Pornography's approval rating is at an all-time high. Is Stormy Daniels responsible?
Pornography is more acceptable than ever among Americans, and Gallup thinks Stormy Daniels could be a cause.
The polling service asked 1,024 adults if they thought porn was morally acceptable, and 43 percent said it was. That's seven points higher than last year's result, and the highest portion since Gallup started asking the question in 2011.
The sharpest jump came from unmarried people, who had a 15-point jump from 35 percent last year to 50 percent now. Democrats, young people, and males ages 18-49 also saw double-digit gains.
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Every year, Gallup has seen increased acceptance toward issues of sexuality and sex, so this result fits the trend. But the firm can't fully explain this specific spike. Perhaps it's an outlier — or perhaps it's because Daniels, the adult film star who received hush money from President Trump to cover an alleged affair, "has given pornography a sense of moral credibility that it previously lacked," Gallup wrote.
Gallup says it'll be hard to nail down a cause before seeing next year's results. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percent. See more results here.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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