Author: Eric Silverman

Eric Silverman, Ph.D., is a former professor of anthropology and is also affiliated with the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University.

The Pornification of War in Ukraine

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The trending of #Ukraine on porn sites is only a recent development of an age-old misogyny, as old as warfare itself.

Research shows that habitual users of online porn seek ever more explicit and graphic images in order to sustain the same level of arousal. This partly explains the uptick in searches for pornographic videos of Ukrainian women after the invasion. It also accounts for the horrifying genres known as “refugee porn” and “war porn.” These videos link sex with desperation and violence. But not just any violence will do. The user is mainly interested in videos that feature the utter degradation of women and girls.

Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Empire Was Built on the Abuse of Women

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Hugh Hefner eventually became the darling of high society and the media. But it wasn’t luxury, sensuality or independence that Hefner was selling. He was only ever hawking old-fashioned misogyny. Now, we have irrefutable proof that Hefner’s empire was built on the horrific abuse of women.

A new documentary series on A&E, Secrets of Playboy, shows what feminists always knew: Hugh Hefner was a vile misogynist. 

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Kids Learn About Sex From Porn. Comprehensive Sex Ed Could Help Change That.

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For decades, Howard Stern has used his celebrity status to normalize porn and misogyny. Last month, Billie Eilish, only 20, made a shocking revelation on Stern’s show: “I used to watch a lot of porn. I think it really destroyed my brain.”

Eilish is right—research shows conclusively that pornography is harmful for young people and, indeed, all brains. But kids take to porn because they find the sexual education offered by their schools and parents to be unhelpful and unreal.