Is pornography/masturbation bad for you?

[Jericho Z. Barrons]

I was watching a video by Tell Tale talking about the JW stance on pornography and masturbation being inherently damaging to people(the JW stance, according to Tell Tale, is that masturbating will make you gay, which they believe is bad). I also got that teaching as a young Mormon, that there is something deviant about porn and masturbating that it supposedly damaging to your psyche AND your soul.

But, is it? Tell Tale posits that masturbating is generally normal and healthy for people to do and that's how I tend to feel as well. In all of history, the religious invention that touching yourself is critically bad for you feels like a modern thing that's been mainstreamed.

 

[Staine]

It's just about the worst thing you can do for your body and mind. I can't speak to the soul, but it destroys brain cells at a rate that's simply unsustainable, you'll never be the same again and of course what it does to your body is disgusting. Shortness of breath, fever, blurred vision and even the dreaded hairy palms are all symptoms of this terrible addiction that borders on disease.

Or, it's perfectly normal, everybody does it and yet it's still stigmatised to such a terrible degree by some repressed individuals and groups that they will try their best to bully anybody around them into thinking as they do. Some might even say it's healthy, can relieve stress and put you in a generally better mood and can actually help you sleep. The only real danger is addiction, like many things that can provide a temporary high and release of endorphins it can be something you can do in excess if you're not careful, but I think most get over that when they are out of their teens.

To remove all doubt of how I actually feel about this I have used the classic "Traffic lights" technique.

 

[Ershin]

I can only speak from my perspective and from doing very little research on the subject. This is more a notion that I've been having in recent years that I think oddly fits into this discussion. For one, I don't condemn porn at all and in fact enjoy it very much (I mean, c'mon, who's ever seen it and NOT liked it? Someone I'm sure, but still), but I can say that anything in excess is a bad thing, even something as benign as watching videos. Now, I wouldn't say porn corrupts your soul or anything, but part of me does feel that the rise in certain sexual tendencies is linked to the ease with which porn is accessed, and the frequency with which is viewed.

As an example, speaking as someone who's 30, my young adult years without a computer involved waiting until crazy hours of the morning, just to get to see some breasts and butts. Yes, this is what it was like relying on cable and TV, and I remember vividly the thrill of this. It stuck with me, thankfully, but the more I've discovered and delved into the world of kinks, the more it seems like I require more in order to, well, 'have a nice start to my day'. I'm still very much a fan of seeing just naked women, however, don't get me wrong! It's a feeling that you never get over, but that's me as very much a straight dominant male who's a feeler. It just sticks with me.

Now, my concern comes with people who've been gobbling up choking, spanking and degradation scenes from the start. This also applies to a broader scope where it feels like powerful people also would want things that are out of the ordinary because the mundane no longer satisfies or pleases them. I'm not justifying this, I'm just saying that perhaps a lot of evil associated with sexuality has to do with the moral of the Portrait of Dorian Grey - taste everything enough times, and you'll become desensitized to this. That is the only moment when I sort of raise my finger and point out that perhaps mainstreaming sex and porn the way that we do isn't as good and freeing as we think it is. At the end of the day, it feels like humanity is in it's teenage years as it goes wild and sees how many lines it can cross. Spoiler alert: not every line should be crossed, but we cross them so we can learn the lesson, I guess.

An interview with Lisa Ann actually covers some of this, and it's a great listen if you're just curious about how old school porn vs new school porn compares, and the mentality behind it.

 

[Jericho Z. Barrons]

I guess asking the broad, general question, we've got to set parameters about "when" does it become bad for you. In that context, I'd agree with addiction as the extreme on the scale. Or when porn starts to affect attitudes and expectations between people.

 

[Ershin]

Agreed. I think the problem comes when guys start to innately think that every woman wants to be slapped across the face, and girls think that every guy is a perfect powerhouse machine with no flaws. Expectations is the right word, I think. And my two cents to this would be that watching porn and masturbating is fine, as long as it doesn't affect your hygiene and your moral compass. Not enough masturbation will turn you crazy, but too much and you'll likely see sex where there is none. Keep it balanced, my dudes and dudettes.

 

[Tanakalian]

Coming both from a different era and a country that is known for it's nudity in films - if there wasn't at least one full-on sex-scene in a film, it never made it into the cinema's - I find the whole debate quite alien.

