sexworkersforchoice.org

I'm not telling anyone anything new when I make the statement that porn is one of the biggest resources used for sex education in our country, am I??  I hope not, as it will be a rude awakening to some out there...

But in the absence of comprehensive, age appropriate sex education that includes all gender identities and orientations, we have left little choice for getting our questions answered, no matter what age we might be.  The result has been a shift in sexual attitudes to some degree, fetishizing certain acts and misinforming viewers often times about healthy, normal sexual response and arousal when the acts depicted in porn are left unbalanced by extensive, unbiased guidance both at home and in our schools.  Porn is shaping the way our generation, and possibly future generations, have sex.  This is not something I am particularly fond of as a whole, not because I'm anti-porn (quite the contrary...), but because there is SO much lacking in the education porn provides.  Intimacy, the broad spectrum of normal arousal scenarios for both men and women, lubrication issues, proper training and warm up techniques for anal sex...there is so much missing, not the least of which is an understanding of our own sexual identities and listening to our own sexual voices.  Who is there after the porn movie is over to discuss that not all women enjoy the acts depicted, or that all men do not look or last like the guys on film??  While maybe you wouldn't want to watch bukkake flick with Mom, then dissect these issues afterward, there are still essential conversations that can happen with Mom or Dad at other times (or even in church or schoool...) that, when centered around open, non-judgmental communication and tuning in to honoring our own individual identities help shape how we digest any erotica that comes our way (as well as many other decisions we make on sexuality and the relationships we choose...).  

There are a number of anti-porn people out there toting the evils that happen as a result of watching adult movies.  Many of them also fight to abolish prostitution, and see the two things as working hand in hand to turn our men in to misogynist predators all while degrading and enslaving women.  Those issues are one I will write about another day, but in short, there is partial truth to some of those criticisms.  The problem is there is only *partial* truth there, with the other truth being the larger elephant in the room: our lack of education, and the conservative judgments and hang ups we have in our country regarding sex.

Porn, like sex work, is not going anywhere.  As humans, we need sex...for a variety of reasons, and not all of those reasons necessarily involve procreation or expressing romantic love for another human being.  But we *could* do porn better...

Arguments from the porn industry stating that condom use "kills" sales because consumers don't want their fantasy interrupted when someone gloves up is completely ludicrous.  In today's day and age, sexually active teens and adults are all well aware that people use condoms to have sex all the time.  Sure, starting a conversation in your head when a condom comes about how "clean" the other person might be could be a buzz kill in the moment, but is that thought process still stigmatizing condom use as much as it was 15-20 years ago??  I don't think so, although I'm admittedly biased as I hang out with some freaky folks that use safe sex practices so easily and nonchalantly, that there is hardly a thought given to that part of the process of sex. 

So why can't porn do this too??  It's normalized in other areas, so can't porn just not edit out the sex hungry babe ripping off the condom and hurriedly unrolling it on her male members shaft because she can't wait to get fucked??  Can't there be scenes where a guy is teasing his chick, but refusing to put on a condom and fuck her until she gets his cock good and hard first??  Can't girls automatically be putting condoms on shared toys, or switching condoms when they swap off riding a guy...just like I have done a million times before without ever ruining any of the heat of the moment??

Yes, they could.  They really could.  I think they have to do it collectively though, as otherwise they won't have the stones to go through with it.  There certainly is some truth to the likelihood of consumers seeking out bare back films over  condom only films if those types of productions are allowed to proliferate, but an industry wide standard mandating condom use (something that should be put in place to protect the workers regardless...) would make that shift a level playing field on most fronts, and in the process provide an opportunity to help educate consumers in ways that could be profoundly far-reaching.  And I mean profoundly... 

My hope is that theLos Angeles County Department of Public Health moves forward on this mandate, and that the porn industry starts making lemonade out of what they perceive as being lemons.  Golden showers anyone??