Are porno films the male equivalent to female beauty magazines?
 

So the other day I was thinking about how in our society a lot of women have negative ideas about their bodies because many compare themselves to the impossibly attractive females in the beauty magazines. The models in these magazines as we all know are incredibly airbrushed and also have the luxury of devoting almost all of their time to being in perfect condition. So of course when the average women sees these pictures she's likely to feel insecure about her own body and falsely believe she is "fat" or ugly" when of course this isn't the case.

Now, I could be going out on a limb here, but isn't this situation in some ways analogous to males feeling inadequate about the size of their genitalia? Males when they watch Pornographic movies are shown other males with extremely large penises which can make the average male feel inadequate about the size of his own genitals despite the fact that there is nothing wrong with them. Obviously this feeling of inadequacy is widespread due to all the "natural supplements" offered on the internet and on late-night infomercials.

Since it's common knowledge that the beauty magazines and other media portray un-realistic images of the female body, which in turn leads to some females feeling insecure about their bodies, I just thought that I would toss around the idea that men too are susceptible to media images which un-intentionally can lead them to have negative perceptions of their penis size.

Your thoughts?

True, and that's a good point, but whereas the physical appearance of a girl is a limitless array of variables that make it "beautiful" or not, men just have two things: length and diameter.

You're either 10 inches long, or you're not, and all you need for that is a ruler. :)

Good observation, but I think since the male organ can have a quantitive comparison, where the females have a more general qualitative comparison, the men are simply subject to their own testosterone-driven "bigger is better" mentality.

EDIT: Of course, that's leaving out the fact that whether or not a guy wants it bigger, a prospective lover might have a certain size in mind, and bigger may not always fit the bill. ;)

It does work both ways. The all types of media focus on the extremes of things which leads people to believe that anything less than the extreme doesn't exist, or is bad. My grandmother listens to the news everyday, and hears about robberies, and murders and she's like "what's the world coming too!?" But in reality there isn't only bad things, You only hear about these things because they are special cases and they are singled out because they aren't normal.

Just my 2 cents that makes no sense.

It's not just porn, but you're on the right path. Good reading: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684869101/103-0910425-9019815?v=glance">The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession</a>

I have seen a few porno's, and to be honest, I was never really thinking about the guy's dick size at all, more just looking at the girls in it. I mean, I just feel, the average male porn star isnt an image I feel I would measure myself against negatively. I wouldnt want to be like them, and of the many insecurities I have, the size of my penis has never really been one. I guess if a girl laughed at it or something I would probably become insecure then, but so far no one ever has.

Plus, in the porno movies Ive seen anyway, the girls often dont really look like they are enjoying it all that much - they just grunt and squeal a bit, they never seen like they are genuinely getting off from it.

I don't think they are. Sometimes you see a documentary about a porn star, and they're talking about how they really do get off and that is a part of why they like the job, or career if you will. Personally I've to doubt that... It's better for the sales of their "movies" to give away the idea that they're "seriously into it". Some of them are, I'm sure, but when it comes to entertainment and the media, I prefer to believe half of what I see and none of what I hear...

Rent some Candida Royalle movies. Those women are getting off. The music is creepy though, usually.

I think the equivolent of a guy's porn is a girl's romance novels, whatever you want to call them.

I know, I know, a lot of guys are going to disagree. But what do the ladies say? Honestly?

I think the audience attracted by women's fashion magazines is not the same audience quantitatively speaking as pornography that targets men. While many men watch porn, I think a large majority of religious men don't (or won't admit to) watching porn. Most women, except for perhaps the fanatically religious, in mainstream society have no qualms with reading magazines.

I'm with MovieNut. Trashy romance novels are a closer equivalent to male pornography. They both target a specific audience within a gender and they both set unrealistic ideals about sex and relationships.

I've always been of this opinion. Women rarely admit it, though.