD's. Masturbation is also a way for married men to have some sexual variety without actually engaging in sexual intercourse outside marriage.

8. Victims: A society that has become desensitized to the pure nature of sexuality.

• BD:  The nature of sexuality must be determined by each individual, not some religious organization that condemns most physical pleasures, especially sexual pleasure. The notion of purity like beauty will be in the eyes of the beholder.

9. Victims: Neighborhoods having increased crime and decreasing property values because of the proliferation of pornography in their communities.

• BD:   Poverty causes increases in crime on poor neighborhoods which decreases property value. The connection between crime and selling pictures of sex has never been established except in the minds of anti-porn Christians. Also the vast majority of sales of sex magazines and videos are made in American middle and upper-class neighborhoods.

If you are a victim of pornography...there is hope! Call The Christian Alliance for Sexual Recovery at 888-HELP-HOPE

• BD:   There needs to be a hotline for victims of Christianity. For over 2,000 years, people have been controlled by sexual guilt, manipulated into following religious doctrines that condemns human sexual desire. The blatant raids on the public treasury by Fundamentalists and the Christian Coalition to finance pricey programs to tell us what kind of sex is permissible are unconstitutional. America was founded on principles of democracy where individual freedom of thought and expression is guaranteed. Let freedom ring with sexual diversity across our land.