Sex Education: Pornography Is A Fantasy

New Delhi: Umpteen research studies all over the globe reveal that one in three women watch porn every week. Women spend a larger time watching porn than men: American women on an average spend about 11 minutes per session. Porn is not new; representations of sexual acts have existed through the centuries and across cultures. The Kamasutra, the temples of Khajuraho, Konark, and Mondhera in India, in Athens the Phallic Statues of Priapus on street corners, Greek plates depicting sexual intercourse point to the prevalence of the depiction of sexual acts in art. Technology was merely changed the form from sculpting to photography to video and now in digital form. The creation, storage and accessibility has changed.

The internet and smart phone revolution had made it easy to access porn, which has become much more pervasive than before. The revenue from pornography industries is more than that of top technology companies Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo, Apple, Netflix and Earth link coimbined.

In these times of internet we cannot shut ourselves to the World Wide Web .The availability of pornography on the computer has changed the way millennial women view sex. It is esstimated that 42 per cent of internet users visit porn sites. Breakdown of male/female visitors is 72 per cent/28 per cent pornographic movies and pictures were originally made for the titillation of men, but with the media revolution, it is accessible to a female audience too. Women producers and directors are producing porn to cater to women’s tastes.

Pornography can have a whole raft of effects it dehumanises the other person, the relationship, and any intimacy. It fulfils the desire for control over women and encourages transience, experimentation and moving between partners. It also encourages people to make their home in shallow relationships.

Porn is an addictive substance Long term exposure may desensitise and rob the fun of sexual intercourse. Repeated acts without a story plot become monotonous and boring. People may lose interest in sex. Exposure to porn may stoke dormant sexual interests and make them crave for fulfilment of those desires.
Watching porn once in a while, for titillation, may not be harmful. In fact, it adds to the thrill of stimulation. But becoming dependent on it for stimulation is harmful. It leads to compulsive behaviour and requires treatment.

Research by Dr Zillmann and Bryant on prolonged consumption of nonviolent pornography, of their subjects, after many weeks of exposure, reported less satisfaction with their partner’s sexual performance, affection, and physical appearance.

Pornography is fantasy in the place of reality. In a nutshell human beings cannot get nourishment from porn but only from real relationships.

*Dr. Naresh Purohit-MD, DNB, DIH, MHA, MRCP(UK), is an Epidemiologist, Advisor-National Communicable Disease Control Program of Govt. of India, Madhya Pradesh and several state organizations.  He  is the Principal Investigator for the Association of Studies For Kidney Care.    Dr. Purohit  is also Executive Member- Indian Society of Sexual Medicine.