We are all human beings with sexual needs. Does this make porn a part of us? Do we want to eradicate all pornography or rather change its appearance?
There are other addictions and not-so-healthy hobbies that are not likely to disappear, like recreational drugs, excessive gaming, etc. Instead of believing in a world without porn, perhaps we can change things around it. Important topics are how the industries take care of their employers, how consumers of heavy amounts of porn can easier get help, or how we start talking more about the dark sides of porn, especially with children and teenagers to make them distinguish between reality and fiction.
Porn has been more influenced by violence and humiliation in the past years. A study shows that 90 % of all mainstream porn includes some kind of violence, and verbal aggregations are apparent in 50 % of all mainstream porn (Talita, 2018).
Where does the line cross from being exposed to sex on tv-shows, movies, music, books, and commercials to consuming porn on internet sites like Pornhub? 20 years ago many of these popular cultures used to be viewed as porn, but now they are normalized (Talita, 2018). The porn industry, however, contributes to the risk of exposing the people working as porn performers and the people consuming it to greater harm. Sex trafficking victims and underage people being abused in the porn industry are not unknown facts. But who says that the other media channels mentioned above are okay? I like to watch tv-shows were there are romances portrayed on screen at times. This is not the same as watching porn but they are in some instances similar, one is being praised while the other is something we rarely dare to talk about.
Porn displays a for the most part false picture of what people find sexy, and not what is genuine. Men in porn are more often than not shown as the dominant, that he is in control, leading young boys and men, in general, to see themselves as superior and not respect a “no” from women, for instance. I get sad when I hear comments from young girls and boys who were influenced by porn. “If I do this while having sex, my partner might like it”. These influences may seem harmless, but sexual violence and force cause damage. The average age for Swedish children to actively search for pornography is around 13 years old, which means that many children are younger than 13 years old (Barnombudsmannen, 2020).
One step towards a healthier sex education has been established in Swedish schools this fall of 2022. In the new curriculum, the name of the previous sex education subject is now called: “Sexuality, consent, and relationships”. The content touches upon many important aspects like intimacy, reciprocity, joy, respect, and equality (läraren, 2021). Sex education will maybe never be perfect but it can always improve and I think this is a good start.
I hope that in the future everyone will be more educated about what porn is doing to us, and be able to monitor it better. No one should have to be forced into porn, whether as an actor or as a consumer in search of good sex education or a source of pleasure.
Sources:
Barnombudsmannen. 2020. Delrapport 1: Kartläggning av forskning om pornografins inverkan på barn och unga. (Accessed: 25/10-2022) Link:https://www.barnombudsmannen.se/contentassets/dd7627085ed647909e547708d91bcbe7/delrapport-1-kartlaggning-av-forskning-om-pornografins-inverkan-pa-barn-och-unga.pdf
Sandberg, Af Jane. 2021. Sexrevolutionen: Så förändras undervisningen 2022. Läraren. (Accessed: 24/10-2022) Link:https://www.lararen.se/nyheter/sexualundervisning/sexrevolutionen-sa-forandras-undervisningen-2022
Talita. 2018. 10 myter om porr, Stockholm. (Accessed: 23/10-2022) Link:https://talita.se/assets/dokument/10myter.pdf
By Matilda Davis, Swedish University Student and Intern at Do Good Now
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