Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro Discuss Pornography's Societal Impact

Conservative commentators Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro recently delivered an anti-pornography tirade on "The Ben Shapiro Show," which streams on The Daily Wire. The segment, featured in a YouTube excerpt titled "How Porn Is Destroying Society," included Owens as Shapiro's guest.

Anti-Pornography Commentary

Last week, Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro presented a critical view of pornography on "The Ben Shapiro Show." Both Owens and Shapiro host shows on The Daily Wire. Shapiro noted that Owens had previously dedicated an episode of her DailyWire+ show to "the normalization of pornography in the culture." Shapiro suggested that Owens was uniquely positioned to discuss this topic, stating that if he addressed it, he might be labeled a sexist, but if Owens did, she would be seen as a feminist.

Owens stated that a conversation with her husband prompted her to discuss the topic. She recounted that her husband abstains from social media, explaining his reason by saying, "Because it's all pornography." Owens clarified that her husband was referring to platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and The Daily Mail, despite Instagram and Facebook being noted for not allowing nudity. Owens commented on a perceived desensitization, stating that when she uses Instagram, she observes "nothing but butts and people's tits on the Internet at all times."

Owens also mentioned listening to a Catholic podcast that discussed "how even the seeds that are being planted on pornography websites—which I did visit the other day—are all incestuous." She connected this to a story alleging that Kim Kardashian "managed" the release of her sex tape with assistance from her mother, Kris Kardashian. Shapiro added that this story was being "completely ignored by the mainstream media" but "focused on in the subculture of the net because you're not allowed to report that Kim Kardashian has indeed exploited her body for money." Shapiro further commented on Kim Kardashian, stating, "And it's not as though Kim Kardashian has cooled it recently. I mean, she recently appeared on the cover of Interview magazine wearing nothing on her bottom."

The Mainstreaming of Pornography and Societal Impact

Shapiro referenced his 2004 book, "Porn Generation," which addressed "how pornography was being absolutely mainstreamed, how people that had been porn stars were now being made into mainstream cultural figures." Owens then criticized pornography's impact on modern culture, referring to "a debate" where she asserted people are claiming that "pedophilia is fine" and that "kids can choose their sex, kids can be sexual beings." Shapiro attributed what he called "truly sickening stuff" to "the mainstreaming of pornography."

Shapiro discussed the historical perspective of the feminist movement regarding pornography. He stated that in the 1970s, the feminist movement considered pornography exploitative, arguing it "is courting the worst in men, it's courting male desires, it is causing women to have to exploit their bodies so as to get attention. This is all bad." However, Shapiro asserted that "then the feminist movement moved in the 1980s and 1990s and suddenly porn became 'empowering.'" He cited Hillary Clinton's TV series on "gutsy women," suggesting that some individuals interviewed were "people who are exploiting their bodies, obviously for fame and fortune." Shapiro also claimed that "a whole subpopulation—I would imagine now it's probably approaching a majority of the male population of the United States—that, if not addicted to pornography... uses pornography consistently."

Conspiracy Theory and Government Influence

Owens presented a conspiracy theory, suggesting that the increasing acceptance of pornography is part of a plot by "the government." She argued that the government seeks "to be omnipotent in our lives" and therefore "needs to make sure that it is consistently denigrating the idea of the nuclear family unit, which stands in the way of a government and omnipotence and so that's what we're seeing and that's what we're talking about on the show." Owens urged listeners to "pay attention to the different ways in which they are attacking the family: it's through pornography."

Owens recalled being taught in a college health class that "partaking in pornography as an observer of porn, seeing porn, was a healthy thing" and that "it's a good thing for your relationship for you to sit in a room, do something disgraceful and observe other people having sex online." Owens concluded by stating her desire for young people to understand that "what you're learning in the public school system is not correct. What they're trying to do is—create you—turn you into basically a government slave."

Key Facts

• Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro delivered an anti-pornography tirade on "The Ben Shapiro Show."
• The segment was featured in a YouTube excerpt titled "How Porn Is Destroying Society."
• Owens stated her husband abstains from social media, claiming "it's all pornography," referring to platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and The Daily Mail.
• Shapiro connected the discussion to his 2004 book, "Porn Generation," which addressed the mainstreaming of pornography.
• Owens proposed a conspiracy theory, attributing the acceptance of pornography to a government plot to undermine the nuclear family.
• Owens claimed she was taught in college that observing pornography was a healthy activity for relationships.