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There have been endless studies of the effects of violent television and video games on the brain. It does contribute to a tolerance of violence. If someone watches an excessive amount of pornography, it's reasonable to assume that (at least in some cases) it would eventually affect that person's views on sex as well as on women. Women tend to be very passive even in most mainstream porn-- they're often ordered around; usually they're in a submissive position in comparison with the man (or men). And there's plenty of popular porn out there which is quite extreme and/or violent.
I certainly don't think that the use of porn is always wrong or bad-- I've watched them myself from time to time. But porn certainly has the power to shape views of sex and sexuality, to contribute to a blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality, and to reinforce (and sexualize) the subordinate status of women. I think it's certainly worth thinking about how pornography affects our society, especially men and their views of women. It's an important conversation that doesn't deserve to be trivialized by those who brush off any concerns, claiming that a multi-billion-dollar industry based entirely on watching people have sex has nothing to do with how sex itself is viewed and experienced in this country.
