Remember how everyone used to say that men who watched a lot of porn were more likely to commit rape? Reverse Cowgirl points to a report by a law professor at Northwestern that states the opposite is true.
While the nationwide incidence of rape was showing a drastic decline, the incidence of rape in the four states having the least access to the internet showed an actual increase in rape over the same time period. This result was almost too clear and convincing, so to check it I compiled figures for the four states having the most access to the internet. Three out of four of these states showed declines (in New Jersey, an almost 50% decline). Alaska was an anomaly: it increased both in internet access and incidence of rape. However, the population of Alaska is less than one-tenth that of the other three states in its category. To adjust for the disparity in population, I took the combined population of the four states in each table and calculated the percentage change in the rape statistics:
Four states with lowest internet access Increase in rape of 53%
Four states with highest internet access Decrease in rape of 27%
You should read the whole thing.
I don’t like the phrase “slight increase of rape.” Sounds like the shittiest weather forecast ever.
The repressed tend to lash out. Is it really that hard to understand?
Religion is the real danger.
Oh, yeah… I remember reading that a couple of years ago when it came out.
Slow news day?
That’s a pretty broad correlation (and D’Amato agrees). A million things could be causing both porn to go up and rape to go down.
Interesting notion though, I hope it’s true.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Andrea Dworkin (once you finished your Big Macs).
True story: porn star Gianna Michaels used to work at Dick’s when she was in high school. Now that’s a career move, from Dick’s to dicks.
While this has nothing to do with rape… uh, I forgot where I was going with this.
It weird that anybody still gets their panties in a bunch about the existance of porn. As long a the actors are consenting adults it is harmless. It causes people of both sexes to become sexually excited and then we masturbate or have sex with someone. What sane person could object to that?
Is it possible to test this hypothesis?
Since the Catholic church has a major stake in this debate, I suggest exposing Pope Rat to porn. A placebo Pope could be used as well — perhaps a clown with a good party hat collection.
Then see if Pope Rat is more inclined to attack altar boys. If he is less inclined, then maybe all priests could given a steady dose of porn to wean them off the real thing.
wow
the scientific proof is overwhelming
obviously we should force-feed kids from preschool up on three hours of porn a day-
we could probably get those rape stats down to zero…
Seems to me a more critical factor is that the average age of Americans passed the Geezer point a decade ago.
what would legalized prostitution do to rape statistics?
Is the study assuming that “more internet access” equals “more porn consumption”?
Yeah, fucking my computer has always been more of a turn-on anyway. Who knows, maybe some day I’ll work on up to the Big Time (bicycles and picnic tables).
That has to be the dumbest conflation of correlation and causation I’ve ever seen. States with low internet access are probably poorer. Did those states see an increase in any other violent crime? And, it’s been my experience that poor people tend to have more backwards attitudes toward women overall. Could that have an impact on rape statistics?
Ok, thats interesting, except that education and rape are also inversely correlated, and, despite all the porn, the internet is an educational tool as well. In this case, easier access to porn also means easier access to educational materials.
While I’m sympathetic to the “Porn Reduces Rape” argument, I just dont think this casual correlation passes the smell test. Another rape correlation is that rape and ice cream sales are inversely correlated. This does not mean in any way that ice cream has anything to do with rape. What it does mean is that when the summer temperatures rise, people eat more ice cream and go out at night more often, making themselves more vulnerable to attack.
I am extremely skeptical porn has any effect on rape either way. If you want to scientifically refute people who assert that porn causes rape, then point out there is no properly peer reviewed study which has withstood scrutiny to support this claim.
This seems to be a “Global Average Temperature vs. Number Of Pirates” style correlation.
I hate this argument. One does not cause the other. To think so assumes that men (since men represent the majority of rapists) have an inherent need to fuck things and that this simply cannot be quelled or ignored. It has to happen, apparently, so it’s either going to happen through internet porn or through rape.
Please.
That’s the same kind of thinking that believes women being out late at night are asking to be attacked. Like rape is some natural thing that just happens and it’s up to us women to hide indoors or supply men with porn to get it out of their system.
