Pornography: Misconstrued notions about healthy sex and pleasure
The talk around sexuality and pleasure in India is emblematic of the perspective colored with the biases of gender, caste, class. The irony is that a country that talked about Kama sutra and texts pertaining to eroticism, sexuality and pleasure refrains from exploring dimensions of intersectionality within the society.
The lack of conversation around sexual exploration leads people to seek information via online sources or view explicitly sexual content in private spaces. Pornography, therefore, might not be the best way to educate oneself regarding the ongoing curiosity when it comes to understanding of one’s sexuality. However, the right to freedom of expression cannot vehemently disallow adults watching content of their choice in private spaces.
Pornography and Pleasure
According to NEP, pornography promotes sexually risky and predatory behaviors because many young adults educate themselves sexually through porn without engaging in conversations with their partners or peers, revealing a lack of porn literacy. The representation of pleasure via pornography is idealistic and seemingly perfect in the sense that it depicts ribbed bodies, “perfect size” owing to rising insecurities among people. There are enough instances of people venturing into the pornography industry out of compulsion. Andrea Dworkin, an American radical feminist, said that 65 to 75 percent of women in prostitution and hard-core pornography had been victims of incest or child sexual abuse during the Messe Commission in 1986.
Anti-pornography feminists have argued that the kind of physical and psychological objectification that people with vaginas are subjected to is synonymous with the sexual act to be regarded as an act of violence towards women. The experience of pornography has also led to expectations of synonymous kinds of experiences from their sexual partners. This has resulted in communication gaps between partners and expectations of mirroring the explicit online content that forms the crux of dissatisfaction among couples.
Pornography and sexual health
One of the most pertinent problems raised by pornography is its impact on the sexual health of people because of lack of optimum viewership and habit of addiction. The misconception around relying on pornography as a substitute for Sex-Ed adds to the intensity of misinformed ideas regarding healthy sex and its benefits.
The consumption of pornography has resulted in increased cases of erectile dysfunction in people with a penis. Another consequence of increased viewership is delayed ejaculation among people with penis as well. Pornography transcends the realm of sexual health of a person physically and creates a sort of mental restructuring. This leads to the mental internalisation of a distinctive kind of pleasure that works in tandem with what is displayed on online pornographic videos. The stimuli in the brain gets used to receiving rewards by watching porn videos and finds it difficult to cater to times when the viewership subsides.
Conclusion
Pornography has received multiple views and contested opinions. On the one hand, some people view pornography as a means of exploring one’s sexuality whereas others view it as leading to misconstrued notions about pleasure. For example, Mia Khalifa left the porn industry and talked about the exploitative mechanism within the functioning of the industry.
It is important to look out for the right kind of information when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. Pornography is one of the most accessible ways to sell sex and pleasure without the need for forming crucial guidelines. This enables the pornographic materials to impact vulnerable minds and instill in them ideas about pleasure that shatters their expectations in the longer run.
Hence, it becomes pertinent today more than ever to think about the ways in which one consumes explicit content because of the digital boom. The need is to be mindful of trying to steer clear from finding any intersections whatsoever with one’s real life. Pornographic materials should be viewed in moderation so that the body functions optimally for the years to come.
Cover Illustration: slate.com
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