porn and women

[Aroura]

100% depends on the porn depicted.

Is it depicting a healthy, consensual, happy sexual relationship? (This can still include all sorts of kink.  The important point is if it is portrayed as consensual and positive for the woman and the man, both).  Then no, it isn't harmful.  I would even argue this sort of porn can be beneficial to how males view women in general, their wives in particular.

Is it depicting a sick relationship, where some woman comes onto her boss for a raise, or has sex with men in anything other than a positive, consensual way?  Then yes, it is absolutely harmful.  And yes, I am aware this probably describes a large portion of porn on the internet.

But porn alone is no more harmful than most of our mass media, where women are depicted as saying no, but meaning just keep trying and you'll catch me!  Or where sexual assault is framed as romance in blockbuster films. Remember when Leia told Han she wasn't interested in no uncertain terms, and his response was to back her into a wall and forcibly kiss her?  Romantic, right? (Does anyone really wonder why their relationship failed and their kid is a dumpster fire emo wreck?).  I pick this one example, but this is HUGELY pervasive in popular movies, and I would argue is at least as harmful as any porn.






In Goldfinger, James Bond fully rapes Pussy Galore.  The result?  She falls in love with him.
In The Mask of Zoro, the female lead tries to kill Antonio Banderas, who precedes to strip her naked with a blade, then force a kiss on her.  The Result?  You guessed it!  She falls in love.
Indian Jones assaults 2 women in his movies.
And Harrison Ford is such a gem, in Blade Runner, he absolutely assaults a woman (android) and forces her to ask him to kiss her, all while she is clearly afraid of him until....she finally falls in love with him.  All of this assault scene is framed as romantic.  But watch it from about 2:30. Watch while she rejects his advances, tries to escape, repeats his demands in clear fear, and then succumbs.  And read the comments about how beautiful and romantic this scene is.  Then think about healthy female relationship portrayals onscreen again.





Assault them or stalk them until they love you, a super common hollywood trope.  Shouldn't we all realize that's more harmful than a healthy depiction of a couple having sex? 

Porn in and of itself is not harmful.  Just like movies, TV and video games in and of themselves are not harmful.  But they all CAN be harmful, depending on the message the content conveys.