Why Sexually Explicit?

Notes on the public availability of adult entertainment

By Barnaby B. Barratt, PhD, DHS, ABPP, FAPA

Testimony to the Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics of the State of Michigan House of Representatives, delivered February 15, 2000

The following notes are Dr. Barratt's written testimony to the Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics of the State of Michigan House of Representatives, delivered February 15, 2000.

Re: Scientific and clinical evidence pertaining to adult entertainment, public availability of erotic materials / services, and significance of sexual fantasy life.

Background to Testimony

This testimony addresses issues pertinent to current legislative proposals aimed at further regulation of so-called adult entertainment, including public access to erotic services and sexually explicit materials. The testimony bears on issues of public health, safety, and civil rights.

I offer this testimony as an individual working professionally and residing in Michigan, as well as in my role as Director of an Institute dedicated to offering clinical, educational, and research services to promote sexual health, healing and happiness, in the State of Michigan and surrounding regions.

This testimony is based on a comprehensive and critical survey of the relevant scientific literature, as well as my more than twenty-five years of professional experience in this field.

Notes on Proper Procedures for the Review of Scientific Investigations

The Midwest Institute of Sexology recently completed a comprehensive and critical review of the scientific literature relevant to issues of health, safety, and freedom of expression, in relation to the availability of so-called adult entertainment in live performance as well as video and print media, and the provision of such erotic materials and services.

Scientific literature requires discriminating review: As with any area of science, in the field of human sexuality, it is crucial that valid and reliable investigations be differentiated from those whose validity and reliability are limited or in question. Moreover, especially with the inherently controversial topics of human behavior, the proper conduct of science must be discriminated from the wealth of literature and alleged investigations that are merely the vehicle of an ideological agenda.

In this context, the review of research publications on which this testimony is based focuses on scientific investigations that:

specify clearly the methodology employed;
are based on a non-biased sampling of the population;
use measures of behavioral or attitudinal effects that are valid and reliable;
present statistical data in a manner open to rational evaluation; and
draw reasonable, circumscribed conclusions that are logically derived from the data that are reported.

There are many misleading statistics, unscientific studies, and bogus researches in this field. Two examples of frequently cited and generally misinterpreted investigations are as follows:

A 1983 study of convicted rapists showed that over 80% of them had used pornography. From this data, it has been incorrectly inferred that pornography causes rape when: (1) We do not know what percentage of the population of men who are not convicted rapists have been exposed to pornography (it might be more or less than 80%), and (2) Even if it were proven that convicted rapists use such materials more frequently than other men in the general population, this would establish an association not causation.
Another 1980s study reported that a particular county in Oklahoma enjoyed a reduced sexual assault rate coincident with a five-year period in which the local District Attorney cracked down on obscenity. From this it has been erroneously concluded that enforcement of obscenity laws causes reduction in the crime rate, when in fact during that same period the frequency of sexual assault in surrounding counties increased over 20% (the criminals may have relocated rather than decreased their activities), and the study never informs us what other measures this District Attorney was taking to deter sexual assault in that particular county during this period.

In pursuing this review of what science can tell us about the effects of adult entertainment and the accessibility of erotic materials and services, the Midwest Institute of Sexology has tried to parse out inconclusive or erroneous studies such as the two cited above, and to draw only conservative and justifiable conclusions exclusively from those investigations that meet customary standards of scientific credibility such as those listed above.

Summary of Conclusions Based on Comprehensive Review of Available Scientific Evidence

The available scientific evidence permits us to assert five major conclusions, which will be mentioned below (full citations, references, bibliographic materials, and procedures used in this review are available at the offices of the Midwest Institute of Sexology):

The availability of sexually explicit materials reduces the frequency of sex-related crimes, including sexual assault and child molestation. Several landmark studies contribute to this conclusion. For example, a mid-1990s study of six U.S. cities showed that decreased consumption of sexually explicit magazines is associated with increased incidence of rape. Another late-1990s investigation found that non-enforcement of anti-pornography statutes was not associated with increased frequency of sexual offenses. The Danish experience in the late 1960s and the Japanese experience from 1972 to the mid-1990s clearly show that concurrent with the legal deregulation and increased availability of pornography came a significant decrease in the frequency of sex offenses, including a substantial reduction in child molestation.
In some limited laboratory situations, exposure to the depiction of coercion or violence in sexually explicit media can be associated with a transient increase in an individual's aggressive attitudes or hostile mood. However, this effect has not been demonstrated in real life but only in laboratory studies, is on attitude or mood with no effect on behavior unequivocally demonstrated, is mediated by other factors such as predisposition to aggression, and is countered by contrary laboratory studies which demonstrate that for other individuals exposure to aggressive stimuli may temporarily inhibit the expression of such attitudes.
Sexually explicit media that depict nonviolent eroticism have positive educational value in helping individuals toward responsible modes of sexual satisfaction, more stable partnered relations, and improved health. For this reason, sexually explicit materials have been routinely used in the professional practices of therapists, educators and healthcare workers. Such use has been demonstrated as effective in the treatment of sexual adjustment problems and behavioral disturbances. Erotic materials are often to be recommended to individuals and couples who intend to improve their level of communication, intimacy and relationship satisfaction.
Sexual fantasy life, the ability to engage eroticism in the conscious imagination as well as the opportunity to self-stimulate, is crucially important for every individual's health, and is essential as a safe outlet for sexual desires that are risky or antisocial. Research demonstrates that it is normal to have non-normative fantasies, and that tolerance of such mental activity supports the individual's capacity for safe and responsible sexual behavior. Conversely, the suppression of sexual fantasy life can result in the impulsive or compulsive outbreak of risky or antisocial behaviors. One controlled scientific study of over 500 men indicates that criminal activity is associated with the suppression of fantasy life, rather than with elevated levels of deviant fantasy.
Both the evidence for positive effects of sexually explicit materials and services, and the evidential ambiguities concerning potential connections between violent pornography and antisocial behaviors, implies that arguments to restrict availability of erotic materials to consenting adults on the basis of causing direct harm are untenable. The only scientific justification for restrictions would be that minors should never be exposed to adult sexual activities, and that offense might be caused to some adults such that disgust or embarrassment might be suffered by individuals exposed to materials that conflict with their personal history and values. Such detrimental effects would be contingent on the context of consent and prior exposure.