Pornland

1. Pornography has become a pervasive, mainstream industry shaping cultural norms

Porn has entered the mature years. . . . It's no longer naughty, underground. It's an up-front, in-your-face business, as much a part of the pop culture as anything else. We're in a different phase of our pop culture.

Porn is ubiquitous. The global porn industry was estimated to be worth around $96 billion in 2006, with the U.S. market worth approximately $13 billion. Each year, over 13,000 films are released, rivaling revenues of major Hollywood studios. There are 420 million Internet porn pages, 4.2 million porn websites, and 68 million daily search engine requests for porn.

Cultural shift. Porn has moved from the fringes to the mainstream, shaping cultural attitudes about sex and relationships. It is promoted through various media channels and celebrities. Companies like Girls Gone Wild, Playboy, and Vivid Entertainment have successfully marketed porn as edgy but acceptable pop culture content. This mainstreaming of porn influences fashion, music videos, advertising, and other media, normalizing the objectification of women's bodies.

2. Porn influences gender roles, sexuality, and relationships in profound ways

We are now expected to wear this attire everywhere: in school, on the street, and at work. It is as if we females now have to carry the marker of sex on us all the time, less we forget (or men forget) what our real role is in this society.

Shaping expectations. Porn promotes unrealistic expectations about sex, bodies, and relationships. It portrays women as constantly sexually available and willing to engage in any act. Men are depicted as dominant and aggressive, focused solely on their own pleasure. These portrayals can shape viewers' real-world attitudes and behaviors.

Impact on relationships. Many young people report that porn influences their sexual expectations and practices. Some men pressure female partners to engage in porn-inspired acts. Women may feel inadequate compared to porn performers or pressured to conform to porn aesthetics. This can lead to decreased intimacy, unrealistic expectations, and dissatisfaction in real relationships.

• Porn promotes unrealistic body standards (e.g. hairless genitals, surgically enhanced breasts)
• It normalizes aggressive or degrading sexual acts
• Porn can create false expectations about sexual performance and pleasure
• It may decrease empathy and emotional connection between partners

3. The porn industry exploits and commodifies human sexuality for profit

The architects of the experiment are the pornographers, a group of (mostly) men who are out to maximize their profits: to create markets, find products that sell, invest in R & D, and develop long-term business plans. In short, and as this book will show, they are businessmen from start to finish, not innovators committed to our sexual freedom.

Profit-driven industry. The porn industry is fundamentally a business focused on maximizing profits, not promoting sexual freedom or empowerment. Like other industries, it seeks to create and expand markets, develop new products, and increase revenues. This profit motive drives the creation of increasingly extreme content to maintain consumer interest.

Exploitation of performers. Many porn performers face exploitation, health risks, and career instability. The industry often takes advantage of young, vulnerable individuals seeking fame or quick money. Performers may be coerced into acts they are uncomfortable with, exposed to STDs, or left with few career options after a short stint in porn. The industry's high turnover rate reflects the disposable nature of its "products" - human beings.

• Porn companies constantly seek new markets and niches to exploit
• Performers often face short careers, health risks, and limited future prospects
• The industry targets vulnerable individuals with promises of fame and money
• Extreme content is produced to maintain consumer interest in a saturated market

4. Gonzo porn promotes increasingly extreme and degrading content

What seems surprising at first about gonzo porn is how few scenes there are with multiple women and one man, especially as for many men, having sex with more than one woman is a time-worn fantasy. When there are multiple performers it is usually one woman with any number of men. If porn is indeed about dominance and degradation, then it makes sense that the woman will be outnumbered since multiple men penetrating her suggests powerlessness.

Escalating extremity. Gonzo porn, which dominates the online market, features increasingly violent, degrading, and extreme acts. Common scenes include gagging, choking, verbal abuse, and multiple penetrations. This content normalizes sexual aggression and the dehumanization of women.

Desensitization factor. As consumers become desensitized to "standard" porn content, producers create more extreme material to maintain interest. This leads to a cycle of escalation, with acts that were once considered fringe becoming mainstream. The industry constantly pushes boundaries to create new, shocking content.

• Common gonzo porn acts: gagging, choking, slapping, verbal abuse, multiple penetrations
• Trend towards more extreme acts: double/triple penetration, bukkake, ass-to-mouth
• Normalization of degrading language: women referred to as "whores," "sluts," "cum dumpsters"
• Emphasis on male dominance and female submission/humiliation

5. Porn shapes male sexuality and expectations about women and sex

What I hear most is that these men feel like sexual losers. They thought college would present easy opportunities for sex, assume that other guys are "getting it," and conclude that something must be amiss with them or the women they are trying to hook up with. They worry they're not good-looking enough, smooth enough, or masculine enough to score, and since the porn view of the world suggests that women are constantly available, these men are bewildered by rejection.

Warped expectations. Frequent porn use can shape men's sexual expectations, leading to dissatisfaction with real-world partners and experiences. Men may develop unrealistic standards for women's bodies and sexual behavior, expecting constant availability and willingness to engage in extreme acts.

Impact on male sexuality. Some men report difficulty becoming aroused or reaching orgasm without porn, needing to fantasize about porn scenes during real sexual encounters. This can lead to emotional disconnection from partners and difficulty forming intimate relationships. Porn use may also contribute to sexual dysfunction, including erectile difficulties and delayed ejaculation.

