Fight the New Drug

Last updated

Fight the New Drug
Formation2009;15 years ago (2009)
Legal status 501(c)(3) organization [1]
PurposeNonpartisan, secular, non-legislative, and nonprofit anti-pornography & anti-sexual-exploitation organization.
Headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Website fightthenewdrug.org

Fight the New Drug (FTND) is a nonprofit, secular, and non-legislative anti-pornography organization that is based in Utah. [2] [3] [4] The group was founded in Utah in 2009. [5] [6] FTND describes pornography as analogous to a drug and argues that it is a public health crisis. [7] [8] [9] It describes itself as asking people to "consider before consuming", rather than advocating anti-pornography legislation. [10]

Contents

Activities

The group works with people aged 18 to 24 through presentations and video campaigns, [11] and through student outreach activities in public school districts within Utah. [12] In a 2015 campaign, FTND posted 100 billboards in the San Francisco Bay Area stating "Porn Kills Love". [7] In March 2018 the Kansas City Royals held a FTND anti-pornography seminar for players during their spring training, [13] and in November of that year FTND released a three-part documentary film entitled Brain, Heart, World. [14] In addition, the group promotes its campaign via a social media presence, branded merchandise, such as T-shirts, and marketing kits. [3] [4]

Support

A number of public figures have endorsed the group: these include Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff; [6] sports personalities Terry Crews [15] and Lamar Odom; [16] actress Marisol Nichols; [17] and YouTuber Chaz Smith. [18]

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, a non-profit devoted to ending sexual assault and child sex abuse, is also supportive of the FTND organization. The NCSE highlights a mission of theirs being "exposing the public-health crisis of pornography." [19]

FTND also promotes awareness for sexual health and sexual exploitation. On their YouTube channel, there are numerous videos and documentaries of people speaking about their experiences within the porn industry. [20] They also have a website for others to share their stories. [21] One notable story on their channel is of the most successful male porn star speaking out against the harm he experienced and witnessed in the porn industry. [22] [ original research? ]

Criticism

FTND has been criticized as holding an "openly ideology-driven strategy" [3] and the group's message, in particular its categorizing of porn as a drug, as pseudoscience, contradictory to neuroscience research. [23] [24] The group have been alleged to be an example of continued influence by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over social issues. An example is their use of billboards in San Francisco intentionally to target a socially progressive region. [7] In a Salt Lake Tribune op-ed, a group of sex therapists said that FTND's leaders and presenters were not mental health or sexuality professionals, and were promoting false information and failing to educate children about either sexuality and human development, or the positive, as well as the negative, aspects of porn. [12]

Emily F. Rothman, Professor of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health, stated in 2021 that "the professional public health community is not behind the recent push to declare pornography a public health crisis". [25]

Related Research Articles

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Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or social efforts to control sexual activities between consenting adults, whether they are initiated by the government, other feminists, opponents of feminism, or any other institution. They embrace sexual minority groups, endorsing the value of coalition-building with marginalized groups. Sex-positive feminism is connected with the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminism brings together anti-censorship activists, LGBT activists, feminist scholars, producers of pornography and erotica, among others. Sex-positive feminists believe that prostitution can be a positive experience if workers are treated with respect, and agree that sex work should not be criminalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Klein</span> American sex therapist

Marty Ralph Klein is an American sex therapist, author, educator and public policy analyst. Klein has spent his career supporting the healthy sexual expression of men, women and couples in a wide range of ways. He is critical of censorship, the concepts of sex addiction and porn addiction, as well as the anti-pornography movement. He believes that public policy relating to sexuality should be driven by scientific data rather than emotion, "tradition" or popular but untrue myths. He has been a participant in various state, federal and international court cases dealing with the First Amendment, obscenity, censorship and "harmful to minors" laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opposition to pornography</span> Overview of opposing views to pornography

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The feminist sex wars, also known as the lesbian sex wars, sex wars or porn wars, are collective debates amongst feminists regarding a number of issues broadly relating to sexuality and sexual activity. Differences of opinion on matters of sexuality deeply polarized the feminist movement, particularly leading feminist thinkers, in the late 1970s and early 1980s and continue to influence debate amongst feminists to this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pornography</span> Portrayal of sexual subject matter

Pornography has been defined as sexual subject material such as a picture, video, text, or audio that is intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornography depictions have evolved from cave paintings, some forty millennia ago, to virtual reality presentations. A general distinction of adult content is made classifying it as pornography or erotica.

