Pornography Fuels Toxic Masculinity

We've all heard the concept of "toxic masculinity." If you're involved in politics, you hear toxic masculinity debated often. While I don't believe men are inherently evil, there is an industry that makes this concept realistic and acceptable. That industry is pornography. The porn industry fuels toxic masculinity. I came across an article from Fight The New Drug titled "3 Ways Porn Hurts Men And Fuels Their Insecurities." That's what led me to write this article. 

What is toxic masculinity? Dictionary.com states that toxic masculinity is "a cultural concept of manliness that glorifies stoicism, strength, virility, and dominance, and that is socially maladaptive or harmful to mental health." Basically if you meet a feminist, majority will say men have toxic masculinity, which is a danger. Before anyone accuses me, I don't believe in toxic masculinity. It's a concept that many on the Left have used to continuously hate on men. That's not what I'm focusing on. Where you do see toxic masculinity occur is in porn. Porn teaches men this is acceptable behavior.

FTND stated one of the biggest lies from the porn industry is that "You are only as valuable as your ability to control others and be aggressive." The porn industry warps what it means to be a man. Pornography says that a man can only be considered a man if he treats women with dominance and disrespect.

"Just like porn reduces women to objects for men’s pleasure, porn reduces men to instruments of power and domination. It says that men are 'men' when they can successfully force others into submission and control the behavior, responses, and pleasure of those around them, particularly women," FTND states.

Pornography isn't only degrading to women, but also to men. Instead of pushing for healthy relationships, men are given the view that what happens in pornography is okay to do in real life, and that can hurt people (specifically women). 

Men are also objectified by pornography. People usually hear about women being exploited or objectified, but it's becoming alarmingly clear men are victims of exploitation and objectification in porn. For men, it's their body that matters, specifically how large their lower regions are. A man is viewed as valuable if they're stacked. People are not products. They have worth as a person and child of God. We are often sympathetic to women when they come out about their abuse in the porn industry, but not as much for men. Most people scoff when a man reveals he was abused or trafficked or exploited, which is unfair and wrong.

Most women care about equal rights and fairness. You cannot support pornography if you hold these views. The porn industry harms both men and women alike. Pornography is toxic to how you view relationships and yourself, and can endanger the mental development of young children.

The age for boys (as well as girls) to be exposed to pornography is getting younger and younger. While experts say the average age for a boy to see porn is 11 years old, some therapists or psychologists have stated they've seen children as young as 6 or 8 years of age get exposed to porn. "Young boys of the upcoming generations are being exposed, traumatized, and bound to sexual tastes and behaviors that are almost always dishonorable, exploitative, and dehumanizing. And this type of sexuality inevitably leads to only a greater level of degradation and sexually violent behavior in adulthood," therapist Matt Morrissey wrote. If a young boy is taught from porn that this behavior is acceptable, guess what? That's how he will act when he becomes a man.

In one article from Exodus Cry, a man by the name of Derek shared his story of porn addiction from childhood, and how it turned him into a child sexual abuser. I'm not saying porn is the only reason this happened. He chose to commit those crimes, and was held responsible for this actions, rightfully so (although his "punishment" of 22 months in jail is debatable). Nonetheless, this is a good example of how porn warps a young person's mind and creates more harm than good. I linked the article in this paragraph, and despite the darkness in that article, I recommend reading it. Sometimes learning the truth isn't easy, but in order to bring awareness, we have to take that chance.

In his latest episode for his podcast, "The Counterfeit Culture," Joshua Broome shared how toxic pornography is. He shared how pornography gives a mindset that men are superior to women, because of the acts pornography allows. Porn make men seem dominant who can get their way with women, which can lead to horrible acts against women. Highly recommend listening!

Genesis 3:18 states, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." It was never God's intention for men to dominate women. A man and a woman are equal partners. Pornography says the opposite.

I hope people take away from this piece is that porn portrays toxic masculinity as a positive thing. If you want to see what is causing toxic masculinity to exist in society, which I believe is far and in-between, look no further than pornography. Porn objectifies women and men. Porn can be one of the lead cause for toxic masculinity. I don't believe men are inherently toxic, but pornography creates that mentality.