Porn & the Society

Porn & the Society:
A detailed argument on the impact of the porn industry on relationships, society, and gender roles

A team of researchers looked at 50 of the most popular porn films—the ones purchased and rented most often. Out of the 304 scenes that the movie contained; 88% contained physical violence; 49% contained verbal aggression; 95% of the victims (almost all of them women) either were neutral to the abuse or appeared to respond with pleasure in porn videos. This shocking statistic says a lot more about the mindset and mentality of the consumers as well as the producers. 

Pornography is labelled as “enemy of the family”. It Is said that the human body is a temple and porn is its unparalleled desecrator.

It is linked to violent tendencies. 

Studies have shown that repeated exposure to pornography causes a desire for more abnormal violence such as rape. This affects not only their lives but also the lives of people around them. It affects marriages and families. It causes violent tendencies which in a marriage is often taken out on the significant other. It is also common that people in marriage who watch pornography become less devoted to their spouses and are more likely to engage in extramarital affairs. 

It’s no secret that porn objectifies women. But just because porn isn’t good for women doesn’t mean it’s positive for men.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam wanted to better understand and explore the actual content on porn sites. Their study analyzed three dimensions of gender inequality in porn, one of those being objectification. After examining 400 popular porn videos, the study concluded that porn does, in fact, objectify men, just in a different way than women.

Why does this matter? Men and women are not and should not be viewed or treated as objects. Objectification breeds a type of extreme pressure on both sexes to live up to an unrealistic standard. It can lead to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, depression, and drug abuse—not only to performers but also to consumers. People are not products. Therefore we prefer to choose love and build real relationships beyond a computer screen.

According to various studies, after being exposed to pornography, men reported being less satisfied with their partners' physical appearance, sexual performance, and level of affection and express greater desire for sex without emotional involvement. Among the effects of the use of pornography are an increased negative attitude toward women, decreased empathy for victims of sexual violence and an increase in dominating and sexually imposing behavior. In the United States, porn has increased demand for sex trafficking. The Department of Justice and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (USA) both recognize that pornography is an element that adds to the serious problem of sex trafficking. But as every dilemma in this world, there are pros and cons to porn too.

Some of the positive effects of porn would be,

● Teen pregnancy is down by more than 40% from its peak in 1990.

● Forcible rape rate in the United States has fallen by 85% since 1980 

A Queensland University of technology study published in the Australian Journal research shows that porn helps in: “Increasing tolerance of other people sexuality is sustaining sexual interest in long-term relationships and helping them talk to their partners about sex”

Mainstream porn generally only shows one size of male genitalia in both straight and gay relationships—unrealistically larger than average. But the reality is, regardless of sexuality, size doesn’t determine ability or partner potential. In fact, by some estimates, about 40% of men with average-sized penises seek penis enlargement surgeries because they think they’re below average.

For an industry that often markets itself as being LGBTQ+ friendly, the porn industry exploits and fetishizes LGBTQ+ relationships endlessly.

What harmful attitudes does all of this perpetuate? That female sexuality isn’t to be taken seriously, that all lesbian women are predatory, and that “the right man” has the power to change someone’s sexuality entirely. This is not an accurate representation of reality.

Porn sells an unattainable image of what you need to look like to be desired sexually.

Cisgender women having body shame about their breasts, vaginal labia, and parts of their bodies that may have very normal and natural things like cellulite or stretch marks. But in so much of mainstream porn, these things look a very specific way that is in no way representative of what’s average.

When porn hyper fixates on a marginalized (performer’s) body size, race, gender, and/or capabilities, the marginalized viewers take a toll… This is doubly the case for people who are regularly stereotyped as monstrous or grotesque, such as transwomen. We come to believe that our bodies are fundamentally unlovable, or that they can only be desirable on another person’s terms.

When thought of from the perspective of sex education, teens all over the world, especially in India, gain their knowledge about sex from porn. While I do think that this could be helpful, there’s always the looming fear that boys and girls grow up thinking about sex as shown in porn, which is almost never true. So to draw a conclusion, porn might have a few advantages but it has flaws that outnumber the pros. Realistic porn on the other hand could be a healthier alternative for this industry and would also promote more reasonable standards of attraction and intimacy in the minds 
of porn viewers.

- Mehak Tandon