Laura May

The scary effects of pornography Laura May

The scary effects of pornographyEffectsof Pornography Use onMonogamous Adult Pair-Bond RelationshipsImplicit Messages of PornographyAt itsmost basic level, the titles, names, and labels giveinsight into what the pornography industry has found to be effective in luring consumers. Examination of 400 million searches conducted through a Dogpile search engine (Ogas & Gaddam, 2011) reveals a top-five listing of the most popular searches that includes the following categories and examples of EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY19searches; youth ("free teen nudes"), gay ("straight guys having gay sex"), MILFs ("my friend's hot mom"), breasts ("big tits"), and cheating wives ("cuckhold porn"). "All of these categories combine cues relevant to male short-term mating" (Salmon, 2012, p. 157). Not only this, but each of the above categories represent a potential for, or in some cases, obvious source for cognitive dissonance as experienced by the user. There are laws lending to the argument ofmoral disposition, not to be discussed in the current research, but noteworthy, prohibiting adult sex with youth. Gay men having sex with gay men wouldbe expected and/or natural, so instead, there is the useofpossible moral or objective conflicting behavior; straight men having sex with straight men. The 'Breasts'categorysymbolizes unrealistic and fantastical body ideals, not likely to be seenin the vast majority of couple-sexual encounters. Finally, cheating wives serves as an obvious source ofdissonance. Each of the above categories represent a 'socially forbidden' behavior, yet millions of individuals' sexualities are primed with this, antisocial-in-nature, content. We see that not only are producers using aspects of the useless side of life to attract viewers, but simply by using these names they, too, are promoting these concepts as a worthy commitment of time. Pornography's "easy" sexuality can, understandably, become an enticing alternative to the demands of real life, pair-bond attachment, intimacy, and commitment. Pornography's easy alternative could lead some to prefer autoerotic arousal or casual, serial encounters to enduring and maintaining pair-bond intimacy. If sex is viewed strictly as a means to an end, that is, ejaculation or orgasm, essentially, the partner is not needed if this is possible through the use of pornographic material. Cyberspace offers an escape from real life relationship demands, EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY18responsibility, and accountability that may decrease one's motivation to resolve issues with a partner. Subsequently, this can lead to the retreat to, and eventual preference for, pornography's fantastical world (Cooper et al., 2004) over real life relationships andintimacy. Ogas and Gaddam (2011) report what they claim the porn industry has already discovered, that heterosexual men are not only attracted to visual female stimulation, but they enjoy watching thepenis for its power to stimulate the sexual interest of the fantastical partner. The fear of someone else knowing the male user enjoys looking at the penis and interpreting this in their own way may be a contributing factor to the overwhelming desire foranonymity among users. The past two decades of research has shed great light on how pornography useis related to the quality of committed relationships, Poulsen et al., (2013) examined associations among pornographyuse, the meaning people attach to itsuse, sexual quality, and relationshipsatisfaction. The authors also described and juxtaposed the combatting viewpoints of pornography use within our society. Concerning the effects its use has on a committed relationship, one idea proposes that pornography is a form of sexual expression and using such can help couples broaden their understanding of sexuality(Poulsen et al., 2013). At the same time, there lies a second major societal script for pornography in that its use is seen as a form of infidelity by non-using partners(Poulsen et al., 2013; Zitzman & Butler..