We all know it exists. We all know someone who has it. And we all know where to find it. But no one wants to talk about it. Pornography is an uncomfortable subject, but our unwillingness to talk about it is aiding in its continuation.

By definition, pornography deindividualizes and dehumanizes sexual acts by eliminating all the contexts and reduces people simply to bearers of impersonal sensations of pleasure and pain.

The most serious impact of pornography is on society’s view of women because it actually promotes inequality between men and women. It presents a degrading and dehumanizing portrayal of women. By its very nature it requires that women be subordinate to men and mere instruments for the fulfillment of male fantasies. This denies that women are independently human or have a status equal to that of men.

Pornography perpetuates lies about women’s sexuality by asserting the idea that a woman’s sexual life is or ought to be subordinate to the service of men and that her pleasure consists in pleasing men and not herself.

Pornography makes real abuse more tolerable by portraying women as deserving or almost enjoying rape or any sadomasochistic activity. Repeated exposure to pictures or descriptions of especially rape and incest desensitizes anyone who sees it and not only creates hardened sex offenders, but an entire nation that sits in tolerance of sexual abuse as the norm. Studies have shown that the “tolerance for pornographic representations of the rape, bondage and torture of women helps to create and maintain a climate more tolerant of the actual physical abuse of women.”

Women aren’t the only casualties, pornography also has serious effects on men. As I already said it can encourage them to commit violent sexual crimes. In a study polling violent sexual offenders, one third claimed to have at least occasionally been incited to commit an offense by exposure to one or other types of sexual materials. It can also prevent men from fully enjoying a legitimate sexual experience by desensitizing them to sexual stimulus through satiation thus requiring them move ever closer to hard-core porn to produce the same result.

Viewing pornography is just as degrading for men who view it as the women who star in it. Scholars have asserted that “pornography undermines the self-esteem of men as well as women, arguing that it is degrading for men to view women as lesser beings and thus to perpetuate the same hatred that brings racism to society.”

Pornography has a negative impact on the way women view themselves and causes them to feel inadequate to these unrealistic pornographic females. The measurements of the perfect female, 38-22-34, are realistically impossible. The average slender male between the age of 16-26 has a waist of 26-27 inches and a two month old baby has a waist of 16-17 inches. This convinces women they are nothing but sex toys, devoid of emotion or desire whose sole purpose is the satisfaction of the man.

Some people will try to argue that pornography is simply an expression of the first amendment’s right to free speech but the U.S. Constitution prohibits what is obscene and pornography is clearly obscene as it has almost no plot or story and no artistic worth.

As long as we keep rewarding young girls for being sexy objects, we can expect to see many females turn to pornography, prostitution and other forms of sexploitation to stay alive or even to earn prestige and social acceptance.