The Porn 'Public Health Crisis' Has Competition
With all the protests, plagiarism allegations, and literal smoke that swirled around the Republican National Convention, it's easy to forget about the drier parts---like approving the 2016 GOP platform. But you should probably read it, because more than any word salad Duck Dynasty dude or Scott Baio might have to offer, the Republican platform indicates the GOP grownup's actual priorities. Same deal with the Democratic platform, passed on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
One of the Republican platform's buzziest stances is that pornography "has become a public health crisis that is destroying the lives of millions." Not that porn can't be sleazy and problematic. But a crisis of public health? Like, say, Zika? Or opioid addiction? Or, you know, cancer?
To call porn a public health crisis is a category error that trivializes truly imminent threats to Americans' health. Were that GOP plank to become policy, it could direct federal money away from the research and prevention efforts needed to keep the country safe. To be fair, pornography isn't the only health threat Republicans identify. But the party's language made us curious about how both Republicans and Democrats are contending with public health in their platforms. What we found was more political than scientific, with both parties playing fast and loose with the vocab that will help direct America's research agenda.