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News & ArtsTuesday, February 7, 2012
??!! / Sex All Men Watch Porn*
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 12:22 PM
But not all men murder their wives and children.
* Some men claim they don't watch porn. No one believes them.
UPDATE: Sorry, I just have to throw in a quote from this absolutely idiotic story out of Utah—the state with the highest per-capita porn consumption rates in the nation—that argues that WATCHING PORN WILL KILL YOUR BRAIN AND THEN YOU WILL KILL YOUR CHILDREN:
In the wake of Josh Powell's actions that killed his sons and himself Sunday, KSL has heard from many viewers asking, "How does a person do this?" "Are there warning signs?" ... Julie Hanks, a licensed clinical social worker, said, "The fact that he murdered his own sons shows that he did not regard them as real people. I think he did see them as possessions." What causes a person to disconnect? Pornography allegedly played a role in the Powell family. Josh's father, Steven Powell, is in jail facing child pornography charges, and it has been alleged that Josh had images on his computer.
Susanne Gustin, a criminal defense attorney, said, "It seems to me that it was adult pornography, but it was probably pretty hard core. That raised some concerns in the investigators' minds and in the judge's mind." Pornography alone can be harmful, but coupled with severe personality disorders it can lead to destruction. Another licensed clinical social worker and therapist, John Murdock, said, "Pornography, in particular, is going to shut down your frontal lobes, and that's where you are going to do your reasoning, your emotional regulation and your judgment, things of that nature. It's like being in a car with no brakes."
This is completely insane—sexphobic, pornphobic hysteria of the latter-day order.
How many men have murdered their children in Utah this week? Utah, again, has the highest porn consumption rates per capita in the whole freaking nation. If viewing pornography "shut down [the] frontal lobes" and that lead men to kill their children—if porn consumption was one of the "warning signs" that you may be married to a Josh Powell—it's a miracle that children make it out of Utah alive.
Most men watch porn. Most men watch hardcore porn. Most men don't kill their children.
Fucking nutjobs.
1
wow. There is no law against watching it! They might as well have said that men with psychopathic tendencies are more dangerous when drinking coffee and we found a coffeemaker in his house!! Insane.
3
Another licensed clinical social worker and therapist, John Murdock, said, "Pornography, in particular, is going to shut down your frontal lobes, and that's where you are going to do your reasoning, your emotional regulation and your judgment, things of that nature. It's like being in a car with no brakes."Ooh, tell us more about yer frontal lobes, Dr. Science! Thought it might be just a teensy bit helpful if you could point to a study about porn's effect on the brain. Anything? No? Nothing at all?
Fer chrissakes. This argument failed forty years ago.
4
THE PORNZ CAUSEZ THE MURDERZ! IZ DESTROYING SOCIETYZ1!!111ONE
I'm really sick of everything *other* than the fact that people are mentally unstable being blamed for murders. Porn, video games, movies, music, you name it. no no, they weren't just fucking crazy, they liked looking at tits! How fucked up is that?!?!?!
I'm really sick of everything *other* than the fact that people are mentally unstable being blamed for murders. Porn, video games, movies, music, you name it. no no, they weren't just fucking crazy, they liked looking at tits! How fucked up is that?!?!?!
6
Jeez I must be waaaaay behind schedule on my murdering, as I haven't even gotten started (I'm too busy looking at boobs).
8
And I really don't understand why that isn't a good enough explanation. Evil people are very good at pretending to be decent; how else would they be able to find victims?
9
@7 i know. they skim over the fact that the guy was raised by a pedophile, and focus on his pornography viewing. wtf? and for the record, everything i've read suggests that easy access to pornography actually decreases instances of violent sexual crimes. imagine that, let people blow off steam & it doesn't come out in horrible violent rages.
11
"Pornography, in particular, is going to shut down your frontal lobes, and that's where you are going to do your reasoning, your emotional regulation and your judgment...
Perhaps this explains the prevalence of Mormon belief and practice in Utah.
Perhaps this explains the prevalence of Mormon belief and practice in Utah.
12
Pictures of sex are dirty, especially when they depict things that we ourselves either don't do or don't admit to doing. Maybe I'll switch to softcore one of these days and that will be the thing that finally drives me over the edge.
13
Well, the Utah legislature should propose a law that anyone caught watching porn loses custody of their kids. Put it to a popular vote, see how that goes.
