How Spread of Porn Could Give the Illusion that Rape is in Decline (explicit language)
Indications from books like Unhooked or Female Chauvinist Pigs suggest that many women in our present age, understandably, prefer to conceive of themselves as powerful and in control, not as victims. Female members of the porn industry like Lizzy Borden fuel this image of woman as dominator, as opposed to the dominated. A woman acknowledging she was made to have sex against her will, whether to police or to a survey-taker, would not be compatible with this self-image. We observe that sexual assault is both widespread and a substantially underreported crime…

We can hypothesize that as women adopt the promiscuous, callous lifestyle advocated by porn, they will be less likely to report instances of rape. This might be in part because porn trains people to expect discourteous behavior in sex, and in part because of widespread beliefs that ‘loose’ women have little credibility when it comes to accusations of rape. A raped woman has every reason to fear that her sexual history might be mercilessly worked over in court (and/or public opinion) during a trial, especially if that history is long and messy. For reasons like these, one cannot conclude from mere correlation that porn truly reduces the incidence of sexual assault. There is no unambiguous logical connection between the two…

It is easy to see how the propagation of rape myths would decrease reporting of rape. The victim might not be sure that an actual crime occurred, or even if they did, might not feel that our legal system will recognize their injury.

United Kingdom: A Glaring Counter-Example to the Theory that Internet Porn is Cathartic
Law professor Anthony D’Amato, and more recently Todd Kendall of Clemson University, have attempted to correlate increased Internet penetration with decreasing rates of rape. Since the Internet is a major vector for porn, they suggest that more porn in the home means fewer people will rape. In short, they claim that porn is cathartic.

We have already discussed some of the flaws in this argument, the origins of which go back over 30 years. A new counter-example has recently come to our attention. Between 2000-2005, the number of Internet users in the United Kingdom increased from 15.4 million to 35.8 million (InternetWorldStats). During this time, the overall population only grew from 58.8 million to 59.9 million, so the proportion of Internet users in the population grew from 26% to 60%.

If the D’Amato/Kendall theory was correct, you would expect a measurable decrease in the number of reported rapes. However, the opposite trend was seen. In the period 1999-2000, just under 8,000 rapes of a female were reported in England and Wales. This level then increased every year until by the 2005-2006 period, over 13,000 rapes of a female were reported (Home Office Crime Statistics). This was during a time when the overall population increased by just 2%.

In Scotland, the trend of recorded rapes is similar. After dipping slightly between the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 reporting periods, rapes recorded by police increased every year through the 2005-2006 reporting period (Scottish Executive). Overall, recorded rapes increased from just under 600 in 1999-2000 to just under 1,000 in 2005-2006.

Government officials in the United Kingdom believe that some of the increases in recorded rapes are due to improved reporting of crimes. Factors like these underscore the risks of drawing simple conclusions from apparent correlations between changes in reported crime rates and changes in other phenomena. The challenges are especially great when discussing heavily underreported crimes such as rape and domestic assault.

When combined with personal testimony and scientific experiments, the balance of the data suggests that porn stimulates rape and confuses people about what’s acceptable behavior (such as whether to take no for an answer during sex). It certainly cannot be concluded that porn reduces rape.

Porn and Sex Crimes in Other Countries: The Historical Experience
Porn advocates are usually quieter about the results of studies of Sweden, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia, where “”as the constraints on the availability of pornography were lifted…the rates of rape in those countries increased.””[35] For example, “in two Australian states between 1964 and 1977, when South Australia liberalized it’s laws on pornography and Queensland maintained its conservative policy…over the thirteen-year period, the number of rapes in Queensland remained at the same low level while South Australia’s’ showed a sixfold increase.”[36]

“…Women trafficked to the country generally were employed as prostitutes under coercive conditions in businesses licensed to provide commercial sex services. Sex entertainment businesses are classified as “store form” businesses, such as strip clubs, sex shops, hostess bars, and private video rooms, and as “nonstore form” businesses, such as escort services and mail order video services, which arrange for sexual services to be conducted elsewhere. According to NGOs and other credible sources, most women who were trafficked to the country for the purpose of sexual exploitation were employed as hostesses in “snack” bars and were required to provide sexual services off-premises.[5]

