Pamela Paul

There was a story about pornography that had not yet been told, a story many Americans, male and female, don’t realize is unfolding—in front of their eyes, inside their minds, on their family computer—at this very moment.

Mary Lou Retton

Softcore pornography has now become part and parcel of the mainstream media.

Pop music is intimately connected with the pornography industry as today’s pop stars embrace and exalt the joys of porn.

After all, pornography has been around in one form or another for as long as “the oldest profession” has been in working order.

Yet framing the debate in terms of distorted polarities ignores the vast middle ground where pornography plays a significant and growing role. One need not be a prude or a religious zealot to experience revulsion at the sight of certain pornography, just as one need not be a depraved pervert or a lefty activist to use pornography.

Yet the new attitude of college women strikes him as disturbing. Female fantasies have changed over the years as a result of pornography and what Kimmel calls the “masculinization of sex.” Compared with ten years ago, women’s fantasies are more likely today to include violence, rough sex, strangers, and descriptions of male physical attributes.

“Personally, I think that for a woman to construct her sex life like that of a man is a rather impoverished view of liberation.”

By redefining pornography in terms of equal opportunity and getting “in touch” with your sexuality, pornographers get women on their side—and perhaps, incidentally, also help ensure that no liberal academic institution would dare interfere.

“I’m going to say something really strong. I’ve been walking around my practice saying, ‘We have an epidemic on our hands.’ The growth of pornography and its impact on young people is really, really dangerous. And the most dangerous part is that we don’t even realize what’s happening.