This series contains adult material that may not be appropriate for all readers in your household.

Millions of American men get their kicks from occasional visits to Internet porn sites. At least 2 million of them can’t stop. For those men, going to Internet porn sites is an obsession, jeopardizing jobs, families and relationships. Over several months, Patriot Ledger reporters interviewed sex therapists and psychiatrists. They listened to sex addicts, reviewed academic research, statistical Internet data and message boards dedicated to pornography addiction. What they found was a world of secrets and shame.

Editor’s note:

Sex addicts interviewed for this series, along with men who spoke during a Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous meeting, are identified only by first name at their request.

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous
New England Intergroup
P.O. Box 1375
Brookline, MA 02446-0011
info@slaanei.org
24 answering service:
617-625-7961

The Institute for Sexual Wellness
1233 Hancock Street
Quincy, MA 02169
617-479-4501
Fax: 617-479-8109
info@instituteforsexualwellness.org

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

CP80

Faithful and True Ministries, Inc.

Girls against Porn

Institute for Sexual Wellness

Internet Pornography Statistics

The LifeStar Network

Sex Addicts Anonymous

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, New England

Sexaholics Anonymous

The Society for Advancement of Sexual Health

XXX Church

Is it porn?

“Pornography,” from the Greek language, means to write about or depict prostitutes. Merriam-Webster defines it as the depiction of erotic behavior or material depicting erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement.

IS IT LEGAL?

Pornography is protected by the First Amendment unless it meets the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court definition of obscenity:

• That the work, taken as a whole by an aver age person using community standards, appeals to the prurient interest.
• The work depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way.
• The work lacks serious literary artistic, political or scientific value.