Adult entertainment and why we consume it

The adult entertainment/pornography industry is a multi-billion dollar one, valued at about $100 billion. An estimated 90% of men report at least occasional use of porn, and about 50% of women are estimated to do the same, although researchers tend to view statistics from women to be less reliable because of stigma associated with sex and pornography.

According to studies, reasoning behind porn consumption varies. The most commonly reported reasons are:

• Arousal and masturbation.

• Relieving boredom.

• Distracting oneself.

• Regulating emotions.

• Sex education or “how to” purposes.

Sex education

Sex education from pornography is an issue we’ve covered before, mainly arising when pornography becomes the ONLY sex education someone receives, since porn is performative rather than realistic. Additionally, a large amount of it focuses on male pleasure and much of it lacks the consent conversations that are essential in sex education. Of course, it’s not all negative. Studies have examined how pornography can provide exposure and normalization of certain kinks and fetishes, and there is evidence that suggests it may even increase tolerance for other people’s sexualities.

All in all, though, pornography isn’t the place to go to learn about sex, even though one might naturally think it is.

Porn addiction

Porn as an addiction started circulating around 2015 along with the term sex addiction, but in reality, there is no evidence that such a thing actually exists. Sex and porn as addictions don’t hold up when compared to other addictions and when studied, doesn’t share the same traits, like changes to the brain, increased tolerance, withdrawal, and other addiction-related symptoms.

As such, people who identify as porn or sex addicts do so not because there is some objective way of measuring how much porn is too much, but because they or someone/something in their life thinks it is wrong. This is very different from an actual compulsive disorder or addiction.

Additionally, sex addiction and porn addiction have historically been used in attempts to defend cases of sexual assault or abuse, as in the case with Harvey Weinstein.

Porn in relationships

Pornography is often a challenge in relationships, partly because it’s not something many people talk about openly. Some of the discussions around porn in relationships revolve around:

• Infidelity. Some people feel as though pornography is infidelity, while others adamantly claim the opposite.

• Issues when porn is being used to compensate for unmet desires in a relationship. If this is not addressed, it can lead to resentment.

• Evidence suggests that porn use is much less likely to negatively affect non-monogamous people, perhaps because conversations about sex and sex with other people are usually already happening.

• Some couples find watching porn together to be an enjoyable experience.

• Knowing your partner watches porn can sometimes bring up jealousy.

At the end of the day, a lot of issues around pornography in relationships can be addressed and solved through proper communication.

Overall, the topic of pornography is still a very nuanced subject, and definitely not without its dark side. There are still issues with human trafficking across the world and porn producers who don’t treat their performers well. On the flip side, the increase in independent porn producers through websites like Patreon, OnlyFans, Fansly, etc., has given people more opportunities to support performers directly instead of relying on shady companies, and the companies and businesses are starting to follow suit. All signs point to destigmatizing sex work and supporting sex workers more, along with continuing to have more open and honest discussions about pornography and sex.

During this episode we drew from expertise from guests Nicoletta Heidegger and Sunny Megatron. Nicoletta is a licensed marriage and family therapist and sexologist. She can be found on the Sluts and Scholars podcast, or on Instagram at @slutsandscholars.

Sunny Megatron is an award-winning Certified Sexuality Educator and Relationship Coach. She’s the host and executive producer of the Showtime original television series, SEX with Sunny Megatron, and co-host for the American Sex Podcast and the Open Deeply Podcast. You can find more of her at sunnymegatron.com and @SunnyMegatron on all social media.