Sex sells. And that since the beginning of time – wherever there’s money to be found, you can find sex work. It goes back to basic and primal urges, making prostitution one of the oldest professions.

It thus comes to no surprise that the development of new technology (such as computers and smartphones) led to the development of the porn industry. More specifically, the creation of the internet rendered pornography easily accessible to all.

Hence, pornographic content can almost be found anywhere online, and “soft porn” even more so: social media, advertisements, and video games all point to the same thing, and I’ll repeat myself: sex sells.

Blue Marine 1996 by Jurgen Teller

The numbers speak for themselves: porn is a 97 Billion Dollar industry, and the use of sexual imagery helps the sale of basic goods: sex attracts attention.

Since the rise of the internet, young people undeniably have an unprecedented access to pornographic content, whether it be on pornographic sites or basic social media such as Instagram or Twitter.

While porn is becoming increasingly mainstream, it seems that the scenes depicted are becoming more and more violent. Physical and verbal abuse are present in over 85% of sex scenes, and most of the time, the person subjected to this violence responds with pleasure or doesn’t respond at all.

Both the exposure to this violent pornographic content and the lack of sex education in schools lead to unrealistic expectations about sex among the youth.

Teenagers base their knowledge on what is seen in pornography, i.e. the degradation of women, the focus on men's pleasure (leading to the omission of women's pleasure), and the lack of protection.

The age at which teenage boys are first exposed to porn shapes their sexual behavior and tendency to seek power over women. Teenage boys often tend to want to “recreate” what they see online, which often means pushing the boundaries of their female partner. Concretely, violent porn can make consent seem like a nebulous, hazy concept.

Antony Gormley

BUT SHE DIDN’T SAY ‘NO’.

We’ve all heard it before – except, she didn’t say yes either.

Rather than looking for an enthusiastic “yes”, many seek the absence of a firm “no”.

On the other side, adolescent girls become more likely to tolerate emotional, physical, and sexual abuse as a result to exposure to porn. It’s not just about consenting to the act itself – it’s also about taking pleasure in it. While many young women feel entitled to engage in sexual behavior, they don't necessarily feel entitled to enjoy it. As a result, young women often use their partner's pleasure as a measure of their own satisfaction.

Not only does exposure to porn at a young age set these unrealistic standards on the act itself, but it also exposes both men and women to unrealistic body norms.

It’s basically the norm for pornstars to get breast augmentations, butt lifts, and penis enhancements: plastic surgery becomes a side effect of acting in porn.

Davide Sorrenti

However, I’m not here to tell you not to watch porn. The French Parliament might - for minors at least: France is to set a nationwide age verification system for pornography websites, to protect minors from adult content. If these sites don’t cooperate, France will completely ban these porn sites for at least fifteen days.

Although there is a correlation between pornography and sexual violence, is completely banning pornography for minors the way to go?

Correlation is not necessarily causation, and in some instances, porn can be a private, non-judgmental place to explore one’s sexual desires, especially while young. Although I am completely for the protection of minors on the Internet, it’s almost foolish to assume that kids only start experiencing any sort of sexual desire right on their 18th birthday.

Porn sites have also given the LGBTQ+ community access to their preferred content. For those exploring and discovering their sexuality, it’s almost relieving to witness romance between two people of the same gender. Statistically, “Lesbian” was the most searched word on Pornhub in 2018.

But, has society normalized seeing two women together, or have they simply fetishized this act? Fetishization is not acceptance. Lesbians and bisexual women instead become objects of lust, or there to put on a show for straight men. This is why seeing two men together isn’t as “accepted”: straight men aren’t turned on by it.

Nobuyoshi Araki

Pornhub also sports categories such as “Ebony”, “Latina”, and “Asian” – all categories that sexualize women of color. Is this necessarily racist? Fetishes around ethnicity are more revealing about a countries colonial tendencies, that subconsciously lodge themselves as personal sexual preferences.

However, the way these videos are presented are inherently racist. Many videos contain the N-word, depict slavery, and contain all sorts of racial and sexual slurs completely degrading these women.

Apart from the underlying difficulty of limiting one’s access to the Internet in any way, shape, or form, it’s complicated to assess what is best for pubescent kids. While some may successfully do their own research online, others may need a more formal approach - whether it be from a parent, a teacher, or a healthcare professional.

Regardless, pornographic websites should spend more efforts filtering their content, and exploring other content barriers apart from their underwhelming age verification system. It could be as simple as placing a warning at the beginning of videos, reminding the viewer that what is seen is fake and emphasizing that porn actors are simply performing.

Sex Sells: A Look Into The Porn Industry

Sex sells. And that since the beginning of time – wherever there’s money to be found, you can find sex work. It goes back to basic and primal urges, making prostitution one of the oldest professions.

It thus comes to no surprise that the development of new technology (such as computers and smartphones) led to the development of the porn industry. More specifically, the creation of the internet rendered pornography easily accessible to all.

Hence, pornographic content can almost be found anywhere online, and “soft porn” even more so: social media, advertisements, and video games all point to the same thing, and I’ll repeat myself: sex sells.

The numbers speak for themselves: porn is a 97 Billion Dollar industry, and the use of sexual imagery helps the sale of basic goods: sex attracts attention.

Since the rise of the internet, young people undeniably have an unprecedented access to pornographic content, whether it be on pornographic sites or basic social media such as Instagram or Twitter.

While porn is becoming increasingly mainstream, it seems that the scenes depicted are becoming more and more violent. Physical and verbal abuse are present in over 85% of sex scenes, and most of the time, the person subjected to this violence responds with pleasure or doesn’t respond at all.

Both the exposure to this violent pornographic content and the lack of sex education in schools lead to unrealistic expectations about sex among the youth.

Teenagers base their knowledge on what is seen in pornography, i.e. the degradation of women, the focus on men's pleasure (leading to the omission of women's pleasure), and the lack of protection.

BUT SHE DIDN’T SAY ‘NO’.

We’ve all heard it before – except, she didn’t say yes either.

Rather than looking for an enthusiastic “yes”, many seek the absence of a firm “no”.

Not only does exposure to porn at a young age set these unrealistic standards on the act itself, but it also exposes both men and women to unrealistic body norms.

It’s basically the norm for pornstars to get breast augmentations, butt lifts, and penis enhancements: plastic surgery becomes a side effect of acting in porn.

Although there is a correlation between pornography and sexual violence, is completely banning pornography for minors the way to go?

Porn sites have also given the LGBTQ+ community access to their preferred content. For those exploring and discovering their sexuality, it’s almost relieving to witness romance between two people of the same gender. Statistically, “Lesbian” was the most searched word on Pornhub in 2018.

However, the way these videos are presented are inherently racist. Many videos contain the N-word, depict slavery, and contain all sorts of racial and sexual slurs completely degrading these women.