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| Photo by Emily Tebbetts |
Humans have made it a habit to sell anything and everything they possibly can, so there is no wonder how we’ve managed to sell sex as perhaps one of the biggest commodities out there. Sex is something humans crave, so of course it is easily sold. Whether it’s the magazine with a cover photo featuring a woman in a skimpy bikini or if it’s an adult film propped up on the highest shelf at the movie store; sex sells. Now more than ever, pornography is easily obtained no matter your age or where you live. The “You must be 18 or older to access this content” button can be clicked by anyone.
Pornography is, without a doubt, one of the leading ways sex sells. There are websites, magazines, movies, even novels available to meet sexual desires. When you think about it, it may seem as just another way humans seek thrill and pleasure, but when you take a look behind the scenes, it’s more than just an after-school special.
Not only has pornography been proven to damage relationships and diminish intimacy between partners, it promotes violence and objectification, is linked to the abuse of drugs and alcohol, and is connected to sex trafficking. Pornography turns sexuality into a business, and it distorts the reality of sex, which only fuels the demand for more sex.
Like any other drug, once you try it, it takes more and more to surpass your previous high. In Deconstructing the Demand for Prostitution: Preliminary Insights from Interviews with Chicago Men Who Purchase Sex, 83% of men explored prostitution services to satisfy their pornography addiction that could no longer be fulfilled by pornographic media, 60% of which are married or in a serious relationship.
It is not only women who are burdened by the impacts of pornography and sex trafficking; men experience the effects as well. Women, however, make up 80% of sex trafficked victims, 50% of those are minors. “If it’s so bad, why don’t they quit?” is a question I hear often. The reality is, pornography and financial assistance are used as blackmail to keep trafficked victims from leaving the industry. In an interview with Fight the New Drug, an organization against the development of pornography, a former porn actor said, “The only thing different from rape and that moment was the money,” when discussing a specific instance while filming.
What you may find pleasurable and harmless, is life-threatening to others. Every level of pornographic consumption fuels the demand for sex trafficking. Each time you click the link to a pornography site, a victim is being filmed one more time. Help to make your last click be the final click.
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