But in general, TOO much of whatever is never good. A balance should be found. However, what that balance is differs per person. For one person masturbating once a week and watching porn at the same time is a balance, for another it might be a couple of times per week or per year.

 

[Jericho Z. Barrons]

@Tanakalian that is a very good point and an important distinction to be made. Then again, I'm not sure. Because on the one hand, part of me wants to say that sexual addictions are different, that a prude looking on might conclude that a liberated person just having a free and good time looks excessive or addicted. In that vein, I'd be tempted to allow individuals to determine for themselves whether their consumption is excessive or destructive when regarding sex, porn, and masturbation.

As a recovering alcoholic, I admit the inherent value in someone else stepping in and telling me when I've had enough. Part of that addiction has to do with a lot of denial, where I could convince myself of how much control I had and justify how my consumption was affecting myself and others. I have known and spoken to those who had sexual addictions who used terms I was familiar with, a perspective I could empathize with. So, in the broader conversation on personal accountability and how much consumption constitutes an addiction, and who should decide, I don't know how to make a conclusive case either way. If it weren't for family pressure, I would likely continue a cycle of wagon falling and hitting bottom.

 

[Shiver]

It is extremely important to separate these questions: masturbation and pornography are completely separate things with completely separate effects.

Masturbation is good for you. It's completely natural and acquaints you with your body in a way that's essential to have a fulfilling sex life. And for those who prefer scientific rationalizations, the dopamine helps regulate mood and mental health, and it reduces risk of prostate cancer for older men (though I read that it may increase risk for younger men, but I can't verify that... they're less at risk to begin with, either way).

Pornography is neutral for you. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, although over indulgence can interfere with your sex: by warping understanding of what real sex should be, and its overuse is also associated with a new wave of erectile dysfunction among young men.

 

[Ershin]

It is extremely important to separate these questions: masturbation and pornography are completely separate things with completely separate effects.

Masturbation is good for you. It's completely natural and acquaints you with your body in a way that's essential to have a fulfilling sex life. And for those who prefer scientific rationalizations, the dopamine helps regulate mood and mental health, and it reduces risk of prostate cancer for older men (though I read that it may increase risk for younger men, but I can't verify that... they're less at risk to begin with, either way).

Pornography is neutral for you. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, although over indulgence can interfere with your sex: by warping understanding of what real sex should be, and its overuse is also associated with a new wave of erectile dysfunction among young men.

This and a million times this!

 

[Nihilistic_Impact]

Most of my issues with pornography comes about due to the business which has gotten better in recent years but still has a long ways to go.

 

[Psychodurus Eques]

It is extremely important to separate these questions: masturbation and pornography are completely separate things with completely separate effects.

Masturbation is good for you. It's completely natural and acquaints you with your body in a way that's essential to have a fulfilling sex life. And for those who prefer scientific rationalizations, the dopamine helps regulate mood and mental health, and it reduces risk of prostate cancer for older men (though I read that it may increase risk for younger men, but I can't verify that... they're less at risk to begin with, either way).

Pornography is neutral for you. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, although over indulgence can interfere with your sex: by warping understanding of what real sex should be, and its overuse is also associated with a new wave of erectile dysfunction among young men.

I agree with this.

It's only a problem if your whole life revolves around it (but that's true for anything). I think the problem comes in where a person has something like a porn addiction that clearly interferes with their life, and the anti-sex attitudes in society lead people to assume it's because PORN is bad. Whereas if someone has an addiction to gambling or alcohol, while some might still see those things as bad, they are much more commonly accepted.

Even with the ED issues among young men, all the articles I see just straight up blame porn for being the reason they don't pop a boner at the sight of a naked woman, and they never delve into whether foreplay or anything else is a factor in why sex doesn't work out for them. Maybe it's the case, but I never see them bring it up, it's just "oh, see, porn is probably bad".

 

[Ershin]

Agreed. A lot of it has to do with the wrong perception that young men have about women, sex and how their brains end up wired because of porn. Foreplay is a good thing to bring up because this can indeed be the solution to a lot of problems in this regard. Guys have to understand that it's normal to need a bit more and maybe a bit of playfulness and roleplay to get going and try not to see every woman as someone they should treat like the videos they watched. The overconsumption of porn can learn to de-sensitization which I think is where it's good for there to be something to remind them to take a step back, and that sex should be an experience between two people who want to connect in different intimate ways. It all works out if there's trust, communication and, of course, a healthy amount of foreplay.

