Can we talk about porn?

[€uroMeinke]

Honestly, I'm fascinated with the topic of porn as a cultural phenomena. Clearly with the advent of the internet, it has a growing acceptance as part of the cultural environment. People know famous porn stars as they world politicians or other cultural icons. It now can be viewed privately in the home without going to a seedy part of town or subscribing to some plain wrap publication with an assumed name.

Yet, the taboos still remain. "It will harm the children," people claim, but like you I think I stumbled upon my first porn cache at the age of 8 and I'm still clueless as to what harm that may have done me. There are so many things we wish to desexualize, and yet marketers and the media know that we are sexual beings and sex sells.

I guess the variety of kink has become more pronounced and available with the internet, so that gives a lot of room for experimentation or research, what turns you on versus what turns your stomach, or what just bores you.

I don't think denying sex and porn is the answer, I think the better approach is to put things in context. Recognize that porn is a form of entertainment, that what you see (like other media representations) might not be real, that connecting with people takes more than the mechanics of sex, but that the mechanics of sex can be pleasurable on thier own.

I don't know, but I can't wait to see where this thread goes.

[€uroMeinke]

To underscore my mention of the mainstreaming of porn, I just got this add from the LA Phil, which features a woman's mouth bitting a pearl necklace and the note:

(Because of explicit content, no one under 17 will be admitted.)

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

I guess the variety of kink has become more pronounced and available with the internet, so that gives a lot of room for experimentation or research, what turns you on versus what turns your stomach, or what just bores you.

If that stack of porn you found at age 8 had included animals, torture/bondage, urination, etc... do you think it would have had a different effect on you?

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

If that stack of porn you found at age 8 had included animals, torture/bondage, urination, etc... do you think it would have had a different effect on you?

That's hard to say, to put myself back in the 8-year old mind, but I'd probably have an "eww gross" reaction, or thought it funny and showed my friends, particularly if it's the felating a horse variety. I might have been a bit turned on or fascinated if the bondage porn was that japanese style of intricate knot and rope work. The Urination one might have tickled me at age 5, or whatever time bathroom functions were a source of amusement (I let my subscription to Penthouse lapse when urination became a part of every photo-spread, just not my thing)

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

If that stack of porn you found at age 8 had included animals, torture/bondage, urination, etc... do you think it would have had a different effect on you?

My sexual expectations were certainly shaped by porn, so I would assume that if all "mainstream" porn had the above elements, my expectations and demands might have changed.