• Men may develop unrealistic expectations about women's bodies and sexual behavior
• Some report needing porn-inspired fantasies to become aroused with real partners
• Porn use can contribute to sexual dysfunction and emotional disconnection
• It may reinforce harmful ideas about masculinity and male dominance

6. Women in a porn culture face pressure to conform to unrealistic standards

As we become more desensitized to images of hypersexualized young women, the fashion industry has tried to capture our attention by sexualizing young girls. A pioneer of this type of advertising was Calvin Klein, who, in the early 1980s, used the fifteen-year-old Brooke Shields in ads for his jeans with the famous tagline "Do you wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."

Pressure to conform. Women and girls face intense pressure to conform to porn-inspired beauty and sexuality standards. This includes removing body hair, wearing revealing clothing, and engaging in sexual acts they may be uncomfortable with. The message is that to be desirable and valuable, women must emulate porn performers.

Hypersexualization of youth. There is a disturbing trend of sexualizing increasingly younger girls in advertising, fashion, and media. This blurs the line between childhood and adulthood, potentially putting young girls at risk and normalizing the sexualization of minors. The porn industry capitalizes on this trend with "barely legal" content featuring young-looking performers.

• Women face pressure to remove body hair, get plastic surgery, and dress provocatively
• Young girls are increasingly sexualized in mainstream media and advertising
• "Barely legal" porn fetishizes youth and blurs lines of consent
• Women report feeling inadequate compared to porn standards of beauty and sexuality

7. Pornography reinforces harmful racial stereotypes and exploitation

The racial politics of the porn industry today mirror those of pop culture in that the majority of people involved in the production end of the business is white. This white control has led Jake Stead, a well-known black performer, to accuse the industry of "rampant racism" in its failure to provide black producers with the start-up capital, networks, or access to distribution channels that many white producers enjoy.

Racist stereotypes. Porn often reinforces and exaggerates harmful racial stereotypes. Black men are frequently portrayed as hypersexual and aggressive, while Asian women are depicted as submissive and exotic. These portrayals perpetuate racist attitudes and objectify people of color.

Economic exploitation. The porn industry, largely controlled by white producers, often exploits performers of color. They may be paid less, given fewer opportunities for advancement, and relegated to niche markets based on racial fetishization. This mirrors broader patterns of racial inequality in the entertainment industry and society at large.

• Common stereotypes: aggressive black men, submissive Asian women, hypersexual Latinas
• Performers of color often paid less and given fewer opportunities
• Racial fetishization in niche porn markets (e.g. "interracial" porn)
• Lack of diversity in porn production and management roles

8. The sexualization of youth and pseudo-child pornography are growing concerns

To explore the linkages between PCP sites and actual child pornography, it first makes sense to develop a classification system for the former from the typologies developed to classify the latter. One of the most popular of these, according to Tony Krone, a well-known researcher in the field, is a five-point typology of child pornography.

Blurring lines. The porn industry pushes legal boundaries with content featuring young-looking performers, often referred to as "teen" or "barely legal" porn. This material sexualizes youth and can serve as a gateway to illegal child pornography for some users. The industry exploits loopholes in laws meant to protect minors.

Normalization of youth sexualization. Mainstream media's increasing sexualization of young people creates a cultural climate that normalizes the sexual objectification of minors. This makes it easier for the porn industry to produce and market content featuring young-looking performers. The long-term effects of this trend on children's development and society's attitudes toward youth sexuality are concerning.

• "Teen" porn is one of the most popular genres in online pornography
• Performers are legally adults but made to look younger through clothing, makeup, etc.
• Content often features power imbalances (e.g. teacher/student scenarios)
• Concern that this material could lead some users to seek out actual child pornography

9. Porn use can negatively impact relationships, intimacy, and sexual satisfaction

What troubles many of these men most is that they need to pull up the porn images in their head in order to have an orgasm with their partner. They replay porn scenes in their mind or think about having sex with their favorite porn star when they are with their partners.

Relationship effects. Heavy porn use can negatively impact intimate relationships. Some users report difficulty becoming aroused or reaching orgasm with real partners, needing to fantasize about porn scenes during sex. This can lead to emotional disconnection and decreased intimacy.

Sexual dysfunction. Frequent porn use is associated with various sexual dysfunctions, including erectile difficulties, delayed ejaculation, and decreased sexual satisfaction. Some men report needing increasingly extreme porn content to achieve arousal, potentially impacting their ability to enjoy real-world sexual experiences.

• Some users struggle to become aroused without porn-inspired fantasies
• Porn use linked to erectile dysfunction and delayed ejaculation in some men
• Partners may feel inadequate or pressured to emulate porn performances
• Decreased emotional intimacy and connection during real sexual encounters

10. Fighting porn culture requires both individual and collective action

What can we do about the porning of our culture? I wish I had a magic bullet but I don't; we are up against an economic juggernaut. Fighting the porn industry demands that we resist both as individuals and as part of a collective movement.

Individual action. People can take steps to resist porn culture in their personal lives. This may include avoiding porn use, critically examining media messages, and fostering healthy relationships based on mutual respect and equality. Parents and educators can teach media literacy and healthy sexuality to young people.

Last updated: October 19, 2024