SecretMethod70

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/lo...icle909080.ece

I thought this was an interesting dabble into the sociological impacts of pornography and an appropriate topic for discussion on TFP. Do you believe that as pornography spreads it runs the risk of creating certain psychological issues among people - especially younger people - pertaining to their experiences? It seems to me that this is likely. I don't really mean this as a criticism of porn, but as a recognition of the effects that manufactured realities can have on actual realities.

Who do you think holds the responsibility to alleviate circumstances such as this? Is it the pornographer's responsibility to be somehow more sexually accurate? I think the concept that pornography encourages experimentation is a good thing, but is it good if it is accompanied by frustrations arising from things not being as easy as they seem in porn? Or do you think it is the fault of sex education, that not enough focus is placed on the realities of sex so as to counter the mythos that is propagated by pornography? For example, should high school sex education be discussing things like anal sex and proper sterilization of sex toys so as to counter the inaccurate messages broadcast through pornography? Should there be regulations regarding some aspects of pornography, such as my pet peeve: the post anal sex blow job?

What are your thoughts on this issue?

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Coppertop

Sex education is surely lacking in America's schools. Just about everything I know I learned (not from kindergarten, shame on you!) from just doing it and reading about it to educate myself. The internet facilitates this in an amazing way. Let's not forget that people had issues with sexuality long before porn and the internet were around, so it seems to me that blaming the porn industry is scapegoating them. Of course not everything you see in porns is real/safe/wise, do kids really not know this? Do these same kids watch hollywood movies and believe what they see there? I surely hope not.

krystalogik

I sure hope that kids don't think that the world works like porn. I'd feel sorry for the kid who got a job as a poolman and never got any action.

More seriously, the only thing that porn has done for my personal sex life is made me more open to experimentation, and the idea that sex is more than just a way to procreate (Most of my family is mormon).

More porn for everyone!

World's King

What? You people can't hold out for two hours?

I must be a God. Or always to drunk to fuck.

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ARTelevision

We live in an increasingly dysfunctional culture in which our most basic urges are commodified, our identity is subverted, and our experiences are mediated. The answer to the question is yes. But it is not exactly the right question.

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onodrim

I think that porn can in some ways be blamed for people's misconceptions about sex. However, I'd say that lack of proper education is more at fault. If these kids were properly informed about the realities of sex, they wouldn't be so surprised when things didn't go as "planned." What the solution is I don't know. I guess maybe re-doing sex education programs to deal more with actual sex life, rather than the biology behind it.

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WillyPete

In the same vein (ooops) we could also start wondering wether modern youth thought the acceptable way to finish off a one hour session was a face shot.

I'd agree. Porn is aimed at a specific market (men) and each 'act' is planned to fill x minutes Usually equal to the average wank.

I think we need more women porn directors to balance out the 'good sex' side of the scale. Not that porn is all bad sex, but the market that it generally caters for isn't looking for intimacy, just the act.

tisonlyi

No.

Everyone knows that porn is plastic sex.

What gives people hangups are the endless, droning channels in the 'mainstream' media.

Sex is good, but it's bad. You should be able to do X, Y, Z but if you're caught doing X, Y, Z or someone you meet doesnt think anyone should be doing X,Y,Z...

sex is sex, it is a base act. porn is it's best evangelist.

making love is making love, it is a beautiful thing. love is it's best evangelist.

prurience is prurience, it is malevolent. the media rams it down our throats and taints both of the above with their poisoned wares.

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ziadel

yes and no.


If a teenager can't figure out for themselves that porn isn't a typical display of the physical expression of love between person A and person B, then they prolly should'nt be allowed to watch superman movies either because they may very well come to the conclusion that they can fly, and will then jump off the nearest building.


I do think that pornography addiction is becoming a serious problem that is hardly ever discussed. Millions of sexually dissatified men are letting their wives sleep alone while they whack it while surfing for porn. Thats all well and good, but I think, that in a lot of situations, the porn stops being a remedy to sexual dissatisfaction and becomes another cause of it.




now, that might not be 100% relevant to the discussion, but you gotta give things a second look when Ted Bundy starts talking about porno being a contributing factor to his problem, wether or not he is a nutball...


and lets be honest here, porn is becoming a little violent...


ok, I'm ranting here, I'll stop now unless someone wants to hear me babble more

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Drider_it

lol porn.. you see the perfect male and female yet in real life a person that looks like that would probally mace you for talking to them.

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Manic_Skafe

What happened to those teens is the same exact thing that happens to all of us when we turn on a television and watch a football game instead of going and playing football or read a romantic novel instead of going out and finding real romance in our own lives.

When we trade virtual experiences for real experiences we run the risk of desentiziing ourselves to the point that satisfaction can never be achieved, robbing ourselves of what their is to learn from every experience, and becoming people who don't know how to live in their own skin.

Pornography isn't just the problem and as we're not about to stop driving our cars and walking everywhere so we can experience the walk I don't think there is any clear cut way to fix the problem but I think we should be careful as to not deprive ourselves of real experiences because it's more convienent to live vicariously through the television.