And regarding masturbation, @Shiver has the right idea. It's good for you, and only bad in overabundance since restraint is also a healthy thing to practice if you're someone with an overwhelming amount of urges anyway. The amount differs, just like with sexual preferences, tastes in porn, etc. Overall, I think people having exactly this kind of discussion more helps a lot, and I'm really enjoying reading this.

 

[RedRose]

I've seen how (non sexual) models can be treated and I can't just turn it off and not imagine porn girls (and men) might be treated the same

 

[Birble]

I've actually been researching the psychological affects of pornography for a college assignment. (What I've been reading is more on how it affects the way people act and how they treat women, but I do think it's somewhat relevant) I'm by no means an expert but from what I've read porn itself seems to have no proven negative affects on people. One paper I read suggested that even violent porn hasn't been shown to necessarily cause violence against women, although there can be a correlation since men who seek out violent porn may already be predisposed to being violent.

I think this quote sums up the findings of that study pretty well:
“Associations between pornography consumption and aggressiveness toward women could be explained by a circular relationship between high coercive tendencies and interest in certain content in pornography, whereby aggressive men are drawn to the images in pornography that reinforce and thereby increase the likelihood of their controlling, impersonal, and hostile orientation to sexuality. The way relatively aggressive men interpret and react to the same pornography may differ from that of nonaggressive men.” -Pornography and Sexual Aggression: Are There Reliable Effects and Can We Understand Them?

However, I also read studies that suggest that a combination of poor sex education and easy access to porn in adolescents can be unhealthy. But I don't think that is something that can be blamed on porn itself. It's a form of entertainment, not education. Relying on entertainment to learn about topics like consent and safe sex is really just a recipe for disaster.

Of course the topic of the stigmatization of sex workers, including adult actresses is another related topic. I personally think that part of the reason adult actors/actresses are treated so poorly is because of the attitude so many people have towards sex and porn, at least in the US. Working in porn is considered "dirty" so adult actresses are treated much worse. That doesn't mean that the existence of porn is immoral, or that consuming it makes people bad. It just shows that the culture doesn't respect sex work, which is a huge problem and leads to the abuse of sex workers being ignored...

I haven't read any studies specifically on masturbation but I agree with most of what's been said above; it's fine as long as it's not so excessive that it's causing problems in your life. I would also add that you don't want to masturbate to the point/in a way that injures yourself but I think that kinda goes without saying.

 

[Tanakalian]

I've actually been researching the psychological affects of pornography for a college assignment. (What I've been reading is more on how it affects the way people act and how they treat women, but I do think it's somewhat relevant) I'm by no means an expert but from what I've read porn itself seems to have no proven negative affects on people. One paper I read suggested that even violent porn hasn't been shown to necessarily cause violence against women, although there can be a correlation since men who seek out violent porn may already be predisposed to being violent.

I think this quote sums up the findings of that study pretty well:
“Associations between pornography consumption and aggressiveness toward women could be explained by a circular relationship between high coercive tendencies and interest in certain content in pornography, whereby aggressive men are drawn to the images in pornography that reinforce and thereby increase the likelihood of their controlling, impersonal, and hostile orientation to sexuality. The way relatively aggressive men interpret and react to the same pornography may differ from that of nonaggressive men.” -Pornography and Sexual Aggression: Are There Reliable Effects and Can We Understand Them?

However, I also read studies that suggest that a combination of poor sex education and easy access to porn in adolescents can be unhealthy. But I don't think that is something that can be blamed on porn itself. It's a form of entertainment, not education. Relying on entertainment to learn about topics like consent and safe sex is really just a recipe for disaster.

Of course the topic of the stigmatization of sex workers, including adult actresses is another related topic. I personally think that part of the reason adult actors/actresses are treated so poorly is because of the attitude so many people have towards sex and porn, at least in the US. Working in porn is considered "dirty" so adult actresses are treated much worse. That doesn't mean that the existence of porn is immoral, or that consuming it makes people bad. It just shows that the culture doesn't respect sex work, which is a huge problem and leads to the abuse of sex workers being ignored...

I haven't read any studies specifically on masturbation but I agree with most of what's been said above; it's fine as long as it's not so excessive that it's causing problems in your life. I would also add that you don't want to masturbate to the point/in a way that injures yourself but I think that kinda goes without saying.

Interesting post. But, if you change the word pornography to guns, the whole conversation shifts 180 degrees. Funny that. Something to do with love is seen as bad and something to do with war is seen as good.