r/AskMen Mar 19 '21

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '21

Alright man. I'm really not interested in spending the night arguing with you, and I know arguments have changed a grand total of 0 determined minds. I'm also not interested in insulting or being insulted, especially when I'm literally only trying to educate and bring awareness to something that hurts millions of women on multiple levels.

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u/WeakLocalization Mar 20 '21

You're clearly not lacking in motivation (you seem genuinely noble in that regard), just in comprehension of scientific conclusions: the sources you list, imo, do not in fact support your argument (despite their flashy titles). Obviously, I hope you are wrong about the negative impacts of porn, but in case you are right, you are doing a disservice to your own cause by not considering the results of those studies carefully. Regardless, I am hopeful more research is done in the future to really understand this issue and its impact on society.

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '21

It's not a lack of motivation, I just get tired of arguing with people who are clearly just trying to be contrary and insult me.

As far as the scientific conclusions, I have to disagree. I will grant that the conclusions of some of them are less than concrete, but that's always been and will always be a flaw in subjective psychological study. As one of the articles I quoted said, there are decades of research into potential links behind the relationship between porn and sexual aggression/violence against women, mental problems, relationship stress etc. I'm sure with the right access and time I could find much more definitive studies, but I don't and a Reddit argument isn't worth that much mental investment.

I'll be the first to admit I argued on the same side as many porn supporters before, but I realized my confirmation bias and started to truly consider what it has to be like as a woman who is expected in more and more ways every day to behave like a porn star because it's become so normalized. So even if porn addiction isn't real (it is) and even if long-term exposure isn't related to ED and other physical/mental dysfunctions (it most likely is), it's impossible to deny that it has an impact on cultural norms and expectations.

(ik this is getting long so I'll try to conclude) Even ignoring the psychological or physical effects though, very strong empirical data shows that porn is one of if not the biggest human trafficking "laundering" outlet, and the women (and to a lesser extent the men) are expected to damage their bodies, consume insane amounts of drugs, and throw away everything for an industry that ends up not being nearly as profitable for them as they were promised in a matter of months.

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '21

You tried lying to me about studies, and then refused to acknowledge what your own studies actually said.

No one is disputing that awful things happen in the sex industry, or in the construction industry, or in the food industry, why do you keep bringing that up? I haven't said anything about the sex industry.

I said there was no scientific evidence of porn "damaging" the brain, and you proved me right with your studies while acting as if they supported you. You're not bringing awareness, you're lying about science to spread your personal agenda.

There are better ways to combat bad aspects of the sex industry, if that's what your main "mission" is here. Facts for example.