Is red the new green for the porn industry? A new study suggests so. Turns out the conservative “red” states might now be labeled the “red light” states because they are consuming more online porn than traditionally “blue” states.
A study by the Harvard Business School found eight out of 10 states that consume the most online porn were states McCain won in the 2008 presidential election. According to the study, Utah ranks as the number one consumer of online adult entertainment.
The study found that “residents of 27 states that passed laws banning gay marriages boasted 11% more porn subscribers than states that don't explicitly restrict gay marriage.”
The findings also showed that states in which a majority of people agree with the statement, "I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage," had an average of 3.6 more porn subscriptions per thousand than states where the majority of residents disagreed with the statement.
I believe this is more than religious hypocrisy. When I was a child, my mother wouldn’t let me watch “Ren and Stimpy,” a silly, overly gross cartoon show about an ugly Chihuahua and a cat. She believed it was vulgar, distasteful and not age appropriate. That’s exactly why I wanted to watch it. Because it was explicitly banned in our household, I would try to tune in every chance I got. The thrill of doing something I knew I wasn’t supposed to, combined with the fear of getting caught, kept me flipping the channel to the show over and over.
This brings us to a conundrum. Obviously, my religious views and upbringing have embedded in my morals that pornography is vile. I in no way encourage the viewing of it. However, I see the taboo surrounding it in religiously conservative states has in many ways led to its secret popularity online. Likewise, the continuing battles with pornography and its First Amendment rights within the court system has also led to a growing fascination.
Like the little Tracy secretly surfing the television for “Ren and Stimpy” because she knew it was wrong, the allure of pornography is hitting those who have been taught to repress and condemn this very explicit form of free speech.
We do not want to give free access to porn. At all costs, it should be kept from children and those with impressionable minds. But we need to consider that our adamant and fanatic loathing might be contributing to a rise in consumption. In 2006, the porn industry was making $2.84 billion on the Internet alone, according to toptenreviews.com. The pornography industry’s revenue beats that of NBC, CBS and ABC combined, the same site reported.
While places like Utah, Alaska and Mississippi top the list of online porn consumption states, Missouri is floating somewhere in the middle. Not something to be proud of, but at least we’re doing better than Arkansas.
Why should we care about consumption of online pornography? To some, it might not be a big deal. And if you are an adult, what you do in the privacy of your bandwidth is your business. But a University of Alberta study found that“boys aged 13 and 14 living in rural areas are the most likely of their age group to access pornography.”
Over one-third of the boys said they accessed adult material “too many times to count.” This is more than a curiosity. As we know, rural areas tend to be more conservative. We are seeing a rise in underage adolescents accessing material that is not age appropriate. And if these teens become conditioned to the behavior exhibited in some of the industry’s fetish porn, it may affect the relationships they have with women later on in life.
We have to look at who these teens are looking up to: movie stars, rappers and athletes. What is the message these role models are putting out? In his article, "Face the Music, Parents," David N. Bass writes, "51 percent of teens who listened to music laced with sexual debauchery ended up engaging in sexual activity ... The study also showed that sexually explicit tunes are an equal opportunity offender — teens are influenced regardless of gender or ethnicity."
Obviously, if parents say it’s wrong, but the teens' heroes say it’s right and good, they face a difficult decision.
Somehow, popular culture has led us to the point where the most staunchly conservative are becoming the so-called deviants, while those with liberal views are exhibiting a more traditional family value system. I don’t have the answers but I believe this is a great starting point to a discussion in which our community can contribute their ideas on the matter. According to talkingwithkids.org, studies find parents who are open and honest with their children about sex have teenagers who are less likely to engage in high-risk behavior. If we were to harness this approach and open up to discuss the taboo, could it result in fewer cyber trips to naughty-ville?
Is it the porn that is driving users to point and click, or is it the way we have treated porn in our society? Can we find a new way to deal with this XXX-sized problem?
Tracy Barnes graduated from MU in 2008 with degrees in journalism and English. She is a former copy editor and multimedia editor for the Missourian. She can be contacted at tracylbarnes@gmail.com.