Umpteen research studies all over the globe reveal that one in three women watch porn every week. Women spend a larger time watching porn than men: American women on an average spend about 11 minutes per session for watching sex .
Porn is not new; representations of sexual acts have existed through the centuries and across cultures. The Kamasutra and the temples of Khajuraho, Konark, and Mondhera in India showcase the prevalence of sexual acts in art. In Athens, the Phallic Statues of Priapus on street corners and Greek plates depicting sexual intercourse also highlight this trend. Technology has merely changed the form from sculpting to photography to video and now in digital form. The creation, storage and accessibility has changed.
SEX; EASY ACCESS
The internet and smartphone revolution has made it easy to access porn. It has become much more pervasive than before. The revenue from pornography industries exceeds that of major technology companies. This includes Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo, Apple, Netflix, and Earthlink together.
In these times of internet we can’t shut ourselves to the World Wide Web. The availability of pornography on the computer has changed the way millennial women view sex. It is estimated that 42 per cent of internet users visit porn sites. The breakdown of male and female visitors is 72 per cent and 28 per cent. Pornographic movies and pictures were originally made for the titillation of men. With the media revolution, it is accessible to a female audience too. Women producers and directors are producing porn to cater to women’s tastes.
Pornography can have a whole raft of effects it dehumanises the other person, the relationship, and any intimacy. It fulfils the wish for control over women and encourages transience, experimentation and moving between partners. It also encourages people to make their home in shallow relationships.
PORN IS AN ADDICTION
Long term exposure may desensitise and rob the fun of sexual intercourse. Repeated acts without a story plot become monotonous and boring. People may lose interest in sex. Exposure to porn may stoke dormant sexual interests and make them crave for fulfilment of those desires.
Watching porn once in a while, for titillation, may not be harmful. In fact, it adds to the thrill of stimulation. But becoming dependent on it for stimulation is harmful. It leads to compulsive behaviour and requires treatment.
Research by Dr Zillmann and Bryant examined the prolonged consumption of nonviolent pornography. Their subjects reported less satisfaction with their partner’s sexual performance. They also felt less affectionate and critical of their partner’s physical appearance after many weeks of exposure.
Pornography is fantasy in the place of reality. In a nutshell human beings can’t get nourishment from porn but only from real relationships.
(Dr Naresh Purohit is Executive Member- Indian Society of Sexual Medicine. The views and opinion expressed in this article are those of the author)
