The Impact of Adult Entertainment on Our Culture

Adult entertainment, often a euphemism for pornography, has far-reaching consequences that extend beyond individual consumption, impacting societal norms and values. This article explores the potential correlation between the prevalence of adult entertainment and various social issues, including the objectification of individuals, the rise of sexual deviance, and the erosion of healthy relationships.

The Shifting Landscape of Adult Entertainment

The adult entertainment industry has successfully rebranded pornography, presenting it as a mainstream form of entertainment. This shift has led to a decrease in the stigma associated with its consumption. What was once considered taboo is now openly discussed and readily accessible, particularly with the proliferation of the internet. Some studies suggest that the easy availability of adult entertainment online has led to its use becoming akin to a “secret drug” for many, a prediction made in the early 2000s as internet usage surged.

Social Ramifications

Regardless of one’s moral perspective, it’s crucial to consider the potential social ramifications of adult entertainment. The production of such material typically involves the removal of clothing and simulated or actual sexual acts, often within the context of a “forbidden relationship.” The widespread distribution of this content may contribute to an erosion of healthy, human relationships and a distorted perception of intimacy.

Some potential consequences include:

• Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
• Unwanted pregnancies
• Abortions
• Unrealistic sexual expectations placed on intimate relationships
• Destructive behaviors
• Addictive behaviors
• Criminal behaviors
• Exploiting behaviors
• Neglecting behaviors
• Guilt
• Family fights and broken homes
• Nexus to drug and alcohol abuse

Examples in the News

Recent news stories may reflect a correlation between the normalization of adult entertainment and a decline in self-control and ethical behavior. Consider the following examples:

Teachers/Educators

Numerous reports have surfaced involving teachers engaging in inappropriate relationships with students. These cases highlight a potential breakdown in professional boundaries and ethical conduct. For example:

• A Florida teacher was arrested after she was accused of having a sexual relationship with a female student.
• A married science teacher in Oklahoma was arrested after being accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage student.
• A 44-year-old Pennsylvania high school teacher was charged by state police with having sexual intercourse with a male student.
• A married teacher is accused of disrobing in a “man cave” before luring a student upstairs to a sexual encounter.
• A Texas elementary school counselor was arrested Wednesday for allegedly having an improper relationship with two students.
• For years a Kentucky principal covertly searched the confiscated student cell phones of teenage girls for nude photos, saving them to thumb drives to be viewed, uploaded and traded on the Internet.
• A Milwaukee judge is hoping a lengthy prison sentence for a former prep school teacher who had sexual contact with an 11-year-old student is enough to warn educators and others not to go down the same path.
• A former high school teacher in Arkansas is accused of sleeping with four different students — two of them in the same night.
• A former Alabama high school teacher-sex offender who pleaded guilty in 2014 to sending sexual text messages to a teenage male student has been locked up again.

Other Crimes Related to Sexual Deviance

Beyond cases involving educators, a range of other crimes with a sexual component have been reported:

• An Arkansas man is accused of having sex with a family’s pet donkey on multiple occasions, authorities say.
• A man promising porn stardom has been busted for multiple rapes that reportedly occurred during casting calls.
• A newlywed couple honeymooning in Florida is accused of kidnap and rape of a woman at a motel. The debaucherous couple was captured the following day as they visited a nearby convenience store naked.
• Police in New York are on the hunt for a rampant subway masturbator. The man was reportedly caught fondling himself in two separate incidents in one week. And his public display of lascivious conduct isn’t new to him, according to law enforcement authorities.
• A topless woman from the town of Sandwich is facing multiple charges after reportedly assaulting an off-duty police officer during a road rage incident.
• The painted nude panhandlers in Times Square are flipping the finger at Mayor deBlasio and the hands of NYPD are tied.
• Revealing nude images and a private video of a congressional delegate from the Virgin Islands were stolen and posted to the Internet by one of the delegate’s former staffers.
• A Texas man was arrested for raping a young girl. Evidence of the crime was discovered in the “deleted” folder on an electronic device.
• A naked tirade at a hotel lands a model in jail.
• A leading young Democrat and deBlasio administration employee has a secret taste for sickening child pornography that involves baby girls as young as 6 months old, court papers revealed.
• A Michigan couple kept a special needs woman in a vacant shed and sold her online for sex.

