I am emailing you to ask that you support the passage of Maryland's House Joint Resolution 4. As a citizen in Maryland, I know that pornography is a public health harm that is harming citizens of our state. Like other public health issues, not all exposed have the same response. However, for many, repeated exposure and use is correlated to problematic sexual behaviors that can lead to porn-induced erectile dysfunction, divorce or failed relationships, and sometimes sexually aggressive and violent behaviors. Research is also showing correlations to violence against women, increased STI rates, and increased sexual dysfunction among young men. Public health approaches have proved effective with other major problems from smoking, to lead poisoning, to HIV/AIDS. A public health approach is needed now to address pornography. At least 12 other states have formally begun recognizing the public health harms of pornography. Please don't be behind history!

Please pass House Joint Resolution #4 and recognize the public health harms of pornography. There is a wealth of research coming from many fields that support these claims and the overwhelming anecdotal evidence is mounting. Sixty-four percent of people 13–24 actively seek out pornography weekly or more often. (1) Pornography Use Shrinks Brain: A 2014 study found that increased pornography use is linked to decreased brain matter in the areas of motivation and decision-making, impaired impulse control, and desensitization to sexual reward. (2) Pornography Is Linked to Increased Sexual Violence: A 2015 meta-analysis of 22 studies from seven countries found that internationally the consumption of pornography was significantly associated with increases in verbal and physical aggression, among males and females alike (3) Please recognize the research and help Maryland address these problems! ---- (1) Barna Group, The Porn Phenomenon: The Impact of Pornography in the Digital Age,” (Ventura, CA: Josh McDowell Ministry, 2016). (2) Simone Kühn and Jürgen Gallinat, “Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated with Pornography Consumption,” JAMA Psychiatry 71, no. 7 (2014): 827–834. (3) Paul J. Wright, Robert S. Tokunaga, and Ashley Kraus, “A Meta-Analysis of Pornography Consumption and Actual Acts of Sexual Aggression in General Population Studies,” Journal of Communication 66, no. 1 (February 2016): 183–205.

I'm urging you to support HJ #4, to recognize the public health harms of pornography. Particularly, I ask that you do this in order to support gender equality and to push back on violence against women. A content analysis of 172 videos from the website PornHub.com found a significant trend in pornography of violence against women - and often women even respond to that violence neutrally or with pleasure. This is acting to sexually educate young people and adults alike that violence against women is sexy. Further, we see that pornography is sex negative by the research that shows that due to pornography, women report increased pressure to perform acts seen in pornographic films, and less actual sex, while men reported being more critical of their partners’ body and less interested in actual sex. Isn't it time to stand up for women and against these toxic messages? Please support HJ #4. Eran Shor, “Age, Aggression, and Pleasure in Popular Online Pornographic Videos,” Violence Against Women (2018): 1‒19, doi: 10.1177/1077801218804101. Of note, videos including more than two participants were not included in the analysis Julie M. Albright, “Sex in America Online: An Exploration of Sex, Marital Status, and Sexual Identity in Internet Sex Seeking and Its Impacts,” Journal of Sex Research 45 (2008): 175–186.

Please pass HJ #4, and help Maryland families learn about the public health harms of pornography! As a citizen of Maryland, I can tell you that pornography is having a profoundly negative impact on our children's sexual development, in addition to fueling problems like college campus sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. Passing this resolution will help shed light on the problem of pornography, and it will help Maryland families recognize the need to protect themselves from this social toxin.

Please pass House Joint Resolution 4 and declare porn a public health harm, along with the other 12 states that have done so! Science and research is catching up with the concerns of many and is now showing a wide range of harm caused by pornography. Law enforcement and our jails are overwhelmed with the results of sex trafficking and child sexual abuse. Children are at greatest risk as research shows such exposure affects their developing brains and shapes their sexual templates. The younger and more often children are exposed to such content the more problematic it becomes. Adolescents are more susceptible to forming addictions than adults because the dopamine neurons in their nucleus accumbens (i.e. the brain’s pleasure center) are much more active and have an exaggerated plasticity in response to addictive stimulus. Thus, it can be said that a propensity for addiction is more strongly “hardwired” into the adolescent brain. Internet pornography consumption by adolescents is associated with risky sexual behavior that can have profoundly adverse effects such as anal sex, multiple sexual partners, and substance use during sex. Such outcomes are not surprising in light of research into how the human brain develops which shows that adolescents are not as readily able to access their front lobes—the portion of the brain that controls impulses and allows for rapid, smart decision making. Don't leave Maryland uninformed, please pass this resolution.