Can we talk about porn?

Alex · 11-10-2006, 07:32 PM

"But what about the children?!" is probably the most damaging sentence to enter the popular consciousness since "wouldn't be funny if a nun could fly?"

That said, I think there is a difference between much of the porn that is readily available to kids these days and the porn that most of us would have come across more than 15 years ago.

Playboy taught me a lot about what the female body could look like but it never taught me anything about sex. Yes, there was the genre of of things like Juggs, Gallery, and such that provided the "almost" genre of porn where more than one person is in the photo, something sexual is kind of going on, but everything is just "almost" touching.

Down and dirty, graphic sex is certainly available in a way that it never was when we were kids. Do I think it causes irrepairable harm? Not really. But growing up I think sex was presented in a variety of contexts and symbolic meanings, and levels of importance. I do think that with its easy availability that things get out of balance. I don't think it necessarily leads to long term psychological problems but can easily suppose it eases kids along the path towards actually having sex (and while I don't think 14 year olds having sex should be criminalized I do think it is generally a net bad thing). If nothing else I think it plays a big part in shaping how that sex happens. The prominence of blowjobs in porn has probably played a big role in making that more acceptable. Hopefully it has also led to more reciprocation.

So, short version. No, I don't think it is a horrible thing. Bondage porn isn't, to me, any worse than any other. I'd be troubled by abusively violent or non-consensual porn but I'd expect any teenagers of mine were seeing it.

But I'd try to walk a fine line between conveying the sense that sex is bad and that they'll have to sneak it past me if they want to see it. This next generation of kids won't have that "sneaking into Dad's closet experience." This will probably only strengthen the opinion of each generation of kids that they were the ones who stumbled onto the realization that genitals are fun.

11-10-2006, 07:32 PM	#11
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	"But what about the children?!" is probably the most damaging sentence to enter the popular consciousness since "wouldn't be funny if a nun could fly?" That said, I think there is a difference between much of the porn that is readily available to kids these days and the porn that most of us would have come across more than 15 years ago. Playboy taught me a lot about what the female body could look like but it never taught me anything about sex. Yes, there was the genre of of things like Juggs, Gallery, and such that provided the "almost" genre of porn where more than one person is in the photo, something sexual is kind of going on, but everything is just "almost" touching. Down and dirty, graphic sex is certainly available in a way that it never was when we were kids. Do I think it causes irrepairable harm? Not really. But growing up I think sex was presented in a variety of contexts and symbolic meanings, and levels of importance. I do think that with its easy availability that things get out of balance. I don't think it necessarily leads to long term psychological problems but can easily suppose it eases kids along the path towards actually having sex (and while I don't think 14 year olds having sex should be criminalized I do think it is generally a net bad thing). If nothing else I think it plays a big part in shaping how that sex happens. The prominence of blowjobs in porn has probably played a big role in making that more acceptable. Hopefully it has also led to more reciprocation. So, short version. No, I don't think it is a horrible thing. Bondage porn isn't, to me, any worse than any other. I'd be troubled by abusively violent or non-consensual porn but I'd expect any teenagers of mine were seeing it. But I'd try to walk a fine line between conveying the sense that sex is bad and that they'll have to sneak it past me if they want to see it. This next generation of kids won't have that "sneaking into Dad's closet experience." This will probably only strengthen the opinion of each generation of kids that they were the ones who stumbled onto the realization that genitals are fun.
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