Someone claiming to be a Ph.D. [John D Foubert PhD] writes on www.washingtontimes.com: Good for The University of Maryland for getting it right in the end. Other institutions unfortunately have fallen victim to a common trick by the porn industry, “here, we’ll give it to you for free.” Institutions that have or plan to show Pirates II show the ultimate disrespect for women on their campuses, and indeed disrespect toward everyone who thinks that women should be treated as people and not things.
Research shows that such support of the pornography industry is an attack on survivors of rape and it works completely against any rape prevention efforts that Universities might pursue. Some research:
• Men who view movies are more likely to commit sexual violence than those who do not (Carr & VanDeusen, 2004).
• Seeing pornography causes men to behave aggressively toward other people, according to the results of 33 experimental studies (Malamuth, Addison & Koss, 2000).
• As men’s frequency of using pornography increases these men rape more women (Malamuth, Addison & Koss, 2000).
• Two out of three workers in the sex industry suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (Farley, Cotton, Lynne, Zumbeck, & Spiwak, 2003).
Kudos to the Maryland Legislature for their quick thinking. If only others in other states had acted so quickly. Anyone with influence over institutions that agree to show this movie should send the strongest signal possible that they should not show X rated movies to their students. Funding should be withdrawn and donations stopped.
These movies place women in the most demeaning positions possible and turn them into objects, not people. Fully two thirds of women in the pornography industry suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. These institutions are paying to make these women continue to suffer.
Furthermore research has shown causal connections between exposure to pornography and men’s likelihood of committing sexual violence, and their aggressive behavior. As men see more pornography, they rape more women. These institutions — UCLA, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon and others — are feeding the possibility of more rape on their own campuses. They should be held accountable.