The Sunny Side of Smut

The article The Sunny Side of Smut is an argumentative exposition on pornography brings no harm and it may even reduce sexual violence. The article by Melinda Wenner Moyer states that pornography brings no negative effects on people and one less likely to commit sexual crimes. However, pornography is still an immoral act and might lead to unwanted pregnancies.


In the past, pornography is likely hard to get compare in nowadays. The age restriction is not a matter too because no one would know about the internet user. In contrary with most of people believes, recent research prove that pornography consumption does not make users more aggressive, promote sexism or brings harm to relationships. In other words, pornography might make some people less likely to commit sexual crimes. Research in 2007, the scientists found that users of mainstream, non­violent pornography were neither more nor less sexually satisfied than nonusers. Regular pornography use does not seem to encourage sexism, either. Pornography users indicated that the amount of pornography the subjects consumed did not predict whether they would hold negative attitudes toward women (Alan McKee, 2007). Although consumers of pornography did not display more negative attitudes toward women, they were more likely than other respondents to believe that women should be protected from harm—what the investigators call “benevolent sexism.” Some experts believe the consumption of pornography may actually reduce the desire to rape by offering a safe, private outlet for deviant sexual desires. Countries that allowed the access of pornography were at their lowest rate of sexual crimes and the number drops gradually. It is important to note that these associations are just that—associations. They do not prove that pornography is the cause of the observed crime reductions. Nevertheless, the trends “just don’t fit with the theory that rape and sexual assault are in part influenced by pornography,” Ferguson explains. “At this point I think we can say the evidence just isn’t there, and it is time to retire this belief.” Pornography helps them keep their abnormal sexuality within the confines of their imagination (Richard Green, 1992) It turns out that among porn viewers, the amount of porn each subject consumed had nothing to do with his or her mental state. What mattered most was whether the subjects tried to control their sexual thoughts and desires. The more they tried to clamp down on their urge for sex or porn, the more likely they were to consider their own pornography use a problem. It’s all about “personal views and personal values,” In other word, the effects of pornography—positive or negative—have little to do with the medium itself and everything to do with the person viewing it (Michael P. Twohig, 2009).