We have been anchored into a time of anachronistic thought, and yet the rest of the world seems to think quite the opposite; that in the eyes of “sexual freedom”, we’ve progressed.
Sexual liberation could be, and should be, seen from the standpoint that there are no rules, that it is not dirty and it is certainly not meant to make you feel ashamed.
So when a man expresses the powerful aftermath of guilt after indulging in pornography, but the feeling of pure relaxation after real sex, this must be a subtle hint into what lines are violently drawn between pornographic voyeurism and actual intercourse.
Our society seems to encourage us to behave like half-wits, stroking greed and desire at every opportunity in order to create rabid consumerism. The normalisation of over-sexualised and commodified relationships has stemmed from that gluttony – porn has become mainstream in these young people’s lives.
You see it beyond the magazines and websites; it’s in advertising, video games, and their Facebook news feeds. There is no “before” for them, this is their world.
It is difficult to not be mortified by the expectations bestowed upon society when it comes to sex, especially if you happen to be a woman. Most of us, hopefully, are aware that pornography is an extremely abnormal and inaccurate representation of healthy human sexuality.
It is not just the ridiculous positions and multiple (quite possibly fake) orgasms that we should be aware of, rather something much more concerning; anal, gang bangs, authoritative desire and incest.
When will those with the ability to make a change finally enforce censorship on footage that seems to stimulate taboo fantasies? In essence, it pushes forward the notion that these dynamics are, though not acceptable, accepted. Surely this is where we should draw the line.
Let’s get one thing straight; free, online pornography is not sexual liberation in action. It is not giving those involved in pornographic production the freedom to do what they want with their bodies.
If anything, it has been robbing them of all the confidence they probably once had (or didn’t need to have) in every situational aspect; women are surgically altering their vaginas, faking their orgasms and seeing beauty in a warped light.
By watching free online pornography, we are encouraging sexual violence towards women and children, whilst the concept of lovemaking has been washed out and devalued by the minds of those who’ve not seen much else.
Porn has always been a male orientated industry [Flickr: E-ta-i]
It’s hardly surprising, considering that being a porn star comes with a wide array of luxury; cars, drugs, stacks of cash, sugar daddies. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but would definitely be a gold mine for a woman with little concern over what other people think. A woman who believes in sexual liberation and autonomy.
There is also the false assumption that porn addiction is just a man’s issue, which needs to be addressed if we’re going to try and help women feel more comfortable in their sexuality; the fact that it is a “man’s issue” derives from the shame put upon the promiscuity in girls. It is wrong and things need to change.
Every normal person in the world will have at some point engaged in free and online pornography. But those who indulge excessively might not “grow out of it”, awareness of its detriment doesn’t come with age; rather circumstance and individuality.
Excessive porn consumption and involvement in such trade is unhealthy, it will hinder one’s character. It will denote a “natural” disregard for one’s intimate privacy. How can we avoid this? The answer is really quite simple – if only people had more patience.
Daniel, a teacher from London, explained that he thought that to even begin distinguishing and changing the ways in which porn is harmful to society, we have to shake up the education system as a whole.
He thinks that we need to show young people the powerful ways of creative and theoretical thinking, much beyond the realms of what we’ve already been taught.
Debate is an extremely important part of society which we need to adapt more, not only in order to create diplomatic thought but to encourage the fight for what is right and wrong.
Free, online pornography gives way for child exploitation and even trafficking [Flickr: E-ta-i]
“I would say that people should draw their own lines but people are stupid and exploitable too. I think there needs to be greater education and conversation around the topic and in multiple contexts including ethically, and ethics should be taught in schools” says Dylan, a teacher and writer.
It’s hard to know if, in a world that runs on apathy and ignorance, those at the top of the pecking order would ever fund the means toward valuable and progressive education. Education is (and always will be) the most reasonable and commanding solution toward pretty much anything.
This is a blindingly obvious argument. It’s questionable as to why we’re still living in a system that limits us to textbook theory and expectations. We need to have in-depth conversations about morale for the interest of humanity. Social reform. To fight every single catastrophic aftermath that comes with free, online porn, we need to get right down to the core; if only they would let us.
It’s easy to think that we’ve come to a dead end. It’s going to take a hell of a fight for us to destroy this simply unspoken scandal that is voyeurism beyond contempt. But there’s hope, and it lies within the little appetite we have left for abstract and analytical thought.
We should pursue true respect and passion within human relationships to start creating more meaningful pieces of production in the sex industry – something which, to one’s surprise, has been spoken about more among young people every day.
Just like shit movies, shit food and shit alcohol; there’s also those of a more acquired and tasteful consumption. This is much the same with porn, except the balance is a lot more worrying. Because the low standard of porn is everywhere, it has therefore lowered people’s standards, just as it would with anything else.
We should start encouraging the notion that porn can also be combined with intellect and have less detriment to the world. There are tons of movies that denote the fantasies of immoral disrepute, the only difference is that they’re not wiped of real, authentic human emotion – and there’s a lot less sex.
Women in porn are seen as slot machines for sex. And it’s time to pull our socks up.
“Because the porn industry is driven by men, funded by men, managed by men, directed by men and targeted at men, porn tends to present one world view: that this is the way it is,” Dylan concludes.
Before porn, the expectation of women’s bodies seemed to be something that was much more realistic. Paintings which date way back to the renaissance depict men that admire what would have been perceived as a much more natural womanly beauty.
Cian, 29, from Brighton, expressed his interest in how pornography has devalued the representation of the human anatomy in the visual arts scene, particularly among women.
“I find the knock-on effect it has really scary, I see its repercussions even devaluing art. Art is and has been the purest form of expression and it’s been essential in liberating women through the appreciation of female beauty. I honestly think the damage to the value of women’s bodies is so not talked about.”
The answer is not to police or limit our global consumption of porn, but we need to inject some beauty into it. We’ve forgotten that beauty is subjective.
It comes in all forms; the nude, which was a progressive standpoint in art all over the world, has now become less valuable. You could argue that this is to do with the times and that different political movements will be staining the norms of creative culture all over the world.
But the fact is quite simple and easily appointed for; porn has destroyed our perception of beauty. It has given us reason to feel dirty and sometimes even incapable of love. It has driven us to a time of utmost criminal vanity.
Featured image by E-ta-i via Flickr CC.
Edited by AshKenaz