(For the record, I have nothing against porn. I just hate the argument that it affects rape stats)
#7 – There’s a joke somewhere in there about dick’s putting you through college, but I’m feeling too lazy to fish it out.
Also, what #16 said.
CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION
(repeat as needed)
Is that a giant drop of semen in the PORN HURTS EVERYONE signage? Indicating that we all spring from spent semen, so best not watch porn so semen is salvaged and families can be born (and tricycles).
@13 “Is the study assuming that “more internet access” equals “more porn consumption”?”
There are a lot of tenuous assumptions in this study, but I think this one is pretty safe.
I don’t understand all this bullshit about porn causes rapping. There was rapping going on long before R. Kelly ever found those piss videos on the internets.
The Internet is a race—and kitschnsync won! Congrats, kitschnsync!
@17, true, but weirdly enough the Global Average Temperature has gone down in the last couple years, and the Number of Pirates has definitely gone up (except for those five who drowned the other day with $3m in cash on them. oops.) Coinky-dink? Or proof that FSM is in fact our Lord Noodle? I think the correlation speaks for itself.
@18: Speaking as a man, I would argue that we do have an inherent need to fuck things. But rape, as anyone with a smattering of Women’s Studies can tell you, is about power, not sex. Sex is used as a tool of power and aggression, and is not a result of our ‘need to fuck’.
I can’t explain if or why pr0n might lower rape incidents. I’m not sure pr0n has any bearing on rape at all. I assume its more about education and changing cultural awareness and values.
Anyway, erotica is far, far better than pr0n anyway.
All of these statistics are fucked because most rapes go unreported.
@25 I agree that rape is about power, not sex. Lots of guys really, really, really feel they need to get laid, but they don’t all go out and rape. There’s issues of entitlement, disrespect, sexism, and power involved. For the record, I have a degree in Women’s Studies.
I was following the “sex” route because I was addressing the issue of always connecting rape and porn in terms of causation. And those who insist on seeing those two things as having some kind of relationship are assuming that millions of horny men simply can’t control themselves and need an outlet, and that outlet is either porn or forced sex. And that assumption is incorrect.
In many ways, reporting is a race.
I’ll accept the congrats, though. Thanks, Dan!
How could the Meese Commission possibly have been wrong?
Paul,
I wonder if cell phones also have had an effect on the lowering of incidences of rape? Seriously, young women tend to carry them. I am curious if there is a correlation?
Hahah 28 owned Dan Savage’s little pissy brat snark that he always uses
Hahah 28 owned Dan Savage’s little pissy brat snark that he always uses
Maybe if the internet was shut down completely, ECB could finally get some.
Lark, I don’t know if women carrying cell phones reduces rape. Women carrying guns, on the other hand, definitely does.
I wouldn’t be surprised if porn availability somewhat reduced the rate of rape, but 1) I doubt it would be by much, because porn is mostly about horniness and rape is mostly about power and 2) the guy who wrote that paper is an idiot. Seriously. Read it. He says the decline in rape is “steeper than the stock market crash that lead to the Great Depression,” admits only pretty stupid alternate explanations, dismisses these possible reasons without any investigation, and writes like an overeager college freshman.
This isn’t a scientific paper, it’s some guy rambling about how smart he was when Nixon was president. It’s pure speculation. Calling him an idiot isn’t really fair of me, because it’s not like this is even presented like a real study so much as a blog entry.
Seems like a lot of people really don’t want this to be true.
I love how people always bring the children in like it’s a valid fucking argument.
ZOMG! You’re force feeding my kid porn! Even though, as the parent, I’m supposed to monitor what my child watches!
ZOMG! Obama wants to show preschoolers porn!
ZOMG! There’s a strip club near the ball park… where CHILDREN GO!!!!
Jeeze, the damn “what about the children” thing still has legs? if your kid accidently stumbles across some porn on the internet take the oppourtunity to explain the facts of life to the kid. They will only be traumatized if the parents act as if it should be a trauma.
If you jerk off to too much porn, you’ll be too tired to go out and rape someone. Makes sense to me.