Pornography in general actually helps reduce and prevent instances of rape and sexual assault, and there is plenty of statistical evidence and scientific study regarding this:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=913013
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101130111326.htm
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sunny-side-of-smut/
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/28803/title/Porn–Good-for-us-/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homo-consumericus/201001/pornography-beneficial-or-detrimental
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19665229
Here’s a paper from a feminist perspective that argues in favor of pornography on the grounds that it demedicalizes female sexuality (meaning that it psychologically benefits women as well):
http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1171&context=tma
Fun fact: The rate of forcible rape has actually declined dramatically since 1979–by OVER 80% (in fact, ALL violent crime has dropped dramatically in only the past two decades). Here–have yet another source on this decline. And, mind you, this is while the willingness of victims and others in reporting instances of rape has actually increased. The “statistic” being passed around regarding rape is not only false, but completely and utterly outlandish. The woman who conducted the original surveys the “1 in 4” nonsense came from did so with a very extreme bias, and disregarded the actual feelings of the women she questioned. Not only were consensual one-night-stands that the subjects later regretted considered to be “rape”, but this article notes that even a kiss was classified as “sexual assault” (oh, and by the way, you might be interested in learning that 40% of rapists ARE WOMEN. Know what’s extra super gross about that? A decent portion of them are mothers sexually abusing their own children. In fact, mothers statistically carry out the majority of abuse against children). In any case, it’s interesting how the decline in rape coincides with the increased availability of pornography that came with the wider distribution of home video devices.
BONUS ROUND: If we’re going to talk about chosen media causing violent behavior, we should take a moment to include video games. Video games are FAR more immersive than pornography, as the player is the one controlling the action. In spite of what parents in the 90′s believed, it actually turns out that hey–video games actually DON’T cause violent behavior:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-out-outside-in/201212/violent-video-games-and-movies-causing-violent-behavior
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/longterm-us-study-finds-no-links-between-violent-video-games-and-youth-violence-9851613.html
http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/08/27/in-new-study-video-games-not-tied-to-violence-in-high-risk-youth/58934.html
http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20150403/violent-video-games-dont-influence-kids-behavior-study
Now, if something a person actively controls in which they have the ability to gun down and tear apart everything from people to animals doesn’t contribute to overall violence in real life, then why the fuck would watching pornography?
As for whether or not pornography has any kind of negative psychological impact that contributes to the creation of rapists, let’s examine the idea scientifically. Acts of violence (including sex crimes) are not a product of any singular aspect of our culture - they are a product of a lack of function in the brain, particularly the pre-frontal cortex. No amount of pornography is going to damage a person’s brain. You could bombard a man with violent imagery of rape and murder, but mere image and suggestion is not going to disable the functioning of the pre-frontal cortex. This area of the brain is responsible for controlling our impulses. For most human beings, this keeps us from acting out against what we’ve learned to be the appropriate behavior in our society. Time and again, science has shown us that the brains of violent criminals are not the same as those of the average person.
The people that commit rape lack the empathy to connect with their actions towards others. They are more than likely already well aware that what they’re doing is wrong. They simply do not have that little voice in the back of their head that tells them not to actually do it. What they AREN’T, however, is a product of watching pornography. The kind of people with the capability to commit rape are not going to be dissuaded from doing so if they’re separated from viewing pornography.
On top of the differences found in the brains of convicted criminals, there is also the fact that male and female brains are not wired the same (we’re only talking about the basic differences, which doesn’t include gender dysphoria. These differences are fairly inconsequential to gender identity). There is a part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres (the corpus callosum) that is smaller in boys than in girls. Now, studies have frequently shown that violent criminals are also usually the products of broken homes, and childhood abuse. Such abuse actually reduces that part of the brain even further in boys, while such an effect is not shown to occur in girls that endure abuse at a young age. It is this part of the brain that effects how they cope with stress and trauma at their earliest points in life.
Violent criminals are not manufactured by pornography, or even by society. They are manufactured by THEIR OWN, PERSONAL HISTORY AND BIOLOGY, and–like it or not–there’s not a lot that can be done to prevent such damaged individuals from being created.
There will always exist circumstances under which future criminals can be manufactured, because no matter how advanced we are, and no matter what higher levels of existence we attain, there will always be bad homes, and bad parents.
Here are even more resources for further reading:
http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2034&context=fac_pubs
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/may/12/how-to-spot-a-murderers-brain
http://www.businessinsider.com/murder-brain-scan-2013-5
http://www.livescience.com/13083-criminals-brain-neuroscience-ethics.html
http://chronicle.com/article/Can-This-Man-Predict-Whether/127792
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-15386740
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128116806
http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/840.html
http://science.time.com/2013/05/03/evil-brain/
http://articles.courant.com/2012-12-06/news/hc-jusino-1207-20121206_1_murder-conviction-second-murder-brain
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/09/this_is_your_brain_on_murder_what_the_mind_of_a_psychopath_looks_like/
Have more sources I couldn’t figure out where to fit in:
http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARreport-50-DV-Myths.pdf
http://tenaflyviper.tumblr.com/post/123840295875/because-i-still-see-people-defending-a-woman-for
That last one contains numerous sources showing the damage that the “rape culture” hysteria is enabling. And yes, it is just hysteria (at least it wouldn’t be the dumbest thing that people in America have believed en masse). This is exactly why RAINN, the leading organization devoted to the aid of rape victims, discourages the teaching of “rape culture” on college campuses.
Basically, pornography not only doesn’t encourage sexual violence against women, but actually helps prevent it. Unlike you, I actually have a shit ton of evidence to prove it.
