Mary Ann Layden is a women’s studies professor. Therefore, it would be safe to assume that Mary Ann Layden is a feminist. However, Mary Ann Layden is also a victim-blamer and a slut-shamer, which are things NOT associated with feminism. But you know what else Mary Ann Layden is? A fucking idiot.
“The more pornography women use, the more likely they are to be victims of non-consensual sex. The earlier the male starts using pornography, the more likely they are to be the perpetrators of non-consensual sex.”
Yes, she actually said that.
Huh. NO WONDER I was raped! Here I was, thinking that it was because I happened to be in the same room as a rapist, but it was really because I watch porn! Therefore, I’m clearly responsible for my own rape due to my pornography consumption! Thank you for clarifying that for me, Mary Ann! Now I know that if I had just NOT watched porn, I never would have been raped!
Also, guys: if you started watching porn when you were really young, you’re probably a rapist! See, it’s not because you don’t understand/care about consent and force yourself on women that makes you a rapist. And it’s not even the fact that you watch porn that makes you a rapist! You’re a guy; you’re ALLOWED to watch porn (it’s just us wimminz that aren’t, lest we end up rape victims)! It’s the AGE at which you start watching porn that determines whether or not you will be a rapist! 11-year-old boy watches porn? Totally grows up to be a rapist. 20-year-old dude watches porn? Not a rapist.
Also… isn’t it reported that significantly fewer women use porn than men? Yet the number of female rape victims is fairly high and the number of male rape perpetrators is fairly low. If Mary Ann Layden’s claim was, indeed, true, wouldn’t there be fewer female rape victims and more male rape perpetrators? I mean, I’m just sayin’…
Logic? Mary Ann Layden is clearly not a fan.
I'm Britni, a snarky bitch and generally awesome person. I write about sex, love, and bullshit. If sex-positivity, discussions about BDSM and kink, queer issues, and topics that are completely inappropriate by society's standards make you uncomfortable, then this blog is not for you.
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15 Comments
Seriously? Seriously?
I can’t even form words. What the hell is wrong with this woman? I fail to see her logic. Watching porn at a young age makes us more sexually liberated and therefore we get sought out somehow? Slut shaming, victim blaming… From a women’s studies teacher? Maybe she’s studying how to put women in their place and keep them from advancing by placing blame on them whenever they step out of the narrow confines of perceived “safety.”
Fuck this shit, Mary Ann Layden. I am SO happy I never had a professor like her.
This. . . I. . . what the fuck?
I love it when people use the word “use” in relation to porn. Oh no, we don’t watch it, we USE it. I imagine hitting people with DVD cases or something.
Is it wrong that this always invokes the idea of people shoving “porn” up their various holes? I don’t even have an idea what “usable porn” would look like. I’m not talking about stuff like DVDs or magazines. It is a weird kind of non-material shoving I am imagining…
Eh… I should probably stop now. I do not sound mentally healthy.
So what is her excuse for me? My uncle sexually assaulted me long before I even peeked in my first PlayGirl magazine. I have been sexually assaulted twice since then. I guess once for having a couple of PlayGirl magazines and once for watching a few minutes of a porn movie being shown at a home I was visiting?
Does this mean I am still owed a rape for reading some racy material in news groups about 20 years ago?
What utter bullshit.
On top of it, she is in fact EXCUSING rapists because the porn made them do it, right? If only their mommys had prevented them from watching porn nothing would have happened.
The man is a victim of porn, the slut who got raped on the other hand brought it all on herself – how dare she watch people fuck?
Shove it, Mary Ann. Take your victim-blaming, slut-shaming sex negativity and shove it into your throat via the rear end, kthxbai.
What the everloving fuck.
My first boyfriend had watched porn for as long as he could remember because his father would leave it on with him in the room when he was a kid. When he grew up, he was totally bored by porn. And he was most definitely not a rapist.
As for watching porn leading to being sexually assaulted — wtf. How would that even work? Do you get the mark of the beast for liking porn or something?
Also, I have a very healthy fantasy life and write erotica and have never been sexually assaulted. Have I gotten a free pass from the slut-shaming because I like written porn rather than recorded porn?
I’ve heard the “porn creates rapists” rant before and it bothers me as a man and a fan of porn. I’m also dead set against the idea of using “porn addiction” as an excuse for bad behavior.
Are there any credible studies that demonstrate a strong link between porn use and sexual aggression in men or women? Many people argue that porn lowers inhibitions around sexual violence and makes it easier for men to justify sexual assault, and I’d like to see some research if its out there. Any suggestions?
I will have to find the link, but there was a study that found that watching porn tended to bring out sexually aggressive/impulsive behavior in men who were ALREADY prone to sexual aggression/impulsivity, but it didn’t create sexual aggression among those that weren’t.
There is no support for porn causing rape in any way, shape, or form.
Study: http://scienceblogs.com/thoughtfulanimal/2010/06/just_how_bad_is.php
Analysis: http://www.charlieglickman.com/2010/06/the-bothand-of-the-porn-wars/
More Analysis: http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/the_complicated_relationship_of_sexual_aggression_and_porn/
Thanks. I was too lazy to go searching.
Have yet to see any.
However, the claim that only porn lowers inhibitions around sexual violence is in itself redonkulous. I mean, seriously? Where is the average human confronted with violence, slut-shaming, sexual assault and coercion masked as seduction and victim blaming daily?
In porn? Or is it maaaaybe every other media, be it tv or newspapers or whatever?
Only a subset of porn actually presents “sexual violence”, namely BD/SM-porn, and this is geared towards an audience who is usually informed on the behind-the-scenes stuff like oh, communication and consent.
In most porn, the females are depicted as equally horny as the men and often get to exhibit a great deal of control over the situation.
Still the very media that fill our heads with gory violence on a daily basis lash out at porn. They should get a grip.
There are several studies that have indicated that men who “use” porn are more likely to sexually assault women. Note, that does not = a causal relationship. And it is also important to note that many of these studies were limited, while some were outright dishonest. There have been all sorts of shenanigans with these sorts of studies, largely because they aren’t usually being designed and run by scientists. Not only are they not being run by scientists, those who do have no interest in actually listening to scientists.
A lot like the fucking morons who run those stupid fucking anorexia workshops don’t listen to scientists. Instead, if anything, making things worse.
Sorry, people who let their agenda drive their “research” piss me off – a lot. And I know very well what it feels like to have an idea, an agenda and then discover that your presupposition was wrong. It sucks, then you move onto the next idea founded on better information.
Wait, are we all going to get raped BY porn? OH MY GOD THE CD CASE IS COMING RIGHT FOR US. RUN AWAY!
That makes about as much sense as her hypothesis.
I wish this were how it worked! I could totally outrun a CD case.