Every week as I decide what to write my article on I usually recount on my past experiences that week and choose one that has angered me the most. One topic that has always lingered in the back of my mind, that I had never given much thought to until recently, is the pornography industry. After giving it much thought, and a conversation recent I had with two close friends that have different opinions on the industry than I do, I decided that this would be the topic I wanted to take on this week.
I want to start by saying that I have no harsh feelings against any of the actors or actresses working in this industry. It is a huge industry that society has created a place for and because they were smart enough to capitalize off of this endeavor does not make them less than me or anyone else. In fact, I often think they are a lot smarter than I am for working the system while I stress of papers, tests, and continue to rack up college debt that will take me years to pay off.
However, with this being said I would like to elaborate on the one sided patriarchal principles which the porn industry was founded upon. I acknowledge that women, as well as gay, lesbian, and other identifying individuals, watch porn and I am not denying this. But I think that it is a widely held understanding that the majority of pornography was created with the heterosexual gaze in mind.
The women in these videos are often being dominated by male characters in compromising and unrealistic fantasies. While the majority of American males tune in and get off on watching and fantasizing about themselves in this video. After all, this is part of what makes porn so hot. Somehow being a part of a perfectly orchestrated sexual experience that you may not ordinarily get the chance to partake in.
While this may seem all good and well, I would like to point out how the normalcy we hold about this act is so completely backwards. Young males are watching porn at ages as young as 11 while they struggle to get a grasp on their own sexuality this is often the first image of women and sex that they are exposed to. I have a friend who told me that in their 5th grade health class masturbation and watching pornography was encouraged. They were told it was “healthy” for them to have these experiences. I was also in a 5th grade health class of my own and never once was a told that masturbation and watching pornography was normal or healthy. And so the stigma begins.
In case my prior explanation was much too subtle, let I would like to clearly articulate how this is a detrimental foundation to build a young child’s sexual experience on. For a young male teen’s first sexual exposure to be watching a completely scripted male centered pleasure fest is not healthy. It implants the idea, at a young and impressionable age and mind, that this is what sex is and this is normal. Therefore, as they continue to watch pornography up until the time with their first real life sexual experience with a female, they go into this experience believing that it is one sided and about their own pleasure, desires, and fantasies of things that are completely unattainable. The idea of pleasuring or even asking what they can do to pleasure their sexual partner is not even there. Which perpetuates the idea that women’s needs are second or non-existent to males.
This is not only detrimental for males but also females. If you are never taught that masturbation is normal or that your needs are also a key component to sex you may grow up with the idea that this is not normal. Thus perpetuating the taboo behind female sexuality.