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Last month, Wheelock College University of Pennsylvania professor Mary Anne Layden hit Capitol Hill to explain how pornography “robs men of their masculinity, of their psychological health, of their self-respect, of their greatness . . . of themselves.” Now, Layden is back to explain the effects of pornography use among women: It gets them raped.

From a Washington Times story on the new trend of pornography “addiction” among women:

“The more pornography women use, the more likely they are to be victims of non-consensual sex,” said Mary Anne Layden, professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston. “The earlier the male starts using pornography, the more likely they are to be the perpetrators of non-consensual sex.”

The story never mentions that rape thing again. It doesn’t offer up any evidence or statistics in its defense. (In fact, it never uses the word “rape”—-just the skeezy “non-consensual sex”). In a response, psychologist David J. Ley attempts to figure this all out:

This is a staggering statement, and a frightening insight into the rebirth of the “blame the victim” argument against rape. . . So a female victim testifying her assailant is going to be asked about that time she downloaded a dirty movie to watch? And that has what to do with the immoral, narcissistic, selfish and angry acts of the man who violated her rights? The only way this has any kernel of truth is that highly sexual women are more likely to report use of pornography. Highly sexual women are also likely to report greater numbers of partners, and somewhat higher risk of an incident of sexual abuse or rape, possibly as a result of situations of date rape. But it’s not the pornography, and it’s not even the women’s sexuality. It’s the act of person who violates the rights of another.

Layden’s assertion is both victim-blaming and perpetrator-excusing. Pretending that pornis responsible for creating rape victims and perpetrators—-that it robs men of “themselves” and robs women of consent—-shifts the blame for sexual assault away from rapists (the few) and on to every man and woman who watches porn (the many). The implication is that the perpetrator and the victim deserve each other.

And since almost every man admits to looking at porn—-and only some women admit to the same—-the burden for avoiding “bad” behavior falls largely onto women. Notice how, in Layden’s statement, women are faulted for the quantity of porn they consume, whereas men are faulted for the age at which they begin watching porn. Presumably, a woman can control the amount of porn she consumes, but a man can’t control the fact that he was initially exposed to pornography at a young age.

Under Layden’s model, all men are potential rapists—-but some women are good enough to resist making themselves into rape victims.