Montreal journalist Maria Mourani asks:
Is it logical to fund projects for preventing equality issues, violence against women and children, as well as sexual exploitation, and yet allow this discourse validating pornography to pollute our schools?
[Translation]
You have surely read the articles by my colleagues from the investigative bureau, Jean-François Cloutier, Nicolas Brasseur, and Nora Tremblay-Lamontagne, about the company Aylo (formerly MindGeek), the owner of Pornhub.
I will not elaborate on their questionable practices and ethics, as my colleagues have already demonstrated them very well in their investigation.
The leaders of this company have enriched themselves and continue to do so at the expense of women and adolescents: child pornography, revenge porn, sexual violence, human trafficking, and more. And Aylo is not the only one to profit in this way thanks to the inaction of governments…
This morning, I wish for us to conduct a collective examination of conscience.
If this extremely violent and perverse industry, which is pornography, enriches itself (we are talking about billions of dollars) and continues to thrive, it is essentially thanks to you, dear consumer.
With the anonymity, great accessibility, and free access that these platforms provide, we are witnessing the conditioning of millions of people, including minors as young as 11 years old, to a form of deviant sexuality.
This is the worst public health crisis
Do you really believe that pornography has no effect on your brain?
Like any drug, it chains you and gradually transforms you into the worst version of yourself. And the younger you start consuming it, the more chronic its effects are.
And beware, gentlemen, it can cause erectile dysfunction.
Several studies have examined the effects of pornography on the brain.
In addition to anxiety, depression, the transformation of our perception of sexuality and our relationships with others, it creates dependence and progressive desensitization that pushes the consumer to seek increasingly extreme content (violence, pedocriminality, incest, etc.).
Moreover, this type of content is generally the most viewed on these platforms.
For some people, the transition from fiction to reality is only a matter of time. After all, our brain does not distinguish and learns by imitation (mirror effect).
Sex Education and Pornography
To all sexologists in Quebec, please stop trivializing pornography.
Having attended several presentations by sexologists on pornography and sex education, I can testify to this trend.
How many sexologists have I heard tell interveners that it is normal for adolescents to learn about sexuality through pornography! And to repeat this absurdity to adolescents!
Already, access is technically prohibited to minors. Of course, they go to pornographic sites with the complicity of the platforms and the federal government, which does nothing to control access, but normalizing it in sex education workshops is a problem.
Wanting to appear too cool and open-minded, or classifying pornography ideologically in the “moral” category, we end up saying anything!
Encouraging young people to get their sex education from pornography reveals a total lack of understanding of the very essence of this industry and contributes to preparing future consumers.
Besides, is it logical to fund projects for preventing equality issues, violence against women and children, as well as sexual exploitation, and yet allow this discourse validating pornography to pollute our schools?
Normalizing pornography amounts to normalizing violence and unequal relationships.