In a study by Mills College sociologist Diana Russell, it was found that viewing pornography would intensify the "rape myth", (that most women really enjoy having sex forced upon them) and the men were inclined to act out their fantasies. She found that when both the fantasies were acted out, they led to considerable conflict and suffering particularly in sexual relationships with their intimate partners. The victims of pornography are all around us, in a child's lost innocence, a woman's lost security and privacy, and a man's lost self-control.

The women who "perform" in hard-core pornography are also victims; many are teen-age runaways, drug abusers, and victims of sexual molestation. If one saw the pornographic film Deep Throat, he would be surprised to realize that Linda Marchiano, who appeared as Linda Lovelace in the film, was "kidnapped" and forced to participate in the movie. From testimony before the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography, she described being coerced in to participating by means of mental abuse, beatings, and threats against herself and her family. "I was a victim of pornography"; that’s how she concluded her story.

Reflecting the pathological side of human natures, hardcore pornography features sadomasochism,