Imagine seeing the following headlines at your local news stand: “Best Email Practices,” by Hillary Clinton. “The Importance of Humility,” by Donald Trump. “Five Reasons to Repeal the Affordable Care Act,” by President Obama. “Golf is Stupid,” by Tiger Woods. “Take the Pledge: No More Indulging Porn,” by Pamela Anderson.
We all would assume that these headlines came from The Onion, The Babylon Bee, or some other satirical outlet. Surely this is a poorly timed April fool’s joke.
But one of the above headlines is real. Anderson wrote an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal this week urging readers to understand the deleterious effects pornography has on our society.
That’s right: Pamela Anderson, who has graced the cover of Playboy magazine more than anyone else, is highlighting how pornography distorts a healthy view of sexuality, makes intimacy less satisfying, can worsen aberrant inclinations like sexting, and is especially damaging to young people growing up in a sex-crazed culture.
Anderson co-authored the piece with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. “We have often warned about pornography’s corrosive effects on a man’s soul and on his ability to function as husband and, by extension, as father,” they write. “This is a public hazard of unprecedented seriousness given how freely available, anonymously accessible and easily disseminated pornography is nowadays.”
What in the world? But Amen. But still, what in the world?
The way they conclude their article sounds more like a fiery preacher at a True Love Waits conference than a testimony from a former Baywatch actress: “Simply put, we must educate ourselves and our children to understand that porn is for losers — a boring, wasteful and dead-end outlet for people too lazy to reap the ample rewards of healthy sexuality.”
Never has an article made me more elated and confused at the same time. When I first heard about this column I thought about Googling something like “Pamela Anderson’s article on pornography,” but I didn’t because I was afraid of what might pop up.
Let’s not think that this article is evidence that Anderson, 49, has matured away from her risqué youth. When Playboy quit having full nude pictures in early 2016, who was on the final cover? You guessed it — Pamela Anderson.
I don’t know how to reconcile all this. I want to criticize the hypocrisy while applauding the conclusion.
At the least this article proves that biblical sexual ethics — often derided for its puritanical narrowness — is actually good for society.
Pornography hurts people. Research proves it. Even unbelievers can see it.