Trafficking victims generally did not realize the extent of their indebtedness, the amount of time it would take them to repay the debts, or the conditions of employment to which they would be subjected upon arrival. According to Human Rights Watch, the passports of women trafficked to work in “dating” bars usually were confiscated by their employers, who also demanded repayment for the cost of the woman’s “purchase.” Typically, the women were charged $28,570 to $47,620 (3 million to 5 million yen), their living expenses, medical care (when provided by the employer), and other necessities, as well as “fines” for misbehavior added to the original “debt” over time. How the debt was calculated was left to the employers; the process was not transparent, and the employers reportedly often used the debt to coerce additional unpaid labor from the trafficked women. Employers also sometimes “resold,” or threatened to resell, troublesome women or women found to be HIV positive, thereby increasing the victims’ debts and possibly worsening their working conditions…[6]

Also, maybe when Bitch/Lab is done playing “There there” with poor old Josh, Josh would like to come back and answer my question as to why he’s still shuffling papers for a living when he proudly proclaims that his pron stint was not at all degrading compared to it. Oh, and maybe if I live to be a thousand, Bitch/Lab herself will come back and explain to me, at long last, how a proudly Socialist woman like Nina Hartley reconciles her supposedly humane political beliefs with her cold-hearted public tesitmony against a mandatory condom policy in the mainstream pron industry.

I think I’ll take up knitting. I could become the Christo of knitting and hit every park in Portland with huge dense layers of delicate yarnwork before either of them ever comes up with a straight answer, I’ll wager. :/

I lived in Japan. I can tell you that women who report rape–or even being harassed on the train–are blamed for what happened, and are often dragged through the mud. Rape isn’t reported, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Though I do find the “put up with the misogyny so that you won’t get raped” fallacy oh-so-charming.

What’s going on?

Were you able to write this with a straight face?

Laughing@UALL:

Very straight actually. I tend to have a somber tone to my face at all times. Comes from being in the field of criminology I suppose.

A somber, serious criminologist writes to a discussion about rape and porn and the nic he chooses is — get this– Laughing at you all in leetspeak.

Something doesn’t quite add up, methinks.

‘One might even say martial arts and ring-boxing are similar ways for violent people to burn a little steam. But I suppose that when one matrial artsist flips out and beats a guy it’s time to go Jack Thompon on the Shoalin Temple, right?”

First, ring boxing and martial arts are quite different in that ring boxing, as currently ruled, allows levels of physical damage and danger that no legitimate martial arts school or competition would allow. (”Kick boxing” in Vegas does not count as “legitimate.”) When boxers start wearing head gear and when head shots are taken out of competition, then they’ll belong in the same discussion. Meanwhile, professional boxing is far more akin to a public execution, i.e. not something sane people can watch or condone. (Yes, that’s a value judgment. I think grown ups get to make those.)

Second, martial arts is, literally anti-violence. It’s certainly tied in a strange waltz with violence, but only as a 180 turn away from it. And, to extend the metaphors, martials arts is to violence as loving, consentual sex is to rape. That martial arts is an honorable pursuit in no way excuses or condones the indulgence in violence, either as fantasy or in other realities. Yes, the “Shaolin Temple” should be censured if it were teaching people how to beat up each other, under any circumstances, using only “might makes right” as a criterion. Just as loving sex, consentual sex, marriage and all the other sexual arrangements between willing parties are legitimate and ethical, so is martial arts. And, just as beating up someone for reasons other than self defense is immoral and unacceptable, so is rape. And, just as a fantasy about beating people up for no reason other than to be a “tough” guy is pretty damn sick, so is fantasizing about rape.

I need a bath. (I’m quite grateful most schools are on the lookout for people who think martials arts is about violence. My school also does background checks to weed out potential weirdos. Potential students, pay no attention to “laughing’s” misunderstandings. Trush your instincts. The overwhelming majority of martial artists are sane, peaceful people.

