The Data

In her new book The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession (2023 Bloomsbury), Kelsy Burke cites studies, which challenge commonly espoused values and beliefs held by antiporn activists. The antiporn agenda is the abolition of pornography.

One study published by researchers at two Texas universities rejects the hypothesis that exposure to porn increases sexual aggression. A study published in The Journal of Sex Research found that men who consume porn hold more feminist views than men who don’t watch porn. Another study published in the journal Personal Relationships found that women in heterosexual marriages who consumed pornography were more satisfied in their relationships than women who did not view porn. Read more…….

Dr. Burke cites other studies that report an increase in self-awareness and esteem regarding sexual prowess. According to a more recent study by researchers at Harvard Medical School, which was published in the journal Family Medicine and Community Health, porn consumption “may aid in adolescents’ sexual development and enhance sexual relationships as well as knowledge.”

Thirty-five percent of all internet downloads include pornographic content. In the US, approximately 28 million men and 12 million women regularly consume internet pornography.

Antiporn activists claim that porn addiction exists and that it has a biological underpinning. In fact, an entire recovery movement has emerged to combat this relative of sex addiction, but as Dr. Burke asserts in her book, science does not support such a biologically-rooted dependency.