Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site mhuxr.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mfs From: mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON) Newsgroups: net.books,net.women Subject: Re: Social Effects of Porn Message-ID: <210@mhuxr.UUCP> Date: Mon, 21-Jan-85 09:02:03 EST Article-I.D.: mhuxr.210 Posted: Mon Jan 21 09:02:03 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 22-Jan-85 05:20:33 EST Distribution: net Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill Lines: 24 Xref: watmath net.books:1270 net.women:4169 Re: Article <4614@cbssc.UUCP>, Social effects of porn Dubuc's impressive citing of sources makes a case for some social effects of exposure to pornography. Lacking immediate rebuttal sources (time to head to the library), I will make one point: Dubuc's literature makes a case for the connection between the aggression that is often mixed with porn and aggressive behavior in those exposed to pornography. This is not necessarily a case against porn, but against the display of violence and aggression. I wonder if there is research on the effects on aggressive behavior of aggression in media, e.g. advertising, movies, books, etc. Does viewing, say, "Dirty Harry" or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" *also* increase aggressive tendencies, and if so, by the same amount? This would remove the display of sexuality from the equation. BTW, Playboy's losing subscriber is coupled with an increase in sales for the more "pornographic" (relatively) Penthouse and Hustler. In the latter case especially, this seems to be due to the aggresively lowbrow approach of the magazine more than to its comparative pictorial content. If you remove the photography from Playboy, it is most comparable to magazine like Esquire than to Penthouse. Marcel