# Just how harmful is pornography anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 6, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705 "2014-02-06T23:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705/81 "2014-02-26T07:29:20Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Heh, what is the Europe version of Canada in “I did it with my girlfriend, who lives in Canada.” Summer holidays were a very fertile bullshit ground, from what I remember 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gmas4321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/439d5e/32.png) [@gmas4321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gmas4321)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705/82 "2014-02-26T07:44:11Z")
Keeping children in the dark about sex is not a good idea. Naturally children are curious so they will eventually find out on their own which I don’t recommend. I was a pregnant teen I believe due to the fact we never talked about sex in my home. I really thought that getting pregnant was not going to happen to me, even though I was having unprotected sex. I think if my mom would have been more open about sex I would not have gotten pregnant as a teen. I was uncomfortable talking about sex with my mom so I never did. Sex is not a bad thing, it is completely natural and I think parents should not let their kids feel embarrassed or ashamed to come and talk to them about sex. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705/83 "2014-02-26T10:32:16Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Summer holidays were a very fertile bullshit ground, from what I remember 🙂 Right now I’m thinking Iceland. Far enough to be hard to verify, plus coming down to summer camp makes sense. > [@gmas4321](#): > > I was a pregnant teen I believe due to the fact we never talked about sex in my home. We never talked about sex besides giving me a book, and I am certain I wouldn’t have gotten anyone pregnant, if I ever had the opportunity (I didn’t). Although with the internet, anyone can educate themselves with Wikipedia these days. > [@](#): > > I was uncomfortable talking about sex with my mom so I never did. This describes 99.99% of teenagers. ---
**Author:** ![Farin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@Farin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farin)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705/84 "2014-02-26T13:13:35Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Are you and Jimmy working at a nunnery or something ? > I’ve never been much into water cooler talk myself, but the Jimmies of the world nevertheless told me more than I cared to know about their sex lives (including one who just couldn’t wait to tell everyone about that one night he banged a barely legal gymnast and would they please not tell his girlfriend but god_damn_ was it worth it). Vague talk of exploits is common. “I banged that girl last night.” is fine. I could even see “I watched a great porn last night.” But the actual details, and comparing those details to real life? Well, let’s see what Jimmy says: > [@Kobal2](#): > > (because Jimmy usually lasts three hours in bed with a rock hard, diamond-cutting 16 incher) Oh, good. Perfect clarity and regard to reality. 😛 Going “Man, I’m exhausted from the 27 hours marathon sex I had just last night.” is not comparative or reality based. See the difference between an actual reality check and douche bags that brag near a water source? > [@Kobal2](#): > > there but then if you can talk with, I dunno, your _partner_ about sex they might provide a reality check. Or they might earnestly vouch for Jimmy’s prowesses, in which case you have a different problem 😛 There is still a heavy stigma attached to sex in the US. People find themselves in partnerships with prudes all the time. It may not be conducive to the relationship to talk about how you watch porn. Take me, for instance. I’m technically the prude in my relationship. My wife loves going to strip clubs, both male and female. I’d never been to a strip club before I met her, mainly because I never saw the attraction. I still don’t have a particular fondness for them. But my wife wanted to go and was afraid to ask me to go with her because she didn’t want to find out I was into all sorts of Bible thumpin’ and soul savin’ or what have you. > [@Kobal2](#): > > Again, maybe times they have a-changed, and maybe Europe is different, but my 13 y.