It seems that porn’s everywhere. It’s really easy to access – even when you’re not looking for it! And it’s accepted that lots of people use it, particularly guys, but also some girls. But, while it might seem cool or exciting or turn you on sexually, porn is not reality, and it can impact in a range of ways that aren’t all good – like what you expect sex to be like, what turns you on, and how you think about men and women…finf out more about what you need to know about porn.
One of the most important things for young people to know about porn is that it is not reality. The people in porn are real people who are actually doing what you see. But they’re acting. They’re performing for the viewer. Lots of what is portrayed in porn is not only make-believe – it communicates dangerous messages.
The bodies of porn performers – like those of models and sports stars – do not reflect how most people look. The men in porn almost always have very large penises. The women are usually young and thin. They may have very large breasts and their genitals look small and even. Sometimes porn performers have had surgery to make their bodies look like that. In reality, people come in all shapes and sizes – and they grow body hair.
Porn often shows people doing all sorts of unsafe things, such as anal sex followed by oral sex, or ejaculation in mouths and eyes. Often porn shows multiple partners having unprotected sex. Only 10 per cent of scenes show condom use. Porn performers often catch sexually transmissible infections. Some performers experience long-term damage to their bodies.
Porn focuses on particular types and ways of doing sex which are not reflective of what most people – particularly women – like or want in real life. Porn performers are paid to act like they’re enjoying what they’re doing, even if it is uncomfortable, painful or humiliating.
The vast majority of porn consumers are male, so porn focuses on men getting what they want. The women in porn are there to please the men – and they’re often treated terribly in the process. But sex is not just about male pleasure. Sex should feel good – emotionally and physically – for both partners.
Women’s sexuality is used to sell all sorts of things – from cars to ice-creams and phone plans. Porn takes it one step further. Porn says that women are objects for men’s sexual pleasure. But women are not objects to be owned and used. Like men, women are human beings with feelings, thoughts, hopes, fears, desires and all sorts of abilities.
Porn often shows men being aggressive and in control and women happily being dominated. Eighty-eight per cent of scenes in the most popular porn show physical aggression. Ninety-four per cent of aggression is directed at female performers. Porn eroticises violence. But violence and humiliation are not sexy. Nor is it just fantasy. In reality, huge numbers of women all around the world experience violence from their partners.
Porn commonly portrays – and reinforces – racial and gender stereotypes. Stereotypes occur when a group of people is defined by simplistic, limited and unfair assumptions. Stereotyping is unfair. It reinforces prejudices and creates the conditions for other injustices.
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