Here's a laugh-out-loud... no, a re-read-incredulously item in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Increasing the WTF factor, the two viewpoints are described as "right-leaning" and "left-leaning". Must be a slow news week at the AJC: they've figured out that romance, porn, and politics are a volatile mix, hoo-ah.
Shaunti Feldhahn's commentary, titled Harm in reading romance novels?, has two main thrusts ;)
- Romance creates demanding, bitchy women. Demanding, bitchy women are responsible for the breakdown of marriage.
- Romance is porn. Erotica evil. Sex bad. Make it stop.
- Reading is good.
- All kinds of books can be called dangerous. Self-help, anyone?
- Romance = entertainment, not world domination.
- Romance = female porn. Female porn = better than male porn.
- Erotica is not bad. (Evidence: Pornography: Research Advances and Policy Considerations)
Dr. Julianna Slattery, psychologist and author of the excellent book Finding the Hero in Your Husband, explained... “For many women, these novels really do promote dissatisfaction with their relationships. There is a neurochemical element with men and porn, but an emotional element with women and these novels.”A quick Amazon search reveals the full title of the book: Finding the Hero in Your Husband: Surrendering the Way God Intended. Strange echoes of the über-creepy "surrendered wife" movement.
I'm tempted to send Ms Feldhahn some info on other forms of Adult Christianity. Nah, my time is better spent reading the Pornography book. (It's on Google Reader, BTW.) These chapters caught my eye:- Three Faces of Sexual Explicitness: The Good, the Bad, and the Useful (Kathryn Kelley, Lori Dawson, Donna M. Musialowski)
- Pornography and Men's Sexual Callousness Toward Women (Dolf Zillmann, James B. Weaver)
- Reported Proclivity for Coercive Sex Following Repeated Exposure to Sexually Violent Pornography, Nonviolent Dehumanizing Pornography, and Erotica (James V.P. Check, Ted H. Guloien)
- Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography (Dolf Zillmann)
- The Effects of Counter-Information on the Acceptance of Rape Myths (Daniel Linz, Edward Donnerstein)
- Sex Education as a Corrective: Immunizing Against Possible Effects of Pornography (William A. Fisher, Azy Barak)
- The Legal Case for Restricting Pornography (Alan E. Sears)
- The Case Against Censorship of Pornography (William A. Linsley)
- Basing Legislative Action on Research Data: Prejudice, Prudence, and Empirical Limitations (Donn Byrne, Kathryn Kelley)
- Pornography Research and Public Policy (Dolf Zillmann)
