Podcast on Pornography and its implications - Ms. Mary Sharpe & Dr. Darryl Mead
Q. Does watching pornography affect the normal sexual behaviour/expectations of people?
A. Pornography affects the normal sexual behaviour of people as by watching it on screen, people often try to learn different ways of being sexual although it’s not necessarily how our biology is set up to be as it includes violence and rarely shows a negotiation of consent and doesn’t teach the youth what it takes to have a good and loving relationship. At a malleable age of the brain, youths often get exposed to all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable content online in order to be great lovers but the kind of materials available on pornography sites are not helpful for long-term relationships.
Q. What are your views on the impact of technological advancements on pornographic content that is available online?
A. Virtual reality developed further addiction by keeping the arousal levels high in an abnormal and artificial way. Real-life sex becomes boring as compared to artificial pornography content which hooks up the users to technology, costing them money and hence they come under the influence of multi-billion dollar companies and artificial intelligence working for their own profits. This causes the youth to incline more towards artificial pornography than real-life sex and interpersonal relationships. Mobile phones, which are used by almost everyone nowadays, make it possible to create high-definition porn whenever desired which often leads to revenge porn. Moreover, billions of users on porn sites often don’t know that while accessing porn sites, most of the companies access private information from their phone and sell it to advertisers to make profits.
Q. Is pornography in itself an act of violence against women or does it encourage such gender-based violence because of the brutality being displayed on the screen?
A. As a woman, pornography looks like an act of violence since it involves so much of coercive sex. The radical feminists say that the paid actors in pornography are told to perform in a way that the sex is enjoyable to look at but in reality, it’s just a way of objectifying women for the attention of the male gaze although many women enjoy pornography as well. Where liberal feminists say that pornography is empowering, women invest several years raising a child while it takes a few seconds for a man to inseminate. Hence, women are more vulnerable in the modern hookup culture by putting their bodies and several years at stake as compared to men because of several biological difference like women going more for quality over quantity, unlike men.