Here's a study whose findings are unlikely to become popular. To sum it up: using data on sex crimes during and after a sexually repressive regime in the Czech Republic, the study shows that porn may serve a useful social function in providing an outlet for sexual hunger and offering masturbatory material to take the edge off anxiety, tension, and other factors in aggressive/compulsive behaviors. When sexual attitudes were liberalized, sex crimes (particularly against minors) decreased. The study carries a sex-positive message: the sexually freer people are, the less likely they are to use sex as a weapon; the more repressed they are, the more sexually violent they become. It's a message worth repeating anytime we want to educate someone about the importance of sexual freedom.
Whether pornography is an expression of free speech or a form of exploitation remains a hotly debated issue, and new research may only stir up the controversy further.
Scientists led by Milton Diamond at the University of Hawaii found that easing access to sexually explicit material may help lower sexual abuse of youngsters. Diamond's group compared rates of various crimes, including sexual abuse, murders, assaults and thefts, both before and after the fall of the communist regime in the Czech republic. Before a more liberal government gained power in the country in 1989, all forms of sexually explicit material, including magazines such as Playboy, were banned, and all nudity was considered pornographic. (More on Time.com: Will Polygamy Be Legalized in Canada?)
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