Conservative commentator Mary Eberstadt, writing for the June/July 2010 Catholic magazine First Things, has a new epidemic weighing heavily on her mind, comparing "sexual obesity" ("the widespread gorging on pornographic imagery") to the more prominently reported on obesity problem of widespread gorging on junk food.
In her essay "The Weight of Smut," Eberstadt writes,
The term sexual obesity comes from Mary Ann Layden, a psychiatrist who runs the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania. She sees the victims of Internet-pornography consumption in her practice, day in and day out. She also knows what most do not: Quietly, patiently, and irrefutably, an empirical record of the harms of sexual obesity is being assembled piecemeal via the combined efforts of psychologists, sociologists, addiction specialists, psychiatrists, and other authorities.
Young people who have been exposed to pornography are more likely to have multiple lifetime sexual partners, more likely to have had more than one sexual partner in the last three months, more likely to have used alcohol or other substances at their last sexual encounter, and—no surprise here—more likely to have scored higher on a “sexual permissiveness” test. They are also more likely to have tried risky forms of sex. They are also more likely to engage in forced sex and more likely to be sexual offenders... Pornography today, in short, is much like obesity was yesterday—a social problem increasing over time, with especially worrisome results among its youngest consumers, and one whose harms are only beginning to be studied with the seriousness they clearly deserve.
Expect this meme to catch on as a conservative talking point in the ongoing culture wars (see my report yesterday on the upcoming Stop Porn Culture conference). For a spirited point-by-point rebuttal, check out AVN editor Mark Kernes' response, "The Weight of Bullsh*t" (before clicking over, anyone afraid of the tasty and tempting lures of "sexual obesity" should be forewarned that the AVN site is pretty much the belly of Eberstadt's obese beast).
What do you think? Are the tempting fruits of adult entertainment as risky to the soul and psyche as junk food is to the stomach? Fire away in the comments section below!
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Comments
I read most of the rebuttal. The first paragraph attacks the messenger, thereby rendering him suspect as well (a classic, but flawed approach to debate). The data is coming out about porns effects on the young, and it isn't good. While some of his points have validity, so too do some of the issues raised in the original article on Smut.
Who loses while the porn industry dukes it out with those who would censor it?
Our kids.
With loaded text like this, I wonder if the words 'irrefutably' are like so much other mumbo jumbo coming out of the psychological community. Psych folks love to extrapolate from the few to the many.
Cruelty and stupid behavior are not new and isolated to our western culture.
You might factor in this idea: the cultures with the most repressive and abusive sexual problems also have the strictest prohibitions on sexual expression -- especially pornography.
"Quietly, patiently, and irrefutably, an empirical record of the harms of sexual obesity is being assembled piecemeal via the combined efforts of psychologists, sociologists, addiction specialists, psychiatrists, and other authorities."
Like so many other reports this one is filled with bias and a complete disregard for factors and conclusions outside of the obvious goals of the one filing the report or writing the essay or article.
There's a good article on CarnalNation entitled "Study: No Harm from Porn, May Benefit" that says just the opposite. Examiner doesn't allow posting links in comments, so you'll have to search for it.
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