We’re now seeing the desperation portion of the Democrat Party’s campaign. As we head into the last stretches of the 2024 election, the porn industry has appeared and will now be backing Kamala Harris in hopes that the hold they have over people will shift attitudes and help Harris along.
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According to The Post Millennial, porn sites will run ads in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina, promoting the “hands off my porn campaign,” hoping that people, especially men, will become single-issue voters and vote strictly to protect porn usage:
Data from the Survey Centre on American Life found that 44 percent of men aged 18-29 and 57 percent of men aged 30-49 had watched pornography in the last month.
The website for the campaign states boldly that conservatives are working to “criminalize porn.”
“We must fight back against this ultra-conservative agenda that is rooted in religious conservatism, fearmongering, and the suppression of women’s rights. Don’t let these zealots destroy my career and your right to enjoy adult entertainment,” one statement from director Casey Calvert reads.
Another statement, this one from pornographic actor Holly Randall, says, “I have been in this industry for over 25 years and have witnessed many attacks on our industry, but < a href="https://humanevents.com/2024/07/18/cj-pearson-quit-trying-to-scare-black-people-about-project-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Project 2025 ’s ban on pornography is the most extreme proposal I have ever seen, and voters have to take that threat seriously.”
Porn addiction is a real problem for millions of people, especially men (69 percent), though a good chunk of women (40 percent) watch pornography as well. PornHub clocked 2 billion visits in a single month in 2023, according to AddictionHelp.com.
The porn industry took a huge hit in states like Texas, where the website PornHub blocked access to the state after Texas passed House Bill 1181 in 2023. The bill mandated that users provide government-issue ID in order to view pornography, stating that minors were getting easy access to it and it was affecting brain development. PornHub argued that there was no effect on the brain of a minor and that it would just drive traffic to less regulated platforms. Texas is one of seven sites that have PornHub blocked in its state, including some of the states where the porn industry is looking to run ads, such as North Carolina.
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PornHub came under heavy fire in 2020 after a New York Times report showed many videos involved minors and victims of sex trafficking, forcing the site to delete millions of videos from unverified users. Visa and Mastercard also distanced themselves from PornHub in order to distance themselves from any illegalities. None of this stopped the lawsuits from being filed on behalf of trafficked victims.
The porn industry clearly has a vested interest in Harris because they see Republicans as a threat to their bottom line. The more rules and regulations passed on the porn industry, the less money and power it has. As such, attempting to support Harris is a no-brainer.
However, this probably says more about Harris than it does Republicans. While some may argue that sites like PornHub should be able to operate freely and with reasonable restrictions, the bottom line is Republicans are right about the effect of pornography on the brains of minors. Brain development can be impacted by pornographic addiction, including affecting the neural pathways related to reward and impulse control. Desensitization of the dopamine response, which is something that happens with frequent porn consumption, can also hit a minor hard.
That’s not even beginning to cover the sexual expectations it would put upon minors.
We don’t allow children to drink or do drugs because it’s harmful or detrimental. We card people before the purchase of various substances for this very reason. It’s not unreasonable to require the same kind of precaution when it comes to something that could wildly alter the brain chemistry of individuals who consume it.
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It’s that addiction that the porn industry is hoping will help move the needle for Harris, and if Harris is down to hoping that addiction will help carry her through, then Democrats must be desperate indeed.