May 20, 2019 |
New Book: Porn Won’t Hurt You, But Shame Will |
Take note, readers! Porn isnât going to hurt youâbut your shame, guilt, and overall belief that it will just might. A new book has found that âcompared to other Americans, pornography shapes the lives of conservative Protestants in ways that are uniquely damaging to their mental health, spiritual lives, and intimate relationships.â But thatâs not because pornography targets American Protestants more than other groups, or because porn is actually harmful. According to Samuel L. Perry, a sociologist of religion at the University of Oklahoma, itâs hurting this group of people because they think it will. In Addicted to Lust: Pornography in the Lives of Conservative Protestants, Perry drew on numerous national surveys as well as over 130 personal interviews with evangelical Protestants across America to determine how they were adjusting to the ânew realityâ of ubiquitous pornography available online, and what its consequences were on their lives. In an interview with The New Yorker, Perry said, âWith conservative Protestants, you have this fascinating paradox of a group of people who hate pornography morally. They want to eradicate it from the world.â Yet, he found that statistically, they watch porn only slightly less than other Americans. âSo you have this paradoxical situation of a group of people who collectively hate it, and yet, as individuals, they semi-regularly watch it,â he said. But watching it makes them more miserable than it does anybody else. âIt seems to be uniquely harmful to conservative Protestantsâ mental health, their sense of self, their own identitiesâcertainly their intimate relationshipsâin ways that donât tend to be as harmful for people who donât have that kind of moral problem with it,â said Perry. In other words, believing that porn is harmful becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. âItâs not necessarily that porn makes you depressed. Itâs watching porn when youâve already said that thatâs an immoral thing and you donât want to do it,â Perry reported. So, next time you venture into an adult entertainment binge, just remember. Itâs not the porn thatâs harming you. Itâs just your shame. And thatâs all in your head. ‘Shame’ photo by Katherine Evans |