Sexuality has a role within the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In its standards for sexual behavior called the law of chastity, top LDS leaders bar all premarital sex, all homosexual sexual activity, the viewing of pornography, masturbation, overtly sexual kissing, sexual dancing, and sexual touch outside of a heterosexual marriage. LDS Leaders teach that gender is defined in premortal life, and that part of the purpose of mortal life is for men and women to be sealed together in heterosexual marriages, progress eternally after death as gods together, and produce spiritual children in the afterlife. The church states that sexual relations within the framework of monogamous opposite-sex marriage are healthy, necessary, and approved by God. The LDS denomination of Mormonism places great emphasis on the sexual behavior of Mormon adherents, as a commitment to follow the law of chastity is required for baptism, adherence is required to receive a temple recommend, and is part of the temple endowment ceremony covenants devout participants promise by oath to keep.

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), previously known as Morality in Media and Operation Yorkville, is an American conservative anti-pornography organization. The group has also campaigned against sex trafficking, same-sex marriage, sex shops and sex toys, decriminalization of sex work, comprehensive sex education, and various works of literature or visual arts the organization has deemed obscene, profane or indecent. Its current president is Patrick A. Trueman. The organization describes its goal as "exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pornography in India</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of pornography</span> Influence of pornography on an individual and their intimate relationships

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelley Lubben</span> Author, singer, motivational speaker, and former pornographic actress

Shelley Lubben was an American author, singer, motivational speaker, and pornographic actress. As a performer in the adult film industry, she was known professionally as Roxy. After she left the sex industry, Lubben became a born-again Christian and anti-pornography activist. From 2008 to 2016, she was the executive director of Pink Cross Foundation, which reached out to women and men in pornography and spoke in public forums about the hazardous working conditions that she experienced in the porn industry. In January 2016, Lubben closed Pink Cross Foundation.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gail Dines</span> Anti-pornography campaigner

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Maltz</span> Sex therapist

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Kristin Hodson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and prominent voice on the topic of sexual health in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints community.

References

  1. ↑ "Nonprofit Explorer – Fight the New Drug Inc". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. ↑ LaPlante, Matthew (February 17, 2018). "In Utah, the fight against porn is increasingly being framed as a public health crisis". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Hablin, James (April 14, 2016). "Inside the Movement to Declare Pornography a 'Health Crisis'". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Dickson, EJ (May 7, 2014). "Can a non-religious Web-savvy campaign against pornography work?". The Daily Dot. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  5. ↑ "About Fight The New Drug - Who We Are and What Our Mission Is". Fight the New Drug. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Group is fighting against 'the new drug' — pornography". Deseret News. January 26, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Allen, Samantha (October 20, 2015). "'Porn Kills Love': Mormons' Anti-Smut Crusade". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  8. ↑ Ley, David J. (July 25, 2013). "Your Brain on Porn – It's NOT Addictive". Psychology Today. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  9. ↑ Fight the New Drug: A Movement For Love on YouTube
  10. ↑ "Who is Fight the New Drug?". Fight the New Drug. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ Funaro, Vincent (July 30, 2014). "Is Porn Addiction A Public Health Issue? 'Fight the New Drug' Warns About the Dangers of Pornography". The Christian Post .
  12. 1 2 Parker, Natasha Helfer; Hodson, Kristin; Bennion, Kristin Marie; Hickman, Shannon (October 2, 2016). "Op-ed: Utah students need real sex ed, not 'Fight the New Drug'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  13. ↑ Gleeson, Scott (March 18, 2018). "Royals hold anti-pornography seminar for players at spring training". USA Today. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  14. ↑ West, Perry (November 25, 2018). "New documentary shows individual, societal threat of pornography". Catholic News Agency .
  15. ↑ Stecklow, Sam (February 24, 2016). "Terry Crews Has Been Posting Intense Anti-Masturbation, Anti-Internet Videos on His Facebook Page for Two Weeks". New York Magazine. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Lamar Odom 'got saved' Sunday, credits Jesus for keeping him alive after near-death incident". FOX 5 DC. November 1, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Episodes".
  18. ↑ Goins-Phillips, Tré (August 7, 2019). "YouTube Star Shares His Own Experience With Pornography, Why He's Now Fighting It". Faithwire. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  19. ↑ "About". NCOSE. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Fight the New Drug - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Share Your Story". Fight the New Drug. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  22. ↑ Most Successful Male Porn Star Of All Time Speaks Out On Porn, June 18, 2015, retrieved April 19, 2023
  23. ↑ Parker et al. 2016 , "False and fear-based information exacerbates problems."
  24. ↑ Watson, Brian (2020). "The New Censorship: Anti-sexuality Groups and Library Freedom". Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 4 (4): 19–28. doi:10.5860/jifp.v4i4.7177. hdl: 2022/25773 . S2CID   238069109.
  25. ↑ Rothman, Emily F. (2021). Pornography and Public Health. Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN   978-0-19-007549-1. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2022. The professional public health community is not behind the recent push to declare pornography a public health crisis.
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