Let's Talk Porn Pt. 1

Lately, I have been quite busy on the thinking front. Some major life issues have been brought to my attention. I thought I would spend sometime processing my thoughts in a way that would not only benefit myself, but also the world around me. So I decided to dedicate my next few (probably 4 or 5) posts to the topic of pornography. Fortunately, I won't be talking about pornography much in this first blog. I will be spending my time on the entertainment world and many of the things I see happening that help fuel this multi-billion dollar industry.

All you have to do these days is get on google and search the images for your favorite actors and actresses to be bombarded with photos one may never have dreamed of seeing even 10 years ago. By searching "Miley Cyrus" you will see a mix of photos from when she was married, a teen acting star, and well now...the adult years. You can do the same for Brittney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Justin Beiber, Justin Timberlake, Channing Tatum, just for kicks Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon)...as well as many others.

In order for me to write this, I did a preliminary scan. I was shocked at what I found. I was born in an era...the 80's where it was still inappropriate to show a lot of skin. Love scenes that had any kind of sexual charge or tension were not allowed on any of the sit-com's we watched.  Kissing scenes were highly diminished. Shoot, I think the Cosby show was the first show that I saw a husband and a wife sharing a bed. Before that it was a taboo.

Fast-forward and now you can find sex on pretty much any sit-com you watch. Some of which include...the Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory...and others. Now because these shows have sexual over and undertones does it mean stop watching them...well not necessarily. I am not a fan of a one size fits all way of thinking. I personally believe we should learn how to govern ourselves in a manner which is healthy and promotes an empowering way of living life. That all being said, I do feel that the natural course of action after watching such shows it to emulate, experiment, and make many of these types of scenes happen in our everyday life.

Let's not forget the music industry and how it ties into all of this. Ever take the time to listen to the lyrics of today's popular music. Ever notice how sexually supercharged they are. At points I just turn it all of in favor is purely instrumental music because I feel a constant tension of trying to find lyrics that are both deep and not super crass. Country music, Hip Hop, Pop, R&B well...its changed so much over the years. Hardly any of it is "safe". I was raised in a very conservative manner so I do still carry some of those ideas. Yet, even so...many are becoming desensitized to the reality of what is going on in our entertainment industry as a whole.

Being bombarded by images, lyrics, and reality, day after day does something to inform how we look at our every day life. It really is easy to see that society is super charged and saturated with sex. It really is no wonder to me that the Porn Industry is such a lucrative business these days.

What really frustrates me is how deceptively marketable the industry is as a whole. Here are some stats as of 2010.

Number of internet users viewing porn, every second = 28,000 

Average monthly unique visitors to pornographic websites from 2005 and 2008 = 75 million 

Percentage of search engine request related to pornography = 25% 

Number of new pornographic websites that appear online every day = 266 

Approximate number of English-language websites that distribute child pornography = 3,000 

Amount spent on internet pornography every second = $89 

Estimated revenue generated by pornography In the US in 2006 including 2.84 billion from online pornograph = 13 Billion 

Approximate world wide revenue generated by pornography annually, as of 2006 = 97 Billion

 Those numbers are just from three years ago. Can you imagine what that looks like now just from an economic and business stand point.

From just this alone, I simply am not surprised why we see so many issues within the church concerning this topic. Unfortunately, I like many others, have been a victim, as well as willing participant in this industry without ever knowing the lasting effects it would have on myself and others until years down the road.

I have seen leaders, students, teachers, husbands, wives, sisters and brothers all struggle with this. I personally have had enough.

My vendetta against this industry runs deep.

It is time to break the silence.