15
It's impossible to form the intent to do anything without the use of one's "frontal lobes." Good to see lawyers can claim any insane shit they want, seeing as courts of law don't much care for empirical evidence anyways.
16
Nebraska, which has very restrictive porn laws, has these ridiculous billboards all over the place with pictures of Cornhusker football players, local ministers and even a former Cornhusker coach (the name escapes me, but he was the douchebag idiot who went on to be a particularly inane Senator) with the caption "REAL MEN DON'T DO PORN"
Of course, the parking lots of the porn superstores on the Iowa side of the river, where they have private booths with locking doors, and it's all about anonymous sex, are filled with cars with Nebraska plates.
Of course, the parking lots of the porn superstores on the Iowa side of the river, where they have private booths with locking doors, and it's all about anonymous sex, are filled with cars with Nebraska plates.
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@7-9. That's exactly my thought: if Josh Powell's father was a paedophile, what possible horror was exacted on young Josh that broke his mind? Condolences to all involved.
18
I just watched some interracial lesbian porn and did not have an urge to set my child on fire afterwards.
Take that, Utah.
Take that, Utah.
19
What causes a person to disconnect?
This kind of thing isn't that rare, and it doesn't have anything to do with porn.
Some percentage of men will respond to having their home, family, and career taken away from them (justly or unjustly) by killing themselves, their family, and/or whomever they perceived to be the cause. Put another way, a man who feels he has nothing left to lose is a dangerous man.
This kind of thing isn't that rare, and it doesn't have anything to do with porn.
Some percentage of men will respond to having their home, family, and career taken away from them (justly or unjustly) by killing themselves, their family, and/or whomever they perceived to be the cause. Put another way, a man who feels he has nothing left to lose is a dangerous man.
20
@5:
Plus, everything I touch as I stumble through my perpetually darkened world feels very fuzzy.
Good thing I don't have any kids, though - I guess they wouldn't have had a chance of making it to junior high school if'n I had.
Plus, everything I touch as I stumble through my perpetually darkened world feels very fuzzy.
Good thing I don't have any kids, though - I guess they wouldn't have had a chance of making it to junior high school if'n I had.
21
I thought you, Dan, didn't care for porn? Something about not being into the extreme close ups and all the lube on everything. Or something.
22
Just a point of order, folks. Utah is NOT (necessarily) the state with highest porn consumption. It is the state of the highest PAID porn consumption.
Given the amount of free porn out there, it means Utah's fappers are the most ignorant and stupid people surfing the internet with one hand.
Big surprise, there. Utah also leads the country in small-time financial scams against individuals, internet-borne or otherwise. Inbreeding and fucked-up religiosity will do that to ya.
Given the amount of free porn out there, it means Utah's fappers are the most ignorant and stupid people surfing the internet with one hand.
Big surprise, there. Utah also leads the country in small-time financial scams against individuals, internet-borne or otherwise. Inbreeding and fucked-up religiosity will do that to ya.
23
Not saying I watch a lot of porn - just... that I probably should have put my whole family through a wood chipper by now.
24
I find it entirely possible. You know what's an even greater predictor of homicidal tendencies though? Bowel movements!
A recent study of over 120 convicted murders found that all of them - 100% - were having daily bowel movements in the days and weeks immediately preceding their violent offenses. Daily!
A recent study of over 120 convicted murders found that all of them - 100% - were having daily bowel movements in the days and weeks immediately preceding their violent offenses. Daily!
25
That reminds me of the argument that killing animals is an important predictor of killing people.
Yeah, all those people working in slaughterhouses and meat-packing factories are just murderers waiting to be unleashed on the world.
Yeah, all those people working in slaughterhouses and meat-packing factories are just murderers waiting to be unleashed on the world.
26
Yup, a bunch of nutters out here in UT. They are running a "fight the new drug" campaign here in Logan, with support of the city council. The "new drug" being porn, never mind that it is not a drug and has been around longer most of the drugs out there.
27
@25 I think that statement has more to do with killing animals as a hobby; and also with children doing it. I would say the vast majority of slaughterhouse workers do it out of the slaughterhouse being the employer who hired them, rather than the pure sadistic pleasure of it.
28
Have you read the comments there? I especially like this one:
"In addition to the statements made above, look up: effects of pornography on the brain dopamine
In part this has to do with the development of an addictive personality. I see these articles associated with the effect on the male brain.
