Raised on Porn is now live! WATCH THE FILM HERE.
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“Pornography is the most significant influential sex educator that young people have today.”1 -Dr. Caroline Heldman in Raised on Porn
Pause for a moment and consider the gravity of that statement. Free online pornography is shaping a generation, and its impact on our culture is devastating. In 2017, studies showed that a staggering 98% of male adolescents watched porn, and 69% watch it several times a week.2 Today, most kids will be exposed to porn by age 13.
The new documentary Raised on Porn, directed by Exodus Cry founder, Benjamin Nolot, takes viewers on a journey to help them understand the impact of porn on consumers, while also empowering viewers to take action. This groundbreaking film tackles the monstrous task of assessing the damage porn has had on our culture—specifically, exposing the assault porn has launched against children.
To say the film opened my eyes would be a massive understatement. I’ve always understood, to a certain degree, the addictive dangers of pornography. But Raised on Porn is the first resource I’ve seen that connects proven science to the peril “Big Porn” is plotting against our children.
RELATED: My Porn Addiction at Age 6 Drove Me To Attempt Suicide
The findings are tragic. One of the stories highlighted in the film is from a girl named Taylor who discusses how porn impacted her relationship with her first boyfriend at age 16. She explains how her boyfriend’s porn consumption brought their relationship down a dark path of abuse, and kept her in constant fear.
Often, he would pressure her to watch and then act out what they would see. Taylor witnessed her once “good Christian” boyfriend turn into an addicted and violent aggressor. In her own words, porn “messed up his mind… made him stop seeing me as a person… I was an object for his pleasure, and I owed him anything he wanted.”
Raised on Porn is the first resource I’ve seen that connects proven science to the peril “Big Porn” is plotting against our children.
As a father of girls, my heart broke hearing brave Taylor struggle through telling her story. No girl should ever be reduced to a sexual object, or a slave—yet, her story is all too common. Like so many girls, Taylor found herself victimized by an addicted, manipulative abuser who lost all control, thanks to porn. A victim of porn himself, her boyfriend became a victimizer of others.
In a separate account, a man named Richie shares how his exposure to pornographic magazine images in first grade created a mental script on how to relate to the opposite sex.
Richie’s story resonated deeply with me. His unplanned exposure with porn is something millions of boys have experienced, including myself. My secret struggle with porn as a young man often left me confused, ashamed, and feeling like my brain had been hijacked. Like so many boys, I wanted to stop—but couldn’t. It’s not “bad” kids who look at porn but, as the film reveals, innocent kids overwhelmed by something they aren’t able to handle.
Kids today aren’t just exposed to graphic pictures in magazines. They’re seeing hardcore, taboo, and disturbingly violent pornography streaming from their tablets, phones, and even gaming systems. As stated in the film, “the internet has made porn not only accessible, it’s really made it inescapable.”
SIGN THE PETITION demanding required age verification on all porn sites.
Raised on Porn is also very unique in that it examines the relationship between porn and the adolescent brain. As author William Struthers explains, “the most sexual organ is between our ears, not our legs,” and he describes how porn use at a young age begins building a neurological script for how sex is to happen. This may be the most powerful component of the film, as it provides such clear answers for why people like Richie, Tailor’s boyfriend, and countless others, couldn’t just simply stop.
Nolot pulls together psychologists, doctors, sexuality experts, and personal stories to present findings that are undeniable. Throughout the documentary, they detail the dangers posed by porn on young people, as it alters brain function that is not fully developed—especially in the areas of decision making.
The porn industry’s thirst for profit has fueled a culture more sexualized and sexually aggressive than ever before. Porn’s escalation of arousal leads users down violent and perverse paths they never would have dreamed of going down. One expert revealed, “When sexualized violence is presented in pornography, then violence and pleasure get linked together.”
The porn industry’s thirst for profit has fueled a culture more sexualized and sexually aggressive than ever before.
We are reaping the tragic consequences of this assault on human sexuality. The growing sex trafficking industry that enslaves millions in systemic abuse and exploitation is directly tied to porn consumption on free porn sites like Pornhub and Youporn.
This should make you as angry as it made me. As the film explains, young boys are developing a sexual appetite that is deviant, vile, aggressive, and debasing.
This altered sexuality turns men into monsters, objectifies and demeans women, and leads to sexuality-fueled domination. As one expert articulates, “Porn is socializing men into thinking that women will consent to anything.”
On the other hand, young girls watching porn are learning to be sexually compliant, and that a male’s sexual desire, regardless of how violent or abusive it is, is more important than their own desires.
Raised on Porn is an urgently needed message at a critical moment in our history. Porn is almost inescapable and parents and educators are desperate for solutions to confront it.
As a parent, I am profoundly grateful to have seen the film. It provides critical insights to help uproot the prevalence of sexual aggression and exploitation in our culture. It’s also another step towards holding porn companies like Pornhub/MindGeek accountable for preying on our kids in order to expand the reach they often boast about.
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Raised on Porn will premiere for FREE on September 30, at 6:30pm PDT, on the YouTube channel for Exodus Cry’s film production studio, Magic Lantern Pictures. Make sure you subscribe to the channel be the one of the first to see it!
Will you join the movement to Protect Children Not Porn? Click below and sign the petition calling for required age verification, with ID, on all sites hosting porn.
1 Caroline Heldman – “Raised on Porn”
2 Donevan and Mattebo, 2017
