Research Essay: Why Do We Watch Porn?

916 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The negative effects of pornography society

Why Do We Watch Porn?
Before I even get into this, let’s be honest for the next five minutes. Oh come on, don’t deny it, we’re all curious. We’ve heard someone or the other talk about this, and we’ve been interested to find out what this elusive term actually looks like. We’ve secretly seen it in the depths of darkness in our room when no one is around, with just the light of the laptop for guidance. We’ve looked with gaping eyes at those CDs with the rather explicit covers that were being sold on that lorry at that particular crossroad, and we’ve wondered how exactly is it that people have bought them. If nothing else, we’ve all accidentally clicked that link in a side tab in our browser, or just by mistake reached one of those videos, and we’ve seen it through, before quickly shutting the window in shock. Come on, don’t lie. You’ve already clicked on the link to read this article, so might as well admit it.
Pornography, as a dictionary defines it, is “the explicit representation of sexual activity in print or on film to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings.” Bah, too mechanical a definition, if you ask me. For a lot of people, Porn is a solution to many of their life’s difficulties. When you really think about it, it is sex, or sexual acts, amplified into a somewhat larger-than-life form, and made into a visual medium. However, contrary to popular belief, everyone doesn’t watch porn just for the one reason. Yep, there’s actually more to it than that. Here’s some more reasons as to why we grab that laptop/phone/tablet/CD/magazine every chance we get:
Pressure Unload-
All puns aside, this is probably the most seemingly obvious reason that most people watch porn for. It’s been a long day, week, month, and y...

... middle of paper ...

...How can something like this even turn you on?!” Well it does, and there’s nothing that you can do to “reform” that.
If nothing else, bored editors watch porn as research to write articles like these, and no one can fault you for work, right?
Pornography is a veritable Pandora’s box, lying there on its own, with people all across the world poking it time and again. There is no denying that it has piqued our interest at least a few times, if not more. Most of us have taken that secretive peek, and either enjoyed it and come back for more, or have been completely flabbergasted and still come back for just one more peek. It’s okay, I’m not judging. However, the need to treat it as a taboo needs to go. Porn presents limitless oppurtunities- for enjoyment, for relaxation, for human needs, for entertainment, for study and for much more. Why not just accept it as that?

Show More
Related

  • A Pornographic World By Robert Jensen Summary

    502 Words  | 2 Pages

    A pornographic world [What is normal] by Robert Jensen takes an inside look at the culture of masculinity and what role pornography takes in shaping that culture. Jensen describes how he was forced to play a “macho” role as a child out of fear of being bullied and ridiculed for not being manly enough. Pornography use started for him and his friends in grade school – they would steal magazines and hide them to share in a group later. He talks of how he learned of a social concept, called the “ideal of prostitution” (the notion of men “buying” women in various forms of undress, solely for their pleasure), at a young age. While there has always been a stigma around pornography, whether stemming from moral or religious reasons, Jenson continued to use porn until his 30s.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Pornography and the American Culture

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    A review of the contemporary research on the negative effects of pornography is replete of scholarly and anecdotal evidence and opinion about the damages associated with viewing it. But the evidence is limited when it comes to criticism of mainstream media’s damages to certain groups, particularly young women with their romantic comedies.

    Read More

  • Women In The Pornography Industry

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kristol’s article writes that pornography and the pornographic industry has always been dominated by men (491). Throughout the history of the United States, men have taken precedence over women in many aspects. Men were considered the workers of the family while women stayed home and acted as housewives or catered to the men. The idea of feminism and women’s equality, however, is growing throughout the nation. With feminism and women’s equality at large, society must progress toward eliminating male domination and allowing the extension for women's opportunities; therefore, pornography and the male-dominated industry should be limited by the government. Aside from men and the power statuses they hold in pornography, Gail Dines in her article “Facts and Figures” discloses information about the male tendencies after watching pornography. Men have been reported to support female rape, have aggressive behavior toward women, have a decreased sex drive toward wives or girlfriends, and desire forced sexual acts after viewing pornography (1). Despite America’s best effort to protect all citizens, in reality, females are typically victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and pornography is a cause of such violence. Although it is a key factor that plays a role in causing violence and aggressive behavior toward women, Americans are able to easily access videos or films instantly because of modern technology and the lack of pornography censoring. Because of the tendency to cause abuse in the real world, pornography must be censored in order to ensure that women are granted equal amounts of safety and

    Read More

  • Censorship Of Pornography

    2262 Words  | 5 Pages

    To sufficiently take a side in the ever-growing debate of pornography, one must first define the concept around which this discourse surrounds itself. A working definition for pornography is a piece of material that has the object purpose of arousing erotic feelings. Radical feminists, however, strictly define it as “the act of sexual subordination of women” (Dworkin 1986).

    Read More

  • The Danger of Pornography Addiction Within a Romantic Relationship

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    56% of divorce cases in the United States have reported the cause of divorce as one member of the couple having an unhealthy addiction for pornographic websites ("Pornography Statistics: Annual Report" 2014). The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes pornography as "movies, pictures, magazines, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement." In a recent study of dating or married couples, 73% of males reported to using pornography at some level (ranging from low to high frequency use), while only 32% of females reported using pornography (Poulsen, Bubsy & Galovan, 2013 p. 73). Pornography has highly addictive qualities, which are often dismissed as "human nature," and is the leading cause of unhappiness leading to divorce in marriages. The ease of access to online pornography makes this worse because it is much more difficult to quit because of how easy it is to access it. If someone is addicted to drugs, they would need to find a supply if they were tempted to relapse. With an online pornography addiction, all someone needs is a computer to relapse into their pornography addiction. This form of addiction is not seen as an issue because of its dismissal as “human nature.” Online Pornography addiction negatively affects the addicted party's serious relationship or marriage, the addicted person's partner, and the addicted party themselves.

