Apparently, it’s Pornography Awareness Week. (As if there are people out there who are unaware of it…?)
The week was actually thought up by Religious Right groups, including Concerned Women for America (CWA) and Morality in Media (MiM) — they want to convince you that all pornography is wrong and harmful.

But Dr. Marty Klein has a different idea in mind:
I support increasing everyone’s awareness of pornography use in this country: how many people watch it, who these people typically are, how it affects them and their relationships, how pornographers work hard to screen out underage performers, what Americans’ rights are regarding possession of erotic material, etc.
He has a list of suggestions, too:
* Thank the clerk in your local convenience store for carrying porn magazines or DVDs.
* Thank your local hotel for carrying pay-for-porn, even if you personally have never stayed there. Alternatively, write to a national chain that carries pay-for-porn (and has been bullied about it by groups like Citizens for Community Values), such as Marriott or Westin.
* Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining that most people who use porn have no problem with it.
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* Instead of a White Ribbon, wear a Plaid Ribbon. When people ask, say it’s for Porn Awareness Week and your gratitude for the First Amendment.
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* Write your mayor or governor reminding them that you vote — and that you have no problem with porn.
Some of his suggestions strike me as a bit creepy — “Dear Governor, I disagree with your support of Proposition 42. Also, porn is kinda awesome. Just thought you should know.” — but the sentiments are good ones: Be sex positive. Don’t make the mistake of assuming porn is inherently evil (though some of the unregulated stuff out there is downright disturbing or illegal). Realize that watching it could actually improve your sex life, not hinder it. Enjoy it but don’t go overboard.
Pastor Pete Wilson came across that list and he’s stunned. In his mind, porn can only lead to addiction and unstable relationships:
I just want to remind you of the truth which is porn is a powerful cycle of addiction that can and will destroy your ability to enjoy intimacy with your partner in the way God intended.
I want to remind you that you don’t have to continue to allow your mind and soul to be poisoned by this stuff. You can find freedom from the cycle of guilt and shame you’re caught in!
If you read some of the comments, you get a sense of why he believes all this. It doesn’t seem like any of his commenters know how to handle porn responsibly:
When my son went off to college a few years ago he asked me what was the best porn blocker he could use on his dorm PC. My answer was simple:
A right relationship with God is the only real porn blocker.
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Pornography contributed heavily to the destruction of my first marriage. I now see my sons four days a month because of it. Porn’s just not worth it.
Seriously?! Are there no sex-positive Christians out there who can tell Wilson that porn has made their relationships better? Or at least that it didn’t change it one way or the other?
I’m sure there are atheists who can tell him that…
I’ll admit it’s possible for people to get addicted to porn. And we can have a debate about how old your children should be before they’re exposed to sex (as if you can control that). But this automatic, black or white, porn-is-great or porn-is-evil thinking is pretty warped. It just pushes the belief that *all* forms of sex are naughty naughty naughty unless you’re having it — missionary-style-only — within the confines of your marriage… (and never before your wedding day, of course).
If anyone suggests there are healthy, responsible ways of having physical fun outside of that particular relationship, they don’t want to hear it.
Reality ruins everything they stand for, doesn’t it?
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On a side note, Wilson also quotes some statistics that look to be damning but I can’t find a good enough reason to take them seriously.
* 42 percent of surveyed adults indicated that their partner’s use of pornography made them feel insecure.
Marriage Related Research, Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D. Christian Counseling Today, 2004 Vol. 12 No. 1.* 41 percent of surveyed adults admitted they felt less attractive due to their partner’s pornography use.
Marriage Related Research, Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D. Christian Counseling Today, 2004 Vol. 12 No. 1.* 47% percent of families said pornography is a problem in their home.
Focus on the Family Poll, October 1, 2003.
Christian Counseling Today, Christian Counseling Today, Focus on the Family… totally credible and unbiased sources, I’m sure.
What was the methodology used? Who was surveyed? Was it an online poll? Who knows.
I tried finding links to the original data online so I could look up those things for myself but, like so many Christians who try to use statistics to boost their cause, Wilson just seems to be parroting what other Christian websites say. They all quote the same sources… then the sources disappear… then they all quote each other. It’s like one big circle-jerk with no discernible beginning.
If anyone can find that original information, I’d love to see it.
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Related note: A few years ago, I wrote about a debate I saw between porn star Ron Jeremy and Pastor-to-the-porn-stars Craig Gross in which they discussed this very subject.
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