A wellness perspective on pornography

Did you know that there is not a single book on wellness and pornography? Not only that, no workplace wellness program offers lectures, educational videos, or other instruction on pornography. The National Welfare Association has not addressed the issue, not a single session in any of the more than 30 annual conferences has been devoted to x-rated sex. It’s no wonder that many employees don’t care much about wellness in the workplace. You might think that hardly anyone is interested in pornography or that there is no possible connection between wellness and pornography. If you think this is the case, you could be wrong.

Woody Allen commented, “Sex without love is an empty experience, but when it comes to empty experiences, it is one of the best.” If, in fact, many people participate in some form of pornography, then the activity is probably relevant to well-being. Why? Because well-being has to do with the quality of life, and pornography must add or detract from the quality of life of those who see it or connect with it in some way. Therefore, it seems that pornography warrants a wellness perspective.

To frame this discussion, some basic concepts must be addressed. For example, what the heck is pornography, hereinafter simply referred to as pornography?

Well, that depends. It depends on who defines it. There are religious definitions, but also many others. There is no consensual definition of what it is or what is the best way to approach it that goes beyond the stakeholder lines. Some consider pornography immoral, but many social scientists do not. I don’t know if I’m a social scientist, but I definitely don’t think pornography is always immoral.

On the other hand, I find most of what I have found, to use a scientific term, quite disgusting, not to mention bland and disrespectful to women. However, when consenting adults are involved in matters related to sexuality in general and pornography in particular (let’s not automatically associate one with the other) and there is no exploitation, violence or offenses to common decencies involved, pornography seems to me simply entertainment. . Some forms of entertainment that I like (eg Broadway musicals, concerts, novels, and triathlons), others (eg NASCAR races, reality shows and game shows, televangelists) I don’t like. However, the total lack of attractiveness of the latter does not mean that you want to ban, demonize or treat them as radioactive waste. Maybe a little regulation to protect the innocent from corruption, but let’s separate evidence-based controls from censorship based on hysteria inspired by religion founded on dogma.

Dictionary definitions consistently describe pornography as erotic representations of behaviors intended to cause sexual arousal. That seems reasonable and useful as a definition. However, most of us could probably remember moments and situations that somehow elicited sexual arousal that were definitely not designed for such purposes. I remember strange movements of strange pleasure when Sister Alphonse Maria slapped me on the butt for speaking in line while waiting for confession in third grade. I’m pretty sure no photo or video of that scene would seem remotely erotic to anyone, but it sure was to me. In fact, without the incident, I would have run out of material when I entered the confessional. As it was, I decided to add the incident to my other transgressions (eg, disobeying my mother twice, sneaking candy before dinner seven times, etc.) revealed and forgiven by Father LaRue. He must also have thought that the incident represented a bit of eroticism, because my prayer was quite harsh: a dozen Hail Marys instead of the usual two.

Pornography is not new, even if it has grown exponentially with the advent of the Internet. If in doubt, check out some art books for ancient cave wall paintings or read the Kama Sutra. It is something really old; But today’s pornography is better illustrated and represented, as well as being more convenient given the Internet, DVDs, and improved photographic images. For those who want to, and the numbers are huge, porn seems to improve the quality of life, unless, of course, they get caught staring at it. A 2001 Forbes article placed porn sales in this country alone (including video, pay-per-view, the Internet, and magazines) between $ 2.6 billion and $ 3.9 billion. (How Big Is Porn? Adams Media Research, Forrester Research, and Veronis Suhler Communications Industry Report.)

Experts on the subject tell us that pornography primarily attracts men, which seems obvious. (More than half a century ago, Kinsey showed that 54 percent of men, but only 12 percent of women, were turned on by pornography. However, pornography in the 1940s and 1950s left much to be desired according to the spectacular standards of today’s art). I have a greater interest in mindless sex, which I suspect is characteristic of porn. Not that there is anything wrong with meaningless sex; after all, life itself is meaningless except for the meanings we attribute to it. Men probably masturbate much more than women, and porn is a convenient and relatively risk-free way to get the level of arousal necessary for orgasm. Unless, of course, you’re loaded with religious baggage about sin and all that.

Much sex research suggests that men can’t really help themselves – that is, resist pornography. Experts in sexual studies explain male preoccupation with sexuality as a condition of the evolved genetic makeup. These are chemicals. There are good biological reasons that men favor pornography, so back off and leave us alone – we are victims of nature, don’t you know? Also, if pornography provides men with a safe outlet for physical gratification and saves them a lot of time and explosive, dysfunctional relationships, isn’t that a good thing, ceteris paribus?

So if all porn is not inherently evil and destructive and is at odds with all that is good and healthy, what’s next? What could be said, to begin with, of a somewhat positive character on the subject in the context of the well-being of the quality of life? Here are some possibilities, off the top:

* Go with freedom. If something (like pornography, for example) bores or offends you and you can’t be sure it’s causing irreparable harm, consider ignoring it and continuing with whatever sounds like you.

* Pornography can be good or not good. It depends. It depends on many variables. Avoid simplistic and unsupported claims that lack clear evidence, including all of those claims in this essay.

* Sometimes it is better to fantasize about some things than to try or even more terrifying, to do them for real. On the other hand, sometimes it’s great to do it. (At least that’s what they tell me).

* Fantasy can be a good thing, especially when it comes to sexual arousal.

* Pornography can serve a number of functions in the area of ​​wellness skills, such as stress management (eg, a non-drug temporary fix for negative moods such as anxiety or even depression), mood, and experience of multiple DBRU equivalents (best moments of time).

* Like food, fitness, passion for excellence or the search for the meaning of life, sex and / or pornography can be exaggerated, persecuted or indulged in excess and therefore constitute a key factor in loss of balance to satisfy own needs.

* Be attentive to your responsibilities and obligations to others when pursuing any passion or even small, inconsequential secret pleasures.

There are many things we do not know about the nature and varied effects of pornography. Examples include whether and how to regulate it to protect children and weak-minded people, how to lessen or even completely eliminate the typical disrespect towards women, and how to educate everyone more effectively for the market for sexuality. strange and truly unpleasant is drastically reduced. .

I think it would be a very good thing if steps were taken to deal with pornography, and the broader and much more consequential but related issue of healthy sexuality, as a fact of modern life, and to do so openly.

Let’s approach this topic as part of wellness (quality of life) in as free of guilt, shame, inhibition, and shame as possible. Let’s do our part to wisely and effectively deal with the negativity associated with our culturally repressed attitudes toward sexuality. The main problem is not so much whether the porn is good or bad, right or wrong. Rather, given that pornography is with us and is not likely to go away, what are the wisest answers about it, personally and as a society, and what is the best way to approach it in the larger context of wellness sex?

Summing up from a REAL wellness perspective, the bottom line to consider is whether pornography improves or lowers quality of life and under what specific circumstances positive outcomes can be fostered.