The casual viewing of pornography is an extremely normalised part of growing up and life around the world. But can it ever actually be casual? I truly believe that consumption of porn is unavoidably damaging, especially the younger you are when you consume it.
Pornography fetishises female body parts to a point where people are disturbed when they are used for original purposes. Vaginas and breasts have been sexualised so far that periods and breastfeeding gross people out. Menstruation, childbirth, any other purpose of the vagina except to please a mans desires is seen as unbearable and something we shouldn’t talk about. In England, in most places, it is illegal for a woman to walk around topless. Yet in 90% of newsagents or newspaper shops you can buy a magazine or newspaper that will show a woman with no top on. What does this tell us if not that in our world, you can sell breasts but you cannot wear them?
Countless studies have shown that porn desensitises men to violence against women, so much so that some men can’t even be aroused without some aspect of violence or dominance (i.e. – “BDSM”). Of course, the violence in porn is not real, but that doesn’t change the fact that a man watching it is getting off to seeing a woman get “fake” beaten up, “fake” raped. violence within sex has been normalised so much that you’re “boring” or “vanilla” if you’re not into being choked or tied up by some guy you don’t even really know.
Even in “soft core” pornography women are being called names like “slut” and “whore”. This isn’t in fetish porn, this is the everyday section. In the hard core section it progresses to “cum dumpsters” “meat holes” “cunts”. Is it really any coincidence that “bitch” “cunt” and “whore” are often the last words a woman hears before she is raped or murdered?
88% of the top 50 most viewed porn videos ever include some type of physical abuse against a woman, such as slapping, gagging, choking, and non consensual acts. If you and your partner are into this and talk about it, it’s very different. Porn like this promotes “kinky” and downright dangerous sex without consulting the woman first. It encourages danger and violence without even asking the other person if it’s okay.
I’m not saying porn causes sexual violence. I am merely saying it promotes and exacerberates it. Same way not every man who has watched BDSM / kinky porn will become abusive or be some sick rapist. But it is these videos that are feeding the men who will.
But let’s say you don’t care about what effect porn will have on the women you are with, and the consequential ripple of normalised misogyny in society. Let’s talk about the effect it has on yourself, or men individually. Men who frequently watch porn are more likely to cheat in a marriage or a long term relationship. They are more likely to be dissatisfied with life and partnerships, more likely to become clinically depressed and experience feelings of loneliness and isolation, and more likely to have an unpredictable and difficult libido. It also increases chances of suffering from erectile distinction and premature ejaculation.
So why do we keep making excuses and promoting such a toxic and harmful industry? The instant gratification cycle of such a short-lived, synthetic dopamine release is addictive. But it’s addictive. I am simply not qualified enough to help people solve their addictions, but it does not take an intellectual to see that something is so very clearly wrong, and we must make steps towards denormalising this gruesome cycle that is so deeply engrained into the process of growing up and adulthood.
Reese On Record 
Leave a comment