In the hour where loneliness stings, for some, the computer screen becomes their only friend – it is then that the quest begins. With hundreds of categories to choose from, the search for bouncing breast, bottoms that wiggle like Jell-O, extra large packages and people who resemble glazed doughnuts can go on for hours. The arousal addiction starts with online clicking, searching, entering multiple tabs for the next shock and surprise to reward the desires. Watchers are hooked by porn’s unending novelty and as long as there is a demand there will be supply. But do we really understand what is porn and how it is changing the world around us? This is something I took upon myself to research.

So what exactly is Pornography?

“Pornography” is a mid 19th century word derived from the Greek word pornographos meaning “writing about prostitutes.” The word pornographos comes from two Greek words pornē meaning “prostitute” and graphein meaning to “write.” Essentially the entire industry was founded on the documentation of prostitution. However, if prostitution is illegal, then why in fact is pornography legal?

Porn is a genre in film. Genre is a form of artistic composition. That is the only reason why it is legal to make porn.  Porn is not about erotica or sexual education. Porn is all about male domination of women. It is not only a sexual practice but also away of being in the world. Porn shows us sex with no hands involved.

What do I mean by saying no hands involved?

Porn is film. Porn cameras have no interest in capturing real sex. Internet porn is as different from real sex as today’s video games are to cheerers. That means no sensual activities like touching, hugging and kissing.  All porn cameras want to see is penetration. Thus taking away the intimacy and passion from real sex. As a media studies student I can explain to you, what take place in the studio is very different from what you see on scream. While filming, actors may have to place themselves into unrealistic positions to get the perfect angle for the scene. Which means if you want an extreme close up (like porn does), the actors must stand in an odd angle so their bodies don’t block the cameras. In porn, the actor will most likely stand with his hands behind his back. While the other actress must handle what is going on inside her, without moving too much because hair and makeup for a film can be costly. The only parts that actually touch in porn are the parts penetrating and then parts getting penetrated.

No child has dreams filled with hopes of one day becoming a prostitute; it is only when they are exposed to severe trauma and distress that they turn to that particular profession. Prostitution is described as the unworthy or corrupt use of one’s talents for the sake of personal or financial gain. This profession is looked down upon in numerous cultures. Many of them are victims of human trafficking. Many young girls with hope of being the sexiest porn star get chewed up and spit out by the industry and end up in brothels or as call girls, escorts, and strippers.

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.”-Audre Lorde

How do you define sexual?

The dictionary defines sexual as relating to the instincts, physiological processes, and activities connected with physical attraction or intimate physical contact between individuals. But porn would define sexual as whatever a man find arousing. According to porn categories, man find it arousing to chock a women, to have brutal sex without touching, hugging, kissing, petting, to see a women or a child cry, to rape a women, etc. Every mainstream porn gallery has these categories and many more like them. It is a form of humiliation and dehumanizing women. But regular porn is still filled with violence even in its mildest version. Porn is bringing violence into our bedrooms. It also paints a picture of weak, submissive and abused women. It makes the multiple women who have over came those stereotypes, hard work done for nothing.

Sex gives humans a natural reward in the brain and has a unique ability to capture attention. Sex is a human desire and need. People will always be draw to sex. Sex is one of human’s animistic impulses. It is natural and helps develop the human species. Sex in aways makes you create and bring in new life. There will always be a demand for sex but do people need to have a demand for porn?

I strongly believe you shouldn’t just be cautious about what you put into your body. You also should be aware of what you feed your minds. Whether or not you choose to, what you watch and listen too has an impact on you. How many times did you hate a song but it was played so many times on the radio that you end up knowing all the lyrics and humming to it.  Now imagine the countless images of porn you have seen and how it has impacted your sexual desires. Porn is in your household, whether you would like it or not. More importantly it is rapidly crossing to the mainstream. As you can see in today’s world sex sells but at what cost? … Culture?

Sex is in your hamburger commercial, a long with your TV shows, movies, favorite songs and just about anything you see or hear. It can even go as far as fashion and the way women dress today. This sex-obsessed culture has over the years turning modern day women more and more like prostitutes. The average 20th century nightclub attire would be a prostitute’s everyday outfit in the fifties through the eighties. Even pin up girls left a little more to the imagination.

In today’s pop culture celebrates like Kim K West and many others rise to fame with a porn leek. This article is not to say that these people don’t have talent or other skills that helped them keep their fame but the world only noticed them because of sex. Many celebrates constantly sexualize themselves and become sex object to the public. What example are we giving our children, little sisters and friends?

This is teaching little girls that you are valued by sex. If you are not sexy, you have no value. Thus making them sexualizing themselves at a younger and younger age. These young girls assimilate love and sex as the same thing. In turn making them believe that sex equals love and they become adults that are desperate for love but can only find sex. While telling boys its okay to violate and hurt women as long as it is done in the bedroom. Creating a dilemma for the boy, where he loves a classy woman that reminds him of this mothers morals but a prostitute at the same time. Which is a contradiction within itself. This is setting up women to fail, asking for respect but making them believe they need to be sexualized.  Moreover, young boys are learning sex from porn. Porn was never meant to stimulate her pleasure. Porn makes the body believe that matting season never ends. Porn is creating an arousal addiction. In conclusion, this never teaches a man how to satisfy his women. So then women are not satisfied and lead to believe that there is something wrong with them.

Being sexy is a large part of being a woman. Women can be sexually attractive or arousing in so many different ways. There are sapiosexual who find intelligence the most sexually attractive feature. As we learned from porn men find just about anything as arousing, so ladies there is no need to show it all. I feel if you show the world everything, what will you have to show your husband that the world hasn’t seen? Many time things lose their value once everyone has it. At first, the iPhones was the coolest thing. They where a need to have but now the glamour is gone, do to the fact that everyone and their mother have an iPhone. You are a price not sold to the highest bitter but earned by dedication and hard work. People often take for grated what they didn’t work for. On the other hand when you work towards something, you treasure it because it wasn’t easy to get.

I am simple stating something I believe to be truths about people.

If you like porn, I am not condemning you nor am I judging you. With that being said I am simply asking you to open up your eyes to seeing different perspectives and understand your influence over others. You can choose to agree or disagree. I will give you the facts. What you choose to do with them is up to you. Just remember as long as there is a demand there will be supply. Will you continue to add too the demand for porn?

Thank you for reading.