Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Is porn setting unrealistic expectations for the young?

mcgeedo · 02-10-2011, 07:46 PM

My wife and I were discussing porn and the recent thread about porn's affects on libido and such. But our discussion went to our thoughts on how porn seems to us to be setting an unrealistic expectation about appearance, and how that may be affecting young people so much more than people of our generation.

When we were establishing our self-images and our own expectations of what people looked like, particularly in the context of what nude people looked like, we were generally establishing those images based on real people. There wasn't a lot of easily available porn for either of us. And what was available didn't seem to focus on extreme youth or exaggerated beauty, either. Women had normal breasts, implants were pretty much non-existant, and no women that I ever saw more or less nude were shaved.

Now it seems that not only is porn ubiquitous but it takes real effort to NOT have it invade every internet experience. I'm no prude by any stretch, but I'm a father, so that's what I'm talking about when I say "invading." And every image, it seems, is cookie-cutter. Rather than describe what I'm saying, I'd just refer you to the Tittie Board. Please don't take this as a critique of anyone's personal tastes; you like what you like and it's not my business.

Anyway, I didn't grow up with the expectation that every woman looked like the median image in any given picture thread here. I've kind of developed the opinion that young people who are exposed to modern porn in such a constant barrage are having their expectations altered in ways that may not be as healthy as previous generations enjoyed. Older generations had their own sets of hangups to grow up with, of course, but not such an expectation of uniformity of youth/perfection/size/shape.

In addition to static images, there's of course the discussion of porn setting performance expectations, but this thread isn't about that. I think that's been beaten to death here and elsewhere. This is about static images only, and the idealization of "beauty" that seems, in my opinion, to accompany it.

Discussion and others' thoughts are invited.

02-10-2011, 07:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
mcgeedo Crazy	Is porn setting unrealistic expectations for the young? My wife and I were discussing porn and the recent thread about porn's affects on libido and such. But our discussion went to our thoughts on how porn seems to us to be setting an unrealistic expectation about appearance, and how that may be affecting young people so much more than people of our generation. When we were establishing our self-images and our own expectations of what people looked like, particularly in the context of what nude people looked like, we were generally establishing those images based on real people. There wasn't a lot of easily available porn for either of us. And what was available didn't seem to focus on extreme youth or exaggerated beauty, either. Women had normal breasts, implants were pretty much non-existant, and no women that I ever saw more or less nude were shaved. Now it seems that not only is porn ubiquitous but it takes real effort to NOT have it invade every internet experience. I'm no prude by any stretch, but I'm a father, so that's what I'm talking about when I say "invading." And every image, it seems, is cookie-cutter. Rather than describe what I'm saying, I'd just refer you to the Tittie Board. Please don't take this as a critique of anyone's personal tastes; you like what you like and it's not my business. Anyway, I didn't grow up with the expectation that every woman looked like the median image in any given picture thread here. I've kind of developed the opinion that young people who are exposed to modern porn in such a constant barrage are having their expectations altered in ways that may not be as healthy as previous generations enjoyed. Older generations had their own sets of hangups to grow up with, of course, but not such an expectation of uniformity of youth/perfection/size/shape. In addition to static images, there's of course the discussion of porn setting performance expectations, but this thread isn't about that. I think that's been beaten to death here and elsewhere. This is about static images only, and the idealization of "beauty" that seems, in my opinion, to accompany it. Discussion and others' thoughts are invited.