I think that porn is just another thing the government wants to blame things on so it can regulate it. It has not been shown to cause people to be deviant, not to say that those people who are already deviant don’t watch it. As to the relationship issues, I do agree that it could cause trouble in a relationship if one party is not pro-porn. Is that a word? I think that a man watching porn on a consistent basis could give rise to feelings of inadequacy in his partner, especially in women. Since women are much more likely to think ‘there must be something wrong with me,’ or ‘There’s something he’s not getting from me that he has to get somewhere else.’ In a male homosexual relationship, these issues might not exist, depending on the emotions of the partners. Men have not really been subject to this mental view of not being good enough.
I hated reading this. Was surprised a woman wrote it, BUT acknowledge that it’s hard to remove my personal bias. I had an “addicted” relative way back before the web I wish I could forget about; and a friend who’s marriage was destroyed by her husband’s web porn habits. My mind went to what my child could stumble across on the web. Ugh.
However, porn has been around since Pompeii. And each generation thinks the generation they are in is in a state of sexual deviancy (e.g. Elvis caused scandal in the 50’s, Prince caused scandal in the 80’s, Miley Cyrus today). There is no answer to this one and it won’t go away. As parents, we have to do the best that we can to talk to our children…and be open with them…and explain sexuality in age appropriate ways…and realize that sexual topics evolve with the times. And we just trust that some day, our kids will have sexually healthy lives and don’t get pregnant before they are ready, or get a disease, or harm the person they love with some act that can’t be un-done and are respectful to their mates. I think that’s about all we can do.
Mass Communication Theory 
I think that porn is just another thing the government wants to blame things on so it can regulate it. It has not been shown to cause people to be deviant, not to say that those people who are already deviant don’t watch it. As to the relationship issues, I do agree that it could cause trouble in a relationship if one party is not pro-porn. Is that a word? I think that a man watching porn on a consistent basis could give rise to feelings of inadequacy in his partner, especially in women. Since women are much more likely to think ‘there must be something wrong with me,’ or ‘There’s something he’s not getting from me that he has to get somewhere else.’ In a male homosexual relationship, these issues might not exist, depending on the emotions of the partners. Men have not really been subject to this mental view of not being good enough.
Good thoughts, Lauren. Thanks for sharing. It’s a tricky subject.
I hated reading this. Was surprised a woman wrote it, BUT acknowledge that it’s hard to remove my personal bias. I had an “addicted” relative way back before the web I wish I could forget about; and a friend who’s marriage was destroyed by her husband’s web porn habits. My mind went to what my child could stumble across on the web. Ugh.
However, porn has been around since Pompeii. And each generation thinks the generation they are in is in a state of sexual deviancy (e.g. Elvis caused scandal in the 50’s, Prince caused scandal in the 80’s, Miley Cyrus today). There is no answer to this one and it won’t go away. As parents, we have to do the best that we can to talk to our children…and be open with them…and explain sexuality in age appropriate ways…and realize that sexual topics evolve with the times. And we just trust that some day, our kids will have sexually healthy lives and don’t get pregnant before they are ready, or get a disease, or harm the person they love with some act that can’t be un-done and are respectful to their mates. I think that’s about all we can do.
Thanks for reading and responding, Toni!