Matt Fradd Leads Crusaders Away from Porn

Matt Fradd, a leading Catholic author and podcaster, spoke to Strake Jesuit students at an all school assembly in the Parsley Center on Tuesday, November 5,  about the dangers of pornography. 

Mr. Fradd grew up in Australia, where at the age of 8, he first encountered pornography while visiting a relative.  He later began to become addicted to pornography, often going to magazine stands with his friends and stealing pornographic magazines.  He was able to give up looking at pornography as he realized it conflicted with his ideal for the kind of man he wanted to be. 

“I don’t want to be the kind of man who has to close his laptop anytime my 7 year old daughter enters the room, or the type of man that has to sneak away from his wife at night just to look at porn,” he explained. 

The core of his talk was debunking what he called the Myths of Pornography:  that we need porn, that porn is adult entertainment, that porn is essentially the same thing as naked art, that those in the industry are just consenting adults, that it’s only fantasy, and that pornography isn’t addictive. 

In response to the myth that porn is necessary, Mr. Fradd said that just because people have a natural sex drive, it doesn’t mean that porn is the way to satisfy that drive any more than being obese is a good way to satisfy your hunger. “Porn is unhealthy” claimed Mr. Fradd. He even cited studies that watching porn can shrink your brain.

When commenting on the myth that porn is adult entertainment, Mr. Fradd pointed out many adults who see it as disgusting and dehumanizing, such as celebrities like Kanye West, Metallica, and Chris Rock, who believes that porn led to his divorce. 

For the third myth, Mr. Fradd was asked if porn was essentially naked art, to which he responded, “The end of pornography isn’t something beautiful, and the end to art isn’t masturbation.”

The next myth is that pornography is ok because those who act in it are consenting adults. He pointed out that many actresses are there because of human trafficking. Although some of the actresses might be participating at will, Mr. Fradd asked, “Does a woman’s’ inability to perceive her own dignity give me the right to take from her whatever she can give?”

Fradd also mentioned the myth that porn is just a fantasy. He explained that when someone watches porn, the brain releases dopamine and the individual becomes reliant on porn to achieve the normal level of arousal.  Mr. Fradd said there is no coincidence that men who regularly view porn suffer from erectile dysfunction.  

Fradd cited multiple neurological studies that debunk the myth that porn is not addictive.

Is watching pornography impossible to stop? Mr. Fradd’s answer is that pornography addiction can be broken. “Freedom from porn is not a destination but rather a day-to day-thing” said Fradd. One tool that he mentioned was an app called Victory. The purpose of the app is to get the user out of pornography addiction by using an accountability system that involves admitting your fault and having your accountability partners pray for you whenever the user feels tempted. The app also tracks how long you are free from porn use and awards you trophies for reaching your goals. 

Freedom from pornography all relies on your ability to admit you have a problem and put forth the effort required to fix it. Fradd also suggested that one should run to confession for help.