General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Pornography, especially violent variants, furthers rape culture... [View all]Orrex
(67,567 posts)It's certainly been a part of who we are as a species for as far back as we're able to determine. If it's not a "natural" part of us, then what is it?
I am also not yet persuaded that the portrayal of a fantasy version of a thing necessarily leads to an acceptance or normalization of the real version of that thing. Violent video games are the classic example; everyone I know has played them, and some of those people--both male and female--play them for literally hours each day. None of those people has committed assault as a result, much less murder, and these are first-person shooter games that they're playing. If an immersive you-are-there fantasy simulation doesn't lead to a real-world manifestation of a behavior, then I'm skeptical that a third-party portrayal of a fantasy simulation would more readily compel someone to act out the fantasy.
Further, to the extent that a person would act out the fantasy at all, it seems more likely to me (though I disclaim that I have no supporting data) that the person would seek out others with compatible fantasies, rather than imposing those fantasies upon unwilling victims.
This assumes a stable mind, of course. An unstable mind might indeed be more inclined to act out upon a victim, but that's a problem with the person rather than the fantasy medium.