Strippers/Murder/Love Triangles and Child Neglect

• The murder of a man in a love triangle has led to an arrest, but a second suspect is sought.
• Florida authorities have made an arrest in the killer-clown cold case homicide from 27 years ago. And it has its’ origin in a love triangle.
• A U.S. Army combat medic was arrested. He has been charged in connection with the rape and murder of one of his 9-month-old twin daughters.
• In a complicated, sordid case investigated by the Anaheim Police Department and Orange County District Attorney’s Office, a Phoenix, Az. woman has been charged with falsely reporting crimes, false imprisonment and other charges in an alleged attempt to frame her husband’s ex-fiancée.
• A 24-year-old male stripper is accused of killing his partner thinking he was a cannibal.
• A Texas woman who works as a stripper was convicted of intoxication manslaughter after a crash that killed a Pearland police officer.
• A Florida man chose a lap dance at a local strip club over making sure his two kids were safe, according to law enforcement authorities. One child was merely 3-months-old and left upside down in his car seat. His screaming cries brought attention to the youngsters.

Prostitution/Human Trafficking

• Officers rescued three human trafficking victims and arrested two Chinese nationals for human trafficking and pimping.
• Large numbers of condoms clogging and destroying a sewage pipeline exposed a prostitution ring operating out of an Austin massage parlor.
• A member of the Baylor University athletics department was arrested in a prostitution sting.

Pastor

• A well-known Tallahassee pastor was forced to flee naked after a husband came home early and found him having sex with the man’s wife.

Cops Are Not Immune

• In a case of pizza-porn, a male off-duty police officer, answered the door naked when a female pizza delivery person arrived at the door with his order.
• Two NYPD officers have been indicted for an on-duty rape. It has been classified rape in the first-degree. They have been accused of having sex with a handcuffed 18-year-old woman inside their police van in Brooklyn.
• An off-duty Secret Service agent was arrested for a suspected prostitution charge at a Maryland hotel, two law enforcement sources confirmed.
• A former Cleveland cop set to go to trial for reportedly kidnapping, raping and assaulting a woman is now on the run.
• A female county probation counselor in Northern California was arrested. She is accused of having sex with two teenage boys who were incarcerated at a juvenile detention center while employed by the county.
• Protect, serve and … engage in trysts with your co-workers? There have been six cops busted having on duty sex.
• A former dominatrix appears doomed in law enforcement. The newly sworn-in sheriff’s officer is fighting to keep her job after her department learned that she previously appeared in bondage films as a dominatrix.
• Who executed Mike Edwards, one of the proud officers from LAPD? Some of the best homicide detectives have been trying to answer the question for decades. It appears to be connected to a love triangle.
• Florida law enforcement authorities arrested 277 people, including many professionals, during a weeklong undercover sex sting operation. One of those arrested was a sergeant from the sheriff’s department.

Correlation vs. Causation

While sexual deviants have existed throughout history, the readily available and often anonymous nature of adult entertainment may exacerbate existing tendencies and contribute to a decline in self-control. It’s important to acknowledge that correlation does not equal causation. However, the prevalence of adult entertainment in the lives of individuals struggling with addiction and deviant behavior cannot be ignored.

During my 30-year career in law enforcement, including 10 years in undercover narcotic enforcement, I participated in the search of thousands of homes. Hardcore pornography was present in an estimated 95 percent of the residential environments involved in narcotic trafficking. The accessibility of adult entertainment has only increased with the advent of electronic devices.

The Importance of Self-Control

Whether or not a direct causal link exists between adult entertainment and the aforementioned issues, the people involved often lacked self-control. While it’s impossible to quantify the exact impact of avoiding adult entertainment, it’s undeniable that its consumption can trigger a lack of self-control in some individuals. The message of purity and faithfulness has been overshadowed, contributing to a broader social erosion.

The Ted Bundy Case

Ted Bundy, a notorious serial killer, openly acknowledged the role that pornography played in his development as a criminal. While this is an extreme example, it highlights the potential for adult entertainment to contribute to deviant sexual behavior. To deny this connection is intellectually dishonest. Pornography can be to sex crimes what alcohol is to DUI. Ted Bundy words are far more powerful than anything I can write.

A Call for Self-Control and Virtue

The apostle Peter offers valuable guidance on cultivating self-control and virtue:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11)

Ultimately, the decision of whether to embrace self-control and virtue, or to ignore this advice and remain susceptible to the negative influences of the world, rests with each individual.