Though it might not seem obvious, child sexual abuse is most definitely linked to pornography. For starters, the popular aesthetic of a sexually desirable female body has become eerily similar to (at times, indistinguishable from) that of pre-pubescent girls. Mature adult women are commonly presented as hairless and shapeless which skews the expectations for many men who are regularly exposed to it. Pornographic videos and images have also become increasingly and disturbingly violent. Women are rarely shown experiencing pleasure from sexual activities, and this is dangerous for the male psyche when the belief becomes that women want to be abused and humiliated in sexual scenarios. When it comes to the intermingling of sex and violence, we know that many people build a tolerance, meaning they require more violence or danger to reach sexual arousal. Now add in the alarming problem that, for most porn sites, distributors are unable to verify the ages of the participants and whether or not consent was obtained prior to the filming of the sexual acts. Human trafficking victims, including children, have been forced and coerced into the pornography industry and there are very few protections in place.
There is no easy solution to this, but I’m certain that it begins in our own homes. People enjoy pornography for a reason. I’m not going to say it’s inherently wrong to enjoy sexual arousal from visual and auditory aids. However, we need to make sure we are supporting safe and healthy outlets and stop fueling the nefarious ones. Men make up the primary audience and the men in our lives need to be made aware of the implications so they can take a stand and enact change in this arena. The mainstream porn industry puts our kids at risk in more ways than one. Missing children have been found from reports of sightings on pornographic websites. Girls have had to fight lengthy legal battles to have their own rape videos removed from porn sites that profit off of them. As adults and responsible parents, we owe it to our kids to stop ignoring this problem. Realistic and respectful outlooks on sexuality, pleasure and consent will create a much safer and mentally-well generation.