Readers on the Morality of Pornography
Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Last week I asked readers, “Is pornography immoral?”
Replies have been edited for length and clarity.
H. regards most pornography as unhealthy, but not immoral:
I found my life to be significantly improved after I stopped masturbating to pornography. I am living a healthy, productive life now and am in my first long-term relationship. I regard pornography as the fast food of sex: A little bit here and there won’t hurt anyone, but it’s not something to consume regularly. So while I don’t regard pornography as immoral, do I regard porn as moral? Would I encourage the average person to actively produce or consume it? No. And I would encourage many young men to try to abstain from pornography for a while as an experiment, to see how it affects them.
Angela says that porn has been a source of significant trauma in her life:
When you’re a 12-year-old in 1966 and find your dad’s magazines between