These data suggest a much larger dark figure of sexual assault than is reported, especially among those who are not Japanese and those whose offenders were known. Police statistics do not accurately reflect the number of women sexually assaulted, nor is there any systematic information collected explaining their reporting behavior.

A 1994 study by Mieko Yoshihama (Yoshihama M, Sorenson SB. Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by male intimates: experiences of women in Japan. Violence & Victims 1994;9:63–77.) found that 43% of Japanese women surveyed indicated that they had been forced to have sex, and 15% said that they had been forced to have sex by the use of physical violence. (The sample was not representative, however).

And you still didn’t debunk the “healthy” part of your quip.

Furthermore, just in case you’re not following the bouncing ball very well, just because one woman in one particular “simulated” rape scene consented to male violence DOESN’T MEAN JACK SHIT ABOUT MEN’S PROPENSITY TO FANTASIZE BRUTALITY and PLAY THAT FANTASY OUT ON get this OTHER WOMEN.

Do you care to really delve into “healthy” outlets for violence?

Is that kinda like video games, disgruntled male youth, and the current war in Iraq, with Iraqi civilians just being a “healthy” outlet for America’s youth so the rest of us quaint civvies can rest comfortably at night?

Ah, shite. In a nutshell son, have you read the thread?

Were you able to write this with a straight face?

Very straight actually. I tend to have a somber tone to my face at all times. Comes from being in the field of criminology I suppose.

What I think you forget is that women consent to being in simulated rape films. You also forget that some women fantasize about rape and don’t mind being in that position because a fantasy is A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT. Unlike actual sexual assault.

In criminology we have a saying, “in every rapist’s home you’re likely to find rape-type porn. But in every home with rape-type porn you’re not necessarily going to find a rapist.” When you combine recent studies that show virtually 60% of men would rape if they could, without a doubt, get away with it, and then add the reality that not nearly 60% of men have ever raped, it’s clear that there are plenty of individuals who can maintain a healthy normal life without feeling the need to cross that line despite having such fantasies.

An outlet that doesn’t hurt anyone in society and permits the person with fantasies with a form of release is perfect normal and safe. I see this as being no different than female domination videos. One might even say martial arts and ring-boxing are similar ways for violent people to burn a little steam. But I suppose that when one matrial artsist flips out and beats a guy it’s time to go Jack Thompon on the Shoalin Temple, right?

Fantasies exist and are a normal part of human nature.

’cause it’s all about what’s good for men.

Just an assumption but I’m pretty sure men are the ones mainly fueling the porn industry. In that case, yes, it’s all about what the man wants. Supply and demand are facinating things…

’cause it’s all about what’s good for men.

While there’s been a direct correlation researched between people being more tolerant to violence against women after watching violent porn it may also serve as a healthy outlet for those who live with such fantasies on a daily basis.

Were you able to write this with a straight face?

See, this is what I think porn does vis-a-vis violence against women: it allows someone to write, without any sense of irony or even social dis-ease, about “healthy” outlets for male violence against women.

Hah. Hah. hah hah hah ha.

hah

like omg hah

In a personal opinion, I think Japan has a low number of reported rapes due to it’s emphasis on women being honorable to their man. My ex-girlfriend (tear) would describe how the mother of the house she was staying at wouldn’t join the family for dinner and this was a normal custom. I always wondered if (the mother) snacked or really did wait till the meal was done to begin hers. A sort of silent protest… anywho… It’s quite possible that this has contributed to a passive female population. In criminology we might be able to equate this with what is formally known as “learned helplessness”. Much like everything, however, there’s usually more than once contributing factor.

The most common reason why rapes are not reported in the western world is due to it being a “personal problem”. The most common reason why the rape was reported is to “prevent further attacks on the victim”. When we look at the facts and see that most rapes occur between two people known to each other it’s not hard to believe. I’m willing to bet not many people know that even though people are a couple a person can still be raped. Many of us have this idea that rape is always violent. Simply not true. Rape can consist of cunnilingus. No consent to ANY sexual touching is sexual assault - period.

“Reported rapes” is accurately stated… but of course even in the western hemisphere, most rapes go unreported.

