Is Porn Good For You?
Despite my better judgment, I recently got into a "debate" on Steemit -- forgetting Wilde's wise counsel that: 'it is only the intellectually lost who ever argue." In view of the sexual harassment scandals that seem to be unfolding daily, and the moment of cultural reckoning we are having re: what constitutes permissible behavior, a few days ago, I posted a piece here titled, Are Men Sex Monsters? https://steemit.com/speakyourmind/@yahialababidi/does-a-sexual-beast-lurk-in-the-breast-of-most-men
The person in question who took exception to my post works in the sex industry and tried, as best she could (English is not her first language), to convince me that I took too narrow a view of pornography. Men are natural predators, she argued (in more graphic terms) and women are quite alright being sex objects. It would be worrying, she added, if she were not seen as one.
In response, I was forced to take the deeply unfashionable position that, despite appearances, pornography actually does us harm and is responsible for many societal ills - for a fuller discussion of what I term the Pornification of Popular Culture, please, read my OpEd, here: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17211-the-pornification-of-popular-culture. Further, I cited a Buddhist principle that I thought apt -- namely, that sex divorced from love or spiritual connection, was like licking honey from a very sharp blade.
'Well, then, half of Western culture is bleeding' retorted the porn advocate, informing me she was a Buddhist herself, and I was being naive.
Maybe so, but I do maintain that we are more than mere monkeys, rubbing our private parts for pleasure. Nothing is without its price, I thought, keeping my response to myself this time and saving it for this blog. Short-term gratifications do have long-term consequences and one need not be a porn addict to realize how it can be ruinous for mind, body and spirit. I'll let you do your own research on how a regular intake of pornography stands to harm our general quality of life, relationships, etc..
To riff off Wilde's quip quoted above, one would think it self-evident that pornography is for the morally-lost. It should be easy to identify the beneficial, even though it might be difficult to live by. But, we live in contrarian times, where simple facts, like ethics, are contemptuously overlooked, in favor of self-defeating, self-indulgence. Sex sells, we are told (and shown) everywhere we trun. If it feels good, go for it. You first, you deserve it. And so on and so forth...
Okay, I'll pull the plug on this rant, now, and leave you with a poem of mine that echoes these subtle spiritual truths:
The Opposite of Virtue
One might say, a vice is a vise
never mind if metal or moral,
it’s basically the same device
with cunning moveable jaws
designed to fix us in place
and cheat us of a chance at grace
Impervious to all advice, habit
hotly whispers false reassurance
while tightening its iron grip
It takes no effort to slip into vice,
but virtue is trickier to stick to
like the back of a bucking bronco.
(Images: Pixabay)
For Further Reading:
15 Scientifically Explained Reasons Why Porn Isn’t Healthy For Viewers Or Society:
https://fightthenewdrug.org/3-reasons-why-watching-porn-is-harmful/
You got a free upvote just for speaking your mind, courtesy of me! No need to write a novel, speak your mind! Give me a follow for more giveaways!
I think pornographers is neither. Coming from a liberal family I am obviously biased in that aspect. Then again, now some decades older, I can safely say that being exposed to it too early has actually stunted my sexual development (and also exploration) in the earlier phase of my adulthood.
Worry not tho, no time was ever lost catching up and making up for those earlier years.
Thanks, for taking time to comment and for your candor. “Pornographers is neither” what?
Ugh, Siri autocorrect has been so messed up recently since iOS 11. Messed up as in awesome in approach but requires much more training, and corrections, to be prime time ready.
I meant porn is neither, not pornographers.
Aha, thanks, for clarification 🤓 Well, you’re way ahead of me, when it comes to Siri. Sweet dreams ✨
You rite purty
I dissagree on almost all counts.
There's a wurd....whut izit...oh yeah..
Sublimation.
Best to work out yer anger, frusturation, and pent up desires in video than in real life don'tcha think?
studies have show that all the 'bad stuff' had declined. Wunder if video games/ online porn has anything to do with it?
Thank you, for reading, @everittdmickey, I was hoping you would. Sublimation is a fine thing, and civilization is built upon it.
But, as you might imagine, I would politely disagree that porn is a harmless substitute - seeing for doing.
Other studies point out that online porn/ video games desensitize us to violence, etc.. and in turn allow for it to thrive in the real world.
Here's some of the science:
https://fightthenewdrug.org/3-reasons-why-watching-porn-is-harmful/
damn...my fake accent didn't fool you?
You saw it was me right away.
Any 'study' which neglects to consider Dunbar's Number and Behavioral sinks is flawed.
People are TYPICALLY 'desensitized' to what happens to anyone outsided their own clan.
Those outside the clan aren't even human..so who cares what happens to them?
The apache would torture any outsiders they caught to DEATH...for sport.
it's hardwired into the wetware....sublimation prevents it from being actualized.
video-games and porn don't have a downside.
You're more cynical than I am, my friend, about human nature.
I don't believe our nature is fixed, or that the darkness is greater than the light. We can cultivate compassion, just as we can slip into indifference or, worse, cruelty - if we neglect to care for our souls.
Past our narrow loyalty to 'clan' I believe in our larger allegiances to one another:
“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks
the observations support the hypothesis.
consider the triple point of water... as an analogy
when the temp of water is below that point it acts differently than when it is hotter than the triple point.
same thing with people..when the number of interactions required exceed dunbar's number then people act differently than when below it.
not cynical at all...just observation of reality.
Here I will have to play devil's advocate. "Porn" is not a monolithic entity that can be discussed in the terms you do. It is my position that there is nothing inherently unhealthy about porn - neither in being involved in the production of pornographic materials nor in their consumption. I could point to many examples of ways that the mainstream stereotype of the porn industry and of porn watchers has changed and evolved recently but even that would be buying into the notion that this issue hasn't always been this nuanced. It has. Will be happy to discuss more when I have a moment - I have some fun links to share :)
Much love - Carl "Totally Not The Devil" Gnash
Thank you, for stopping by @beelzebub and sharing your thoughts. So, you're saying (for argument's sake) that some porn is better than other and I don't see the need to argue with that. But, since this is not a theoretical issue, nor an aesthetic one, I will go so far as to say that all porn erodes our moral compass, until we are left at sea, without bearings. And, in the dramatic formulation of I.B. Singer, "a morally neutral human being is a monster."
I look forward to checking out links you're sharing. Cheers, Yahia "Not The Prude I Sound" Lababidi ;)
I used to only watch classic porn, but over time I got tired of it, I started experimenting and looking for something new to get sexually aroused, and came across https://porngap.com/ I never thought that such porn could turn me on and make me masturbate. Try it too!