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What Porn Did to American Culture?

theatlantic.com

31–40 of 114 posts

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do understand that your anecdote is an example of confirmation bias, right? You claim is tantamount to saying you ran an AA group and only heard bad things about alcohol. No shit!? Next you'll start a sports gambling recovery group and let us know there's nothing good about sports. Porn might not be good but your anecdote is a long way from evidence. What you've seen is a tautology; the people who DON'T have a pr…

> You claim I think this is your problem. I didn't make a claim. I provided a personal story about running these groups and how objectification of women was a common result of a porn addiction (something the individual being interviewed mentioned). I was simply providing some anecdotal evidence that agreed with the interviewee. I wouldn't make an absolute statement about my experiences for the same reasons you're usi…

> Never once have I found a single story that ended well.

That's the claim you made. Every story ends badly because you've never seen one end well at your recovery program.

You've never seen a story end well because by the time you're involved everything has already gone wrong. You're like a fire fighter claiming homes are dangerous because you always see them on fire.

The people who don't have a problem aren't coming to your program.

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#32
post #16

I should be very clear here that I am a gay man, so I don't really have exposure to much of what is talked about here even if I have heard about it. What I find interesting is that it seems to equate critiquing porn with critiquing the treatment of the people in porn. Those are 2 very distinct things, you can have issues with treatment within the industry without going down a prudish anti-porn route. Personally I fee…

Your thoughts along this topic run similar to mine. I would extend it a bit to say that a lot of the problems in the industry, and how it treats people, are a direct result of the fact that it's considered shameful by a lot of society.

Yes, 100%.

Made worse by maybe afraid to speak up because of how might be judged ("Oh this person was asking for it because they do porn").

Feeling like you have no power.

It is for sure a complicated issue and societal norms and expectations play into that.

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#33

The article claims porn, and sure, that's a part. The bigger issue here is outmoded predominant protestant christian views of 'morality'. And that percolates all through the rest of USA culture, including into advertisements and commercialism. Their view of sex is as a sin, so its shamed, hidden, and secretly desired. All these things have popped up with all these pretty terrible results. Sexuality is 'tittalting' so…

[deleted]

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do understand that your anecdote is an example of confirmation bias, right? You claim is tantamount to saying you ran an AA group and only heard bad things about alcohol. No shit!? Next you'll start a sports gambling recovery group and let us know there's nothing good about sports. Porn might not be good but your anecdote is a long way from evidence. What you've seen is a tautology; the people who DON'T have a pr…

> You claim I think this is your problem. I didn't make a claim. I provided a personal story about running these groups and how objectification of women was a common result of a porn addiction (something the individual being interviewed mentioned). I was simply providing some anecdotal evidence that agreed with the interviewee. I wouldn't make an absolute statement about my experiences for the same reasons you're usi…

His word choice and tone are unfortunate, as he did put a few words in your mouth you didn’t say. But… I agree with his underlying point. As other siblings have pointed out, this certainly seems like selection bias.

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#35
Not buying it. She just states “porn shaped society” without anything to prove it.

Seems absurd to me on the face of it.

Are men objectifying women? Yes. Have they done this since the dawn of mankind? Yes.

I could easily claim the reverse. Society shapes porn. It’s a reflection, not the other way around.

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#36

I've been helping young men escape the clutches of porn for over a decade now (leading what you might call recovery groups). Never once have I found a single story that ended well (but that's more or less expected given the groups I run). It all starts with an introduction to porn and ends with an addiction that seems to slowly transforms their brains in unpleasant ways, objectification of women being the primary one…

Why is porn such a big deal? I've seen it, but the real thing is much better. How is it even possible to get addicted that just seems weird.

> How is it even possible to get addicted that just seems weird.

This is a pretty common reaction to someone else's addiction. I've heard people say the same about alcohol and other less-socially acceptable drugs. I'm not a porn addict but I suspect that for people who are the response would be something like asking an alcoholic why they want another drink when they've already had so many: how is it possible to not want another drink?

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#37

I've been helping young men escape the clutches of porn for over a decade now (leading what you might call recovery groups). Never once have I found a single story that ended well (but that's more or less expected given the groups I run). It all starts with an introduction to porn and ends with an addiction that seems to slowly transforms their brains in unpleasant ways, objectification of women being the primary one…

[deleted]

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#38
It would probably be way healthier to ban porn and legalize prostitution, than ban prostitution and legalize porn. Much harder to get into the dehumanization mindset trap in person.

The interview repeats the common aphorism "sex sells", but it should follow it up "sex sells other things". Sublimated desires into other categories this way doesn't seem good either.

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#39
This reads like a discussion form the 90's when the porn industry, and most media, were tightly controlled by small number of dominant players that set the norms (whether we liked it or not). I know a lot of people who have created porn in the 2010's and onward and none of them have any connection whatsoever to that porn industry of yesteryear. This feels like a strained attempt to stain the independent porn of today with the worst aspects of studio porn.

Re: What Porn Did to American Culture?

#40
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is porn such a big deal? I've seen it, but the real thing is much better. How is it even possible to get addicted that just seems weird.

> How is it even possible to get addicted that just seems weird. This is a pretty common reaction to someone else's addiction. I've heard people say the same about alcohol and other less-socially acceptable drugs. I'm not a porn addict but I suspect that for people who are the response would be something like asking an alcoholic why they want another drink when they've already had so many: how is it possible to not w…

I've been a incel for a short while and know everything about alcohol. Both issues are identical: why would I give up beer when there is no alternative? Same thing for porn.
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