Do any of us know wether or not that heavy cultural influence is preventing the report of what we in the Western world would consider rape? I don’t have any 1st generation friends from Japan who are willing to talk about this with me so I can’t even gather antectodal evidence. I (with many others reading this) read Memoirs of a Geishia and was very morally confused at the end. Was it systemic rape of thousands of women or was it prostitution or was it something “better” or “worse”?

No doubt porn may be the last drop to the bucket for some offenders but banning it would be like banning guns and hoping the problem of violence and murder suddenly vanish. I don’t disagree that easy access to firearms is playing with fire but thinking that it’s the root of violence is absurd. Need I remind anyone that our ancestors had spears in their skulls?

For those interested I suggest taking a look at Japan’s porn industry vs their number of reported rapes. A society that sells soiled underwear in vending machines, Japan is notorious for it’s variety of bizarre porn - one of which is simulated rape. Remarkably, however, Japan has the lowest number of reported rapes of any industrialized country. The reason for that is subject to interpretation but interesting nonetheless.

This is what Avedon Carol of “Feminists Against Censorship” had to say about the UKs proposed criminalisation of possession of violent pornography instigated because a woman was raped and strangled to death by a man who consumed lots of violent pornography (kudos to Nieves and post 149 for this):

I imagine this is all because they wimped out on banning forced marriages, something that has to do with real violence against women - virtual slavery, in fact.

So now they can pretend to be doing something “for women” with this disgusting legislation that will ruin god-knows-how-many innocent people and distract the police force from doing anything useful.

Only it won’t do anything for women and in fact will probably end up endangering more of us because the less information you can get about BDSM, the more likely you are to have accidents that result in injury or death - which is what probably happened in the case that started this whole business.

There’s a vile trend in popular liberal media calling young women who say they were raped liars, a trend that has appeared recently in such as liberal media as The Nation, Counterpunch, and Clamor Magazine. What I see in this is the burning need to defend men’s rights to unlimited sexual access to women’s bodies in pornography and prostitution taking precedence over women’s human rights, and it makes me angry.

It makes me angry that belledame can repeat the whopper of a lie, recently promoted in Alternet, that being prostituted isn’t very different from being an actress when the flourishing slave trade in prostitutes, early teen age of entry into prostitution, gender of most prostitutes, STDs, drug addictions, pimps, and only about a thousand other glaring differences are evident to anyone over the age of 10 who isn’t choosing to ignore the obvious staring them in the face.

But ignore it they do. They’re not willing to search themselves for the words to answer why Coco cried anymore than belledame is. We women are just supposed to accept that being a whore is the new, progressive, feminist path to female empowerment and equality, and I am frightened for the girls and women being told this lie.

Man: “Coco, you don’t know what you’re doing to my lens. You have a natural rapport with the camera. It’s unbelievable. Some performers can make love to the camera. Garbo did. Monroe did. So could you.”

Coco: “Yeah?”

Man: “Oh, yeah. Could you take your top off, please?”

Coco: “What?”

Man: “Could you take your blouse off?”

Coco: “Are you kidding?”

Man: “No, I’m not kidding. What’s the matter? You’re acting like some dumb kid. I thought you were a professional.”

Coco: “I am.”

Man: “Well, then what’s the problem?”

Coco: “I can’t.” (she removes her blouse and looks very distressed)

Man: “That’s better. That’s lovely. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Could you arch your back? Arch your back a little, Coco. Smile for me, Coco. Come on, Coco. Smile, smile. Smile for me. Now take your thumb and put it in your mouth Iike a little schoolgirl.”

(she complies, then begins to cry)

I know why Coco started crying, and I believe no one who saw the movie or read the transcript above did so with a bufuddled look on their face because they had no clue why a young actress in that position might cry. How would you finish the statement, “Coco started crying because…”?

Porn works equally for gay male sexuality and female heterosexual sex to force sex into a game of dominance and power. Both types of porn reify acts that are uncomfortable, demeaning, and subserviant — unless one is the dominant actor, in which case porn reifies a quite blatent hedonistic dominance.

How do we all think sexual behavior is learned?

What are the effects of society on sexual behavior?

How does observational learning pass from person to person?