Does anyone understand what I mean or am I horribly off-topic?

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guthmund

It's not up to the porn industry to educate our children about sex, it's the parents job. When I watch pornography, I want pornography not hot steamy sex with beautiful women injected with little snippets of sex ed in fortune cookie form.

"Oh baby, you're so hot. I love sticking my big, hot throbbing rod of love in your willing anal cavity. Oh, gosh I'm going to ejaculate, open your mouth, but first...."

It's porn. It's a fantasy. If I wanted to see real people having sex, I could watch the neighbors next door. If I want to see two incredibly hot blonde college cuties "experimenting" with each other, I have to pursue other avenues.

Unfortunately, until the vast majority of society realizes that there are more chapters in the sex ed book other than abstinence, mmkay, the situation is not likely to change anytime soon. Sexually repressed parents who are ignorant about sex are likely to raise sexually repressed children who are as equally ignorant.

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Lockjaw

I think it is valid somewhat. You now have a generation of kids who's initial sexual exposure is hardcore porn and that CAN'T be healthy. While it can be compared to Superman etc...it becomes very evident that when you step off the curb you aren't going to fly, or if you try to pick up something heavy it's not going to budge. They get reinforced daily by just common generic stuff that Superman isn't real.
However when dealing with something like sex in which they DON'T know any thing about and let's face it most parents even the most sexually liberated likely won't sit their 11 year old down and explain the ins and outs(no pun intended) of anal sex and why one should clean themselves before and after the act, or that it's perfectly normal that you will not have a penis as large as John Holmes.

This does make me cringe though. I THOUGHT I knew how I would talk to my kids about sex but if this is going to be a growing concern I'm not sure how to broach the subject of the falseness of porn compared to the reality of life.

Coppertop

ziadel - notice the theme in Bundy's statements: violence. Not sex. Violence.

Cynthetiq

up until a certain age more youngsters don't know that wrestling is fake... It's not that much of a stretch to think that porn can follow in the same vein.

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Coppertop

Yes but in my experience this pretty much coincides with puberty.

Of course, most kids at one point believe in the Easter Bunny, so that doesn't mean much.

kutulu

lol, I never had the porno fantasies when I delivered pizza. All I got were a few fat chicks in their bras - I could have done without.

Sure let's blame the entertainment industry again instead of looking inwards. Abstinence only results in kids learning about sex via locker room talk and porn. Neither are without their distortions.

I'm surprised it didn't mention boys feeling inadequate when they saw the dude's 10 inch.

denim

Which just says the same thing as all the rest of the film industry's output. It's not specific to porn.

And notice, Coppertop, that this was about youths in Norway, not those in the USA. I suspect the kids here are too ignorant to generate such neurosies.

SecretMethod70

There are mentions of abstinance education here, but I don't see how that's related. We're not talking about something that has to do with not knowing how to use a condom or anything like that. The situation presented is one in which it is likely they knew quite well how to use contraception, etc, but were simply not aware of the realities of sexuality.

I went to a public school with quite good sex education if I do say so myself (even if the overly candid teacher was a bit embarasing to us 16 year olds at the time). Nonetheless, we didn't have a chapter on proper anal sex. No one taught us that anal sex requires lots of lube and that it is something which takes a fair amount of time and practice before it can be done consistantly. Instead, most exposure to anal sex comes from porn - where most of the time it's just stuck in there with no second thought, not to mention no consideration for any pain it may cause. Likewise, if you watch porn it apparently seems perfectly reasonable to go directly from anal sex to oral sex. Despite my fairly good sex education in HS, I'm pretty sure we didn't discuss this practice

What I'm most interested though is the contribution of pornography to a type of <a href="http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p010353.html">adonis complex</a>. Sex education - regardless of whether or not it includes abstinance - does not focus on the realities of the sexual EXPERIENCE. The mechanics? Sure. How to prevent pregnancy? Definitely. How long one can expect to last; what a girl should do if she's having a hard time reaching orgasm? No.

Furthermore, like I said, I do think it's good that porn encourages experimentation to a certain degree. But, again, I was never taught in sex ed as far as I remember about the logistics of safe words, the proper materials to use to tie someone up in bed, or the emotional concerns involved with having threesomes.

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Le temps détruit tout

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Coppertop

This should be the textbook in American schools for sex education:



It never will be, unfortunately.

Lockjaw

On a serious tip though. SHOULD schools be teaching the details of EVERY sexual scenario a kid might see in a porno just to dispell the myths? I'm in my late 20s and I'm STILL finding out about weird shit people do in the bed room that I had no idea people ever attempted. I can't imagine how something like felching would be broached and taught in a serious manner.

SecretMethod70

That's part of what I'm trying to get at here: I couldn't tell you. Identifying a problem is much easier than identifying the solution. Furthermore, I don't presuppose we will reach any agreement on a solution here, but I'm interested in hearing diffeernt opinions regarding this.

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kutulu

I for one am looking forward to a teacher like Mr Garrison who includes discussions of Hot Karls and the Filthy Sanchez in sex ed class.

ironman

So, that means that when i last only 30 secs it's all ok? what a releive!!!!!

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