WASHINGTON, D.C., June 22, 2016 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Americans find pornography “morally unacceptable” by a two-to-one margin according to a new poll by the Gallup organization, and the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation says the numbers reveal a growing “movement against pornography and all sexual exploitation …across ideological and political spheres.”
That’s the good news—that 61 % of Americans say porn is morally unacceptable, to 34 % who rate it acceptable. The bad news, says Dawn Hawkins, the executive director of NCOSE, is that the opposition to pornography is due to “the harmful effects of the industry…becoming widely acknowledged,” as porn itself expands its reach.
“Even public figures, like Rashida Jones and Terry Crews, are speaking out against pornography,” Hawkins told LifeSite News. She said pornography is at the heart of a public health crisis that includes sexual violence, sexual exploitation of children, sex trafficking and male impotence.
Hawkins noted that research shows a negative impact not just on young women caught in the porn-fuelled sex trade, but young men increasingly are being brain-damaged by porn to the point they are sexually incapacitated with women and unattracted to them. “One survey in 2014 found 64 % of men didn’t want to get married. One reason they gave was that they had another sexual outlet in pornography,” said Hawkins.
The Gallup poll has tracked moral trends for several years, finding homosexuality has made the biggest gains: while 40 % found it morally acceptable in 2001, 60 % are fine with it today. Meanwhile 32% found teen sex acceptable in 2013, and 37 % find it so today. Pornography is also tracking upwards with 31 % viewing it as acceptable in 2011 and 34 % doing so today.
According to Gallup, there is a significant gender gap: while both men and women disapprove of pornography morally, almost twice as many men (43%) approve of pornography as do women ( 25%).There is also a political gap: twice as many Democrats (46%) approve of pornography as do Republicans (22%).
Hawkins said both public and media interest “has exploded with growth in the last year and a half.” She added,“When I started with NCOSE five years ago, it got 600 to 1,000 hits a year from the mainstream media. Now we get 12,000. And the coverage is not mocking like it might have been once. They are taking it seriously because it is destroying lives, destroying relationships, breaking up marriages. Nearly every American family has seen its impact.”