Pornography and Its Effects on Society

2219 Words9 Pages
Should Porn be Outlawed: Pornography’s Effects on Relationships, Society, and the Economy Pornography at its very core is a word that comes with much stigmatism. The word “pornography” come from Greek root words porne “prostitute, female slave” and graphos “to write, describe” (“Online Etymology Dictionary”). Right off the bat the word implies that the woman is a slave to the bidding, of the person producing the pornographic material. Defining pornography is a difficult task. Several factors can influence the definition of the word, the definition changes depending on the social and historical situation it is used in, something that was considered porn 100 years ago (Ex. girl in lingerie) may not be considered porn today. The definition can also vary based on a society’s or an individual’s cultural, moral, or religious beliefs (D'Orlando). A priest will not have the same views on pornography as say a 20 year old liberal college student. Subsequently, there is no clear-cut definition of pornography, the best broad definition available would be “media erotic or sexual behavior in a way designed to cause sexual arousal” (YourDictionary). Pornography has evolved tremendously over the last few decades. The market for it has grown exponentially, it is now an over $100 Billion market which is readily accessible for nearly 300 million Americans today. Pornography takes many different forms such as pornographic novels, magazines, pictures, and most commonly pornographic movies; additionally there are pornographic cartoons, hot lines, live sex shows (D’Orlando). A majority of people have no objection to porn and most enjoy it, but others find it disgusting and would like nothing more than to get rid of it. Those that object to pornography; feminist groups, conservatives, religious leaders claim that pornography ruins lives, relationships, exploits women, want nothing

More about Pornography and Its Effects on Society

Open Document