The effect is that sexual desires result in satisfaction of getting the chemical effects over and over again. It leads to lack of respect for people as humans, resulting in seeing people as objects to satisfy desires."
Sexual desires, eh?
"In addition to the statements made above, look up: effects of pornography on the brain dopamine
In part this has to do with the development of an addictive personality. I see these articles associated with the effect on the male brain.
The effect is that sexual desires result in satisfaction of getting the chemical effects over and over again. It leads to lack of respect for people as humans, resulting in seeing people as objects to satisfy desires."
Sexual desires, eh?
29
Also: "Porn is a horrible thing and ruins families." That's from a person actually saying that porn DIDN'T cause this man to kill his kids.
30
@14- It's Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Perfect for 5280.
5280- if you were gay, I'd ask you on a date. You're such a character.
5280- if you were gay, I'd ask you on a date. You're such a character.
31
@25 You're referring to the MacDonald Triad; Chronicle bed-wetting past the age of five, cruelty to animals and starting fires. The Triad refers to patterns in childhood, not to adults making a living working in the slaughterhouse. Also MacDonald never claimed that the triad in and of it-self was a good predicator for violent behaviour, and it has recently been theorized that the only reason it has any correlation with violent behaviour in adults at all is that all three components of the triad are indicators of parental neglect and/or abuse.
32
I don't know about any of you but I watch porn and masturbate to ease my murderous desires. Take away my porn and my left hand for 2 weeks and you'd better stay out of sight of any clock towers in the area.
33
(Per the asterisk in the headline) : If Rick Santorum said he didn't watch porn, I actually would believe him.
35
Yes, that's it. If porn goes away, after a couple of weeks I'll turn into a howling lycanthrope bent on the destruction of civilization.
36
I love how "pornography...is going to shut down your frontal lobes" is somehow scientifically sound. That makes absolutely no fucking sense. If your frontal lobes "shut down" (like it's computer hardware) then you're comatose...and therefore not able to murder your children.
37
I went through Utah a few years ago, and it was like being in an alternate universe. On the news the announcer (without any preliminaries) said, "The president was in Provo today..." and then there was a clip of an old white guy shaking hands with another old white guy, and I was like, "Neither one of them is the president!" After listening to more of the commentary, I realized that the guy was the president of something to do with the Mormon Church, but it was a weird disconnect. The first "president" that Utah Mormons think of is clearly not the president of the United States.
All of this by way of saying: It's not surprising that this article seems to come from an alternate reality, because it does.
All of this by way of saying: It's not surprising that this article seems to come from an alternate reality, because it does.
38
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupi…
Porn does affect your brain. Italian researchers have discovered that chronic porn consumption in adolescence can lead to erectile dysfnction in a male's early 20s. You'll need to get caught up on the science of sex addiction, Dan.
And see this link for a really interesting collection of how people got better--mentally, physically-- after they gave up porn.
http://yourbrainonporn.com/what-benefits…
Porn does affect your brain. Italian researchers have discovered that chronic porn consumption in adolescence can lead to erectile dysfnction in a male's early 20s. You'll need to get caught up on the science of sex addiction, Dan.
And see this link for a really interesting collection of how people got better--mentally, physically-- after they gave up porn.
http://yourbrainonporn.com/what-benefits…
39
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupi…
Porn does affect your brain. Italian researchers have discovered that chronic porn consumption in adolescence can lead to erectile dysfunction in a male's early 20s. You'll need to get caught up on the science of sex addiction, Dan.
And see this link for a really interesting collection of how people got better--mentally, physically-- after they gave up porn.
http://yourbrainonporn.com/what-benefits…
Porn does affect your brain. Italian researchers have discovered that chronic porn consumption in adolescence can lead to erectile dysfunction in a male's early 20s. You'll need to get caught up on the science of sex addiction, Dan.
And see this link for a really interesting collection of how people got better--mentally, physically-- after they gave up porn.
http://yourbrainonporn.com/what-benefits…
40
The therapists are only saying that porn contributed to the psychosis. Ted Bundy said it was a factor or him. It can be addicting. It can dehumanize women to men and makes them into more of a sex object. It can also lead to infidelity simply a gauy wants more and more stuff that his wife won't do. Why the Utah and Mormon bashing? Do bigots flock to this site?
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