--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The worst that can be said about…" description: "\"The worst that can be said about pornography is that it leads not to anti-social acts but to the reading of more pornography\" — Gore Vidal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/gore-vidal-466_anti-social_the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornogr_3106836.jpg" --- # The worst that can be said about pornography is that it… ![“The worst that can be said about pornography is that it leads not to anti-social acts but to the reading of more pornography” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/gore-vidal-466_anti-social_the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornogr_3106836.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/gore-vidal-466_anti-social_the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornogr_3106836.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/gore-vidal-466_anti-social_the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornogr_3106836.jpg) > “The worst that can be said about pornography is that it leads not to anti-social acts but to the reading of more pornography” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests pornography primarily fuels further consumption rather than causing overt antisocial behavior. **In simple terms:** Pornography creates a cycle of more viewing. Key Takeaway Recognize and address the habit loop. Themes media influence addiction behavior Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - personal media consumption - relationship counseling - education programs - policy discussion Key Concepts psychology reinforcement cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How does repeated exposure shape attitudes? - What interventions can break the cycle? A Different Perspective May underestimate broader societal impacts beyond individual consumption. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) ## Related quotes > [Out of convicted rapists, 57% admitted to reading pornography. 95% admitted to reading the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-convicted-rapists-57-admitted-to-reading-pornography-95/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there something to be said for the writings of the Marquis? Is there something to be said for pornography? And is there something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kaufman/is-there-something-to-be-said-for-the-writings-of-the-marquis-is/) [Philip Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kaufman/) > [The New York Times is the worst in that hardly anybody can write English over there. Most of it reads like slight translations from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-new-york-times-is-the-worst-in-that-hardly-anybody-can-write/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“I thought how true it was that the world was a delightful place if it were not for the people, and how more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-thought-how-true-it-was-that-the-world-was-a-delightful-place-if-it/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Human envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/human-envy-is-certainly-not-one-of-the-sources-of-discontent-that-a/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [I am as sure as I am of the fact of Christ's reign, that a comprehensive and centralised system of national education, separated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-alexander-hodge/i-am-as-sure-as-i-am-of-the-fact-of-christ-s-reign-that-a/) [Archibald Alexander Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-alexander-hodge/) > [“I don't think I'm anti-social. I just like to be alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gin-getz/i-don-t-think-i-m-anti-social-i-just-like-to-be-alone/) Gin Getz > [Being anti-social can also mean that you're aware of how annoying it is to be social.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dov-davidoff/being-anti-social-can-also-mean-that-you-re-aware-of-how-annoying-it/) [Dov Davidoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dov-davidoff/) > [Of the maxims of orthodox finance none, surely, is more anti-social than the fetish of liquidity, the doctrine of that it is a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/of-the-maxims-of-orthodox-finance-none-surely-is-more-anti-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [I would never commit the positively anti-social action of robbing a bank, or worse still, working in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/i-would-never-commit-the-positively-anti-social-action-of-robbing-a/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [My view is that to get anywhere in life you have to be anti-social, otherwise you'll end up being devoured. I've never been particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/my-view-is-that-to-get-anywhere-in-life-you-have-to-be-anti-social/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/the-state-on-the-other-hand-both-in-its-genesis-and-by-its-primary/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [“Damn it!” I rubbed my eyes. My head hurt from staring at the laptop screen the whole day. “I’ve got to put this down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-webster/damn-it-i-rubbed-my-eyes-my-head-hurt-from-staring-at-the-laptop/) Chase Webster > [So in Jewry we recognise a contemporary universal anti-social phenomenon, which has reached its present pitch through a process of, historical development in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/so-in-jewry-we-recognise-a-contemporary-universal-anti-social/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I get very anti-social, depressed and irritable with people. I don't have time for them. I can't make phone calls and stuff. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-get-very-anti-social-depressed-and-irritable-with-people-i-don-t/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Anti social quotes > [I get very anti-social, depressed and irritable with people. I don't have time for them. I can't make phone calls and stuff. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-get-very-anti-social-depressed-and-irritable-with-people-i-don-t/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [So in Jewry we recognise a contemporary universal anti-social phenomenon, which has reached its present pitch through a process of, historical development in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/so-in-jewry-we-recognise-a-contemporary-universal-anti-social/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“Damn it!” I rubbed my eyes. My head hurt from staring at the laptop screen the whole day. “I’ve got to put this down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-webster/damn-it-i-rubbed-my-eyes-my-head-hurt-from-staring-at-the-laptop/) Chase Webster > [The State, on the other hand, both in its genesis and by its primary intention, is purely anti-social. It is not based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/the-state-on-the-other-hand-both-in-its-genesis-and-by-its-primary/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [My view is that to get anywhere in life you have to be anti-social, otherwise you'll end up being devoured. I've never been particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/my-view-is-that-to-get-anywhere-in-life-you-have-to-be-anti-social/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [I would never commit the positively anti-social action of robbing a bank, or worse still, working in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/i-would-never-commit-the-positively-anti-social-action-of-robbing-a/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Of the maxims of orthodox finance none, surely, is more anti-social than the fetish of liquidity, the doctrine of that it is a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/of-the-maxims-of-orthodox-finance-none-surely-is-more-anti-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Being anti-social can also mean that you're aware of how annoying it is to be social.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dov-davidoff/being-anti-social-can-also-mean-that-you-re-aware-of-how-annoying-it/) [Dov Davidoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dov-davidoff/) > [“I don't think I'm anti-social. I just like to be alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gin-getz/i-don-t-think-i-m-anti-social-i-just-like-to-be-alone/) Gin Getz > [I am as sure as I am of the fact of Christ's reign, that a comprehensive and centralised system of national education, separated from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-alexander-hodge/i-am-as-sure-as-i-am-of-the-fact-of-christ-s-reign-that-a/) [Archibald Alexander Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-alexander-hodge/) > [Human envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/human-envy-is-certainly-not-one-of-the-sources-of-discontent-that-a/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [“I thought how true it was that the world was a delightful place if it were not for the people, and how more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-thought-how-true-it-was-that-the-world-was-a-delightful-place-if-it/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [I really need a friend I can talk to about my anti social behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-really-need-a-friend-i-can-talk-to-about-my-anti-social-behavior/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [You don't need to go far to see the hatred and abuse that happens online. Even using social media is anti-social because people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-chieng/you-don-t-need-to-go-far-to-see-the-hatred-and-abuse-that-happens/) [Ronny Chieng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-chieng/) > [Instead of recognizing the State as ‘the common enemy of all well-disposed, industrious and decent men,’ the run of mankind, with rare exceptions, regards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/instead-of-recognizing-the-state-as-the-common-enemy-of-all-well-2/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) Browse all 95 Anti social quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The worst that can be said about pornography is that it leads not to anti-social acts but to the reading of more pornography", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gore Vidal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornography-is-that-it-leads-not-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anti social" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornography-is-that-it-leads-not-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/gore-vidal-466_anti-social_the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornogr_3106836.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/gore-vidal-466_anti-social_the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornogr_3106836.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/786/gore-vidal-466_anti-social_the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornogr_3106836.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The worst that can be said about pornography is that it leads not to anti-social acts but to the reading of…” — Gore Vidal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gore Vidal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The worst that can be said...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornography-is-that-it-leads-not-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-worst-that-can-be-said-about-pornography-is-that-it-leads-not-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```