I must respectfully disagree with Melisa who posts, that watching
 pornography is OK as long as it is behind closed doors and it does not
include children. In college I took a
course that studied this issue. What I saw was shocking and degrading to
women. One film depicted a women taking a bath. A "rapists" came in, put her
on her hands and knees in front of the toilet, stuck her head under the
toilet lid and proceeded to rape her from behind. ( I'm not even going to go
into what the symbolism is with that!) If that was not
distressing enough, at first she was begging him to stop, but at the end of
the rape she was moaning with pleasure.

 This film was picked up at a local
"family" video store.What does this do to the college boys who rent this or
the married couple trying to spice up their marriage?
At the very least, they become immune to the plight and
struggle of women. At the most it influences how they TREAT women (or how
women feel about themselves).
If the "average couple" watches this and thinks it is ok, then they are
indirectly supporting the degradation of women.

Pornography's impact is far reaching. Women's pay is still
not equal to men, and sexual harassment is present everywhere,
starting in grade school for some.The influence of pornography on our
young girls contributes to their low self esteem. In addition, violence
against women is still a HUGE problem in this country ( including
rape and physical abuse).

I'm not implying that pornography is the ~cause~ of these terrible social
issues facing women today, I am saying that it directly and indirectly
impacts how women are viewed. And since it is so rampant in our culture, I
suspect it plays a strong role in our society.

Does this relate to breastfeeding? You bet it does! Body parts are being
objectified, and breasts are only seen as sexual. The values that celebrate
women and families are being undermined.  More people watch
pornography than breastfeed their children. I am saddened that our
culture believes breasts are merely for
the pleasuring of men and not the nurturing of our children.

Off the soap box now,
Mary Anderson,
Doula (DONA)
CBE

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