THE CASE AGAINST PORN

I quote from an excellent article on http://www.erasethedark.com/ourcase.html

"Every hour in America, sixteen women will encounter a rapist.  Since 1960, rape has risen 500%, and it is reported once every forty-six seconds.  One in eight women will be raped at least once.  Comparatively, in a study of convicted rapists, 86% of the rapists admitted to routine use of pornography, while 57% said that they would actually mimic specific pornographic scenes while raping a woman.

Pornography has grown into a thirteen billion dollar a year industry, and it exceeds the combined revenues of America’s foremost sport franchises--baseball, basketball, and football.

The dual proliferation of pornography and rates of rape in America are not coincidental.  Pornography, rape, and other acts of injustice directly coincide; it is time for the dark perception in society that says pornography is a victimless crime and harmless freedom to be erased."

Go to http://www.erasethedark.com/ and learn about the dangers of pornography to women.  Thankfully, there are great women out there winning battles for women, such as the recent ban on violent pornography in the United Kingdom (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/5297600.stm).

Pornography is vile and disgusting, degrades women, and further legal attention may be needed for women.  The notion that it is simply a 'victimless crime' or a 'harmless freedom' is a dangerous one.  Pornography is harmful to women and women's rights.  Women have the right to live free of the fear of being raped, and free of being regarded as mere sex objects. 

Pornography firmly entrenches in people's minds the notion that women are mere sex objects or hunks of meat.  If we are to have a future in which the sexes are truly equal and a future in which women are respected, pornography must go.

>>163 Your not taking my words for granted is very much to your credibility. But Nicholas A. Groth once made a book on the subject; Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offender. His study lists the following in the introduction. Asterisks mine.

"The power-assertive rapist: This is argued to be the most common type of rapist, accounting for about *40* percent of all reported rapes. Wishing to be an alpha male, he tends to value machismo and physical aggression, and often rapes victims that he meets in places like bars, where he may pose as, or be, an authority figure. Power-assertive rapists rarely target specific people for rape and, while not intending to kill their victims, often *traumatize and humiliate* them.
The power-reassurance rapist: Responsible for about 27.5% of reported rapes, this type of rapist has been described by law enforcers as the "gentleman rapist". He is usually:
of average intelligence;
not physically aggressive;
*socially-deficient*; and
*unable to develop interpersonal or romantic relationships*.
Usually, he will select and stalk a victim before committing the crime. The victim is usually someone whom he knows, eg. a neighbor or work acquaintance. Power-reassurance rapists often force the victim to emulate foreplay, and take "trophies" of the rape; they may even record the event in a personal journal. Power-reassurance rapists tend to be the least violent type of rapists, often *fantasizing* about consensual sexual relationships with women, rather than violent conquests.
Anger-retaliatory rapist: Responsible for about 28% of rapes, this type of rapist is often a substance abuser, with impulsive behavior and anger-related pathologies. He does not target specific victims, and often feels a general animosity toward the gender of his target. The anger-retaliatory rapist's attacks are usually spontaneous and brutal, and while he does not intend to kill the victim, he may beat her or him to death if she or he resists. This rapist usually has below-average intelligence, and is likely to leave more evidence than other types of rapists.
The anger-excitation rapist: This type of rapist, considered the most dangerous and elusive, accounts for about 4.5 percent of rapes. The anger-excitation rapist may or may not choose his victims selectively. Often sadistic, this type of rapist frequently murders his victim to prevent her or him from identifying him, or for his own self-gratification. FBI profilists lists the fourth type as "sexually sadistic rapists." These rapists are sexual sadists. Only a small percentage of sexual sadists are rapists.

According to John Douglas, the *legendary FBI profilist*, rapists tend to fall into four basic categories: "power-reassurance rapist" (driven by feelings of *inadequacy*), the "exploitive" rapist (impulsive driven and overtly macho), the "anger" rapist (who uses sex to displace his rage), and the "sadistic" rapist, who gets aroused from sexual sadism."

So now that I look back at my sources I have to make a concession, a majority of rapists have macho-aspirations as a cause, *not* a sense of inferiority. However, it is a cause in the second-to-commonest type of rapist. What is most tragic is that they want normal relationships. This source is damning for contemporary pornography, since it is more likely to inspire and shape the erstwhile type; the "macho" man.