Sexual Health Week 2019
Porn
Is it fantasy?
Is it reality?
A mix of both?
Can it affect us?
OK… Let’s start from the very beginning…
Sexual images have been part of our human culture for thousands of years; the oldest sexual image known today is at least 28,000 years old!!
But!!… Never in human history have there been so many sexual images available to the whole world in the form of video at the click of a button…
The most recent stats show that millions of people around the world watch porn every day and that the porn videos on well-known websites are watched billions of times a year!
These may sound like a couple of interesting facts but there’s more to this…
A lot of people watch porn for different reasons… but the thing is that:
- when we watch a porn video, it has an effect on us … on our body and our brain…
- each pornographic video aims to reach the highest number of views possible – it’s about making money not making our sex lives better…
- at the same time the porn videos show versions of sex based on producers’ ideas, values, and beliefs and not the audience’s
- and evidence shows that some people take those ideas as facts – like that’s the way sex should be…
- for example:
- almost no-one uses condoms in porn videos
- women aren’t asked to agree to anything they do … stuff just happens to them…
- porn may give us a wrong idea of what our bodies should look like… shape… size… etc. and what sexual practices we should engage in…
- porn may make us think that some things actors do are safe when in fact they may put us at risk of getting infections
- it makes violence against women and girls seem normal…
- and some other stuff can be… pretty dark… and against the law
In fact, we should be free to enjoy sex the way we want to, using our own imagination, feelings and instincts without porn telling us what to do and how to do it.
Also porn may trick our brains and be addictive… this is due to the release of ‘feel-good-chemicals’ that can make them want to watch more, and more.
so it’s no wonder that some people get hooked on porn…
Some people say “Well it’s all just fantasy… They are actors… It’s not real…”
Although there are now many famous, well-known porn stars, not everyone has chosen to be there. Some people see it as their only choice and others have been trafficked and forced into porn or prostitution…
Remember, Porn, Prostitution and Sex Trafficking are money-making “businesses” that are linked and support each other...
In a nutshell…
- people buy sex (in person or online)
- pimps or porn producers need to recruit more women into Prostitution and Pornography
- and the traffickers find and provide some of the women to satisfy this demand. Simple market rules…
At the same time, some of the porn viewers try to recreate what they’ve seen in the videos and they buy sex so that their “fantasies” become real… … it’s all connected…
BUT if people stopped paying for “sexual services”, women and girls would not be trafficked for sex anymore and the exploitation and suffering of millions could end.
Being aware of the effects and consequences of porn can bring lots of benefits to our sex lives, our health, and society overall… Thanks for watching!