I’m interviewed today by Phoebe Jordan at Talk About My Favorite Authors on the subject of erotic romance, how I get my ideas, and all sorts of other stuff.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen it yet, a fascinating article at Psychology Today on how the “common wisdom” that porn causes social harm is not only wrong, there’s evidence that porn is good for society.
Does Pornography Cause Social Harm? by Michael Castleman.
Among his points:
“If porn is a significant contributor to social harm, we would expect to see substantial increases in sexual irresponsibility, divorce, and rape since the late 1990s when the Internet suddenly made X-rated material much more available to those who might instigate sexual mayhem, overwhelmingly men.”
However:
“Guess what. Since the arrival of Internet porn:
* Sexual irresponsibility has declined. Standard measures include rates of abortion and sexually transmitted infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since 1990, the nation’s abortion rate has fallen 41 percent. The syphilis rate has plummeted 74 percent. And the gonorrhea rate has plunged 57 percent.
* Teen sex has declined. The CDC says that since 1991, the proportion of teens who have had intercourse has decreased 7 percent. Teen condom use has increased 16 percent. And the teen birth rate has fallen 33 percent.
* Divorce has declined. Since 1990, the divorce rate has decreased 23 percent.
* Rape has declined. According to the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey, since 1995, the sexual assault rate has fallen 44 percent.”
Castleman posits that with more guys sitting at home masturbating to porn, there’s less frustration, violence aimed at others, conflict, less what I’d call “negative sex” or use of negative sexual outlets. So, see? I really am helping make the world a better place.
He doesn’t even get into how things have changed because of more women reading (and writing) it, even.
Around the web, interesting reading:
