Conflating consenting adult porn with rape doesn't work. At all. Here's why. [View all]

[Warren DeMontague]

As far back as the 70s and 80s, Dworkin, MacKinnon, Brownmiller, etc were breathlessly warning everyone who would listen that the avalanche (for the time) of smut represented by Penthouse and Playboy and even (o no) Hustler would -HAD to!- lead to increases in sexual assault. Statistically. Definitely. No question.

This was part and parcel of the narrative. Stitched right into the Meese-allied DNA, as it were.

So what has happened? Well, as astute observers of the culture are no doubt aware, the internet (otherwise known as the most efficient pornography distribution mechanism known to man) has led to a level of images of consenting adult fuckery being available, 24-7, that would have caused Old Mr. Comstock's head to explode a Googol (or a Google) times.

Now how does that gel with the old Dworkin-MacKinnon-Brownmiller narrative? Answer: It doesn't.

Because FACTUALLY, STATISTICALLY, SCIENTIFICALLY and UNCHALLENGEABLY, numbers of sexual assaults have declined.

This is not some "falsified MRA statistic". This is according to the FBI. The USDOJ.

Porn is up, Rape is down. Now, I don't think that porn prevents rape, because I don't actually think porn and rape have jack diddly shit to do with each other. But at the very least, the FACTS blow a gaping hole in the side of the good ship S.S. "Porn Causes Rape"

The reaction is sort of like HAL the computer trying to process conflicting instructions. It doesn't compute. Either porn doesn't cause rape, or porn isn't more prevalent. But porn MUST be more prevalent, because decrying the ever-increasing "pornification" of society propels an entire cottage outrage industry and single-handedly keeps Gail Dines and Wheelock college afloat.

In fact, to preserve the narrative, there is only ONE argument that can be made, counter to reality as it may be- and that is, that the statistics (from the FBI, and the DOJ) are lies, made up by "porn peddlers" and "MRAs".