Sympathy For The Devil

I first came across Playboy when I was barely 13. Before the internet, pornography was most accessible hidden in the drawers of discrete family members. By today’s standards, I came to it late. The national average of first exposure for both boys and girls ranges between 8 to 11 years old. Regardless of your stance on pornography, it is alarming that before kids have the chance to understand sexuality, they are inundated with images of photoshopped pleasure. Their first definition to sex becomes a cheap imitation.

This morning I awoke to the news of Hugh Hefner’s passing. The Playboy founder built an empire on the proliferation of cheap sexuality. He normalized what was taboo, and to his credit, forced us to talk about what we were afraid to. While I scanned my newsfeed, I saw an alarming number of respectful eulogies for Hefner. While this doesn’t surprise me, I feel the need to dispute his role of revolutionary. He was a man who crafted an empire on the exploitation of young girls, reducing them to an image on a glossed page. This is never to be celebrated. The empire he built preyed on the lonely ambitions of man and the addictions that ensnare all too many of us. He dehumanized women under the guise of “entertainment” often manipulating those who were found in his publication.

While the internet took his vision even further, it has also helped to bring this darkness to light. We now know how strong the addiction to pornography is for both men and women. We also know of its alarming connection to both human trafficking, and sexual violence. Porn hates women and for those of us who fight for equality, we should be fighting against porn and its dealers. It is encouraging that a generation is coming to age in a time where we know more of the epidemic that plagues us.

Unfortunately, even with increasing scientific research from unbiased sources, many continue to espouse the harmlessness of pornography. We, especially those of faith, are often labeled as anti-sex. Make no mistake, it is our deep reverence for sexuality that compels us to fight against its imposters. We value the art of a renewed and redeemed human nature. We fight for the highest expression of impassioned sexuality. Unfortunately, Hefner was on the wrong side of this beautiful equality.

For more info on this topic, check out the site below:

http://fightthenewdrug.org/get-the-facts/