Except ... safe spaces kinda do exist in the “real” world — in the form of the anti-harassment policies in the workplace. Mine, for example, trains us once a year on how we’re not allowed to discuss race, sex, politics, etc. and gives us tons of examples of “things you probably wouldn’t think twice about saying, but…

That should include preparation to deal with situations you are uncomfortable with. Sexual/workplace harassment and bullying, etc. It does occur and people who “adult” properly will be able to handle it.

I guess this is what we get with the Gawker migration? Cool stuff.

Isn’t it? I’m horrified at how fashionable it has become to be an unquestioning porn apologist. Porn is one of the biggest props of sexism and rape culture out there, but, hey.... staying on point with the accepted narrative is way more important than actually tackling that, right? Wouldn’t want to be one of those…

She’s not saying it’s the sole reason it happened. She’s saying it made it worse.

It’s the same reason I can’t 100% buy into the “legalizing prostitution will fix everything” argument. Because the same things happens to women involved in the sex trade in countries where it’s legal (like human trafficking victims ending up in the red light district in Amsterdam).

I think it depends on the type of porn. Sex positive and happy porn is way different from violent and degrading porn. There is porn that is cute and funny and is actually romantic. I have to say that the darker and meaner stuff can have an impact depending on the user. Not all porn is created equal.

Wow, the number of porn-defenders here is pretty damned high.

It’s not complaining. It’s telling the truth, and people need to hear it. When people enjoy porn, and many if not most people do, they will bend over backwards to avoid thinking about the abuses connected with it. We only want to imagine happy, empowered women as the performers. We only want to imagine people using it…

I’m definitely not anti-porn, but I will absolutely say that a lot of it that has crossed my path has been frighteningly misogynistic and purposefully degrading to women.

Seriously. I’m not sure how accurate they are (as is the case with any study), but some “studies have shown” that men who consume large amounts of porn can’t even get it up for “real” women anymore. They look at a certain very unrealistic ideal and no flesh and blood woman can fulfill that fantasy.

My ex husband used to do the same to me, he forced me to watch porn and do the same things we watched, sometimes he used to force me to have sex 5 or six times per day, I felt like a sex slave. If I was sick or sored I needed to apologize to him and compensate him the next day. And I never told this to anyone but I…

Whether porn is systematically destroying the moral fabric of America is a conversation for a different day . . .

While I’m sure her abductor would have been a monster no matter what, I do have to say I agree with her stand.

What’s your objection, exactly? Is having a young teenager (preteen?) abducted by a sex-crazed pastor *not* a horribly dark nightmare?

If nothing else, it’s a discussion worth having. The knee-jerk way people will refuse to hear any criticism of porn, saying no no no, it’s nothing but empowering for women- well, it’s damn tiresome. My BIL was in the porn marketing business for a time, much to my sister’s chagrin. She said she noticed a spike in…

It’s a little overly dramatic, and should have been clarified to focus on every parent’s (American or not) nightmare. But otherwise, it's accurate that there are few things that a parent would fear more than some monster stealing their kid.

I don’t think I can be convinced that porn is healthy for men. Ladies, whose boyfriends/husbands are pornheads, tell me honestly and not the “sex positive, politically correct, men pleasing” version, do your partners porn habits mean great/improved sex with better, more frequent orgasms for you personally?

I know this isn’t a really popular opinion outside of radical feminism but I think there should be a conversation about how early exposure to porn influences the way men see women. Namely, porn tends to treat female actresses like objects. I remember reading an article by a former porn actress who admitted that there…

*That and the “men get raped too”!! narrative is what I see. Nice comments, guys. When people write about racism, do you say “what about us poor white guys”!?