Many men and women feel imprisoned due to traditional stereotypes that have been poisoning people’s minds for centuries. These stereotypes affect how young men and women view themselves by setting a “standard” and if an individual does not meet that standard then they are judged for it. Pornography can be considered one of those “standards” within sexual relationships between individuals. Some people treat porn like it is sexual education and use it as the “textbook” to what is and what is not great sex. Porn affects how both men and women view themselves during sex. According to the New York Times, more women are seeking genital cosmetic surgery due to their self conscious thoughts of not looking like the women in the porn videos (Rabin 2016). The most common surgery being the Labiaplasty, which reshapes the external fatty tissue (vulva) by surgically cutting and reshaping.
Porn can have a negative effect on sexual relations within relationships. According to Noah Church, watching porn for long periods of time caused him to have a decreased sex drive when it came to actually having sexual relations with a woman himself. Its almost as if the porn he was watching was putting his mind into a false reality. Men who are addicted to porn admit to depersonalizing themselves while they are having sex because it is the only way that they can “get off”. Porn addiction has ruined relationships and sexual performance for avid viewers. This porn addiction can be considered as Guyland. If there is a Guyland then there is a Girlland. Women face more prejudice in today’s society. It is socially acceptable for men to “hook-up” with as many partners as they please, but women are named as sluts when try and follow these footsteps.
This prejudice has affected self-confidence and self- identity in many women today. Miley Cyrus admits to being subjected to these judgments. She described wearing a modest dress on stage and one of her fans yelled out that she was boring. She also described another show when she was wearing nothing but a bra and tight shorts, and one of her fans named her a “slut”. Miley is torn between two extremes and can’t figure out how to please her fans. This social judgement of what women should and shouldn’t wear has obviously impacted Miley Cyrus’ performance and mental health. Thankfully she found a mate that likes her for her, so now she has little regards as to what people think of her. Pornography has set a standard of either acceptance or rejection, depending on the individuals religious beliefs. Most Christians would cringe at the sight of naked men and women videoing themselves engaging in sadistic acts just to please the porn addicts.
Nonbinary and transgender individuals are also affected by the porn industry. Sam Escobar, a transgender individual, admitted to never being attracted to men and would even watch porn from a males perspective (Cox 2016). Depending on which sex you find attractive, porn affects a huge chunk of the American population today. Porn has been shown to be worse for a person’s brain than heroin ( NCBI Love 2015).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HweGILHWTZ4