    Read More

  • The Sociological Issues Of Pornography

    1848 Words  | 4 Pages

    Again, there are different ideas of what is considered pornographic from artwork, movies, and books. While one may look at a painting that depicts nude forms or read a book that includes sexual acts may not see this as a form of pornography while others would find it morally offensive. Feminist would argue that the morality of porn is it is degrading and humiliating to those involved, not of its sexual nature. Their concern is that it promotes sexism and violence against women or children. “What is objectionable about pornography…is its abusive and degrading portrayal of females and female sexuality, not its content or explicitness” (Rodgerson & Wilson, 1994) However, others may feel that it is sexually liberating and in no way degrading to those involved. Those women feel in control of their sexuality and choose to participate in acts as a way of expressing themselves while feeling it has no barring on their moral character. While others would argue that it promotes immoral behavior which would lead to criminal acts or an unhealthy obsession with sex. “The most commonly feared adverse effects of pornography include undesirable sexual behaviors (e.g. adultery), sexual aggression, and loss of respect for traditional family structures and values, loss of respect for authorities, and a general nonspecific moral decay.” (Hald & Linz,

    Read More

  • Pornography in the 20th Century

    2231 Words  | 5 Pages

    Laura Kipnis has described pornography as “an archive of data about...our history as a culture”. Therefore if, she described it as such, what can it tell us about the sexual history of the 20th century? Examining the history of the forms of archive from pornographic playing cards to blu-ray discs and the internet, this shows the ever changing form of how as a society we view pornography. From the forms of archive come the social implications of pornography. This will be examined through the 1986 Meese Commission in the United States of America into the pornographic industry. Finally, this exposition will also examine the differing views of Gay and Straight pornography and the changes that have taken over the 20th century. Overall, the 20th century was a fundamental shift in sexual attitudes towards pornography.

    Read More

  • Porn: A Controversial Issue

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    Porn according to the dictionary is defined as a printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity intended to stimulate erotic rather than an emotional feeling. A word described as so is what has lead porn to becoming a money making business, that has come to grow over the years quite a bit. An empire that many were afraid to even talk about ,but now want to be apart of. Now porn or as they would call it now as the Adult Film business is seen every where, from DVD’s to magazines and late night television shows to the internet. It can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. Adult film wasn’t something that was new to society, but yet society is acting new towards it. Many are saying that this is something that has affected their lives, or that it should not be around at all.

    Read More

  • Internet Pornography Addiction

    4354 Words  | 9 Pages

    Fisher, William, and Azy Barak. “Internet Pornography: A Social Psychological Perspective On Internet Sexuality.” Journal of Sex Research. 38.4 (Nov. 2001): 312-24.

    Read More

  • Addiction to Internet Pornography

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    Not only has porn become more popular, it has become more available and much more explicit. Years ago, the most explicit pornography that one could access was a Playboy magazine, but today that is known as ‘softcore porn’. In today’s world of high-speed Internet, extremely graphic videos of every conceivable genre of sex can be found for free at the click of a button (Clay).

    Read More

  • Pornography Research Paper

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...raising our voices and using freedom of speech will make more of a difference. I also agree with Mill because though Mackinnon talks about how women are oppressed because of porn, I am sure there are a number of other causes that lead to oppression, not just porn. For instance, if porn was to be censored, I doubt that would immediate abolish rape cases and sexism. I feel like if we let the government control what we watch, we, as a society, will let the government control our lives. We may even lose the simplest privileges and rights we have as individuals. I believe porn is not immoral because, again, it does not cause harm to individuals in society, besides the individual watching it their self. Many people may think that people should not spend money or time on porn but the opinions of the majority should never control the individuals right to choose.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Pornography

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pornography: printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings. Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, pornography consisting of aged 18 or older consenting adults, is legal. Anyone with the access to a computer is four letters away from the ability to view pornography. Simply typing “porn” into a Google search bar will yield thousands of videos of illicit content, most of which will be free to view. The quality of these videos vary site by site, some are home videos of couple posting their exploits online to see, and some videos are full scale productions with plots and famous porn-stars who are

    Read More

  • What Is God 's View Of Sexuality

    1940 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ubstance. In the way that drug addicts need increasingly larger doses to get high, she thinks porn addicts need to see more and more extreme material to feel the same level of excitement they first experienced. (Martin Downs, n.d.)

    Read More

  • Pornography

    1739 Words  | 4 Pages

    To some, pornography is nothing more than a few pictures of scantily clad Women in seductive poses. But pornography has become much more than just Photographs of nude women. Computer technology is providing child molesters and child pornographers with powerful new tools for victimizing children. Pornography as "the sexually explicit depiction of persons, in words or images, Sexual arousal on the part of the consumer of such materials. No one can prove those films with graphic sex or violence has a harmful effect on viewers. But there seems to be little doubt that films do have some effect on society and that all of us live with such effects.

    Read More

  • Cyber Pornography

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is difficult to define a porn-addict without laying down boundaries that have been previously forbidden, so this paper will use the simple definition of “one who views pornography on a regular basis, and either suffers from or regrets his or her actions.

    Read More

More about Research Essay: Why Do We Watch Porn?

Open Document