Merriam-Webster’s online simple definition of pornography is “movies, pictures, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement." As porn in today’s world might not be increasingly relevant (just because it’s been around for centuries), throughout history it has become more available and prevalent. The problems with pornography on the internet are debatable, but a main issue that needs to be discussed is the idea that viewers of these videos might start to believe that what they see in them should translate to the real world.
In the majority of pornographic videos online, women are depicted as:
- Sex objects. Women are viewed as an object that exists solely to give a man sexual pleasure.
- Objects of physical aggression. 45% of scenes in pornographic videos include at least one act of physical aggression, including spanking and slapping.
- Sex-crazed animals. In porn, women want to have sex all the time. They are always eager, always available, and they never say no. They enjoy all sexual acts, often without talking about what they’re doing beforehand.
While women are objectified in pornography, men don’t necessarily have it easy either. They are rarely fully present (often silent) and often always depicted as being in a state of constant arousal.
Reciprocation is also too rare in online pornographic videos. When it comes to orgasms, males do so alone 51% of the time, meaning the woman’s pleasure is totally ignored. The oral sex category isn’t much better, with males receiving fellatio 80% of the time and the reciprocation of it only existing in 31% of scenes.
The problem isn’t that pornographic videos exist or that people watch it and use it as a sexual outlet, sexual activity, or way to get new ideas. The problem is that the content in the videos is starting to become normalized. The problem is that men in today’s society might start to think that spanking, gagging, and slapping women during sex is okay without talking about it first. The problem is that men might think that something is wrong with them if they don’t have a desire to do the previously mentioned things. The problem is that women might think that something is wrong with them if they are not always eager and available to have sex, or when they think they should say yes to sexual activities that they might not be so comfortable with.
Something within the porn industry needs to change, and it can start with showing women who give consent, showing less physically aggressive acts, and showing men who are not always in a constant state of arousal. The sooner the producers of pornographic videos realize this, the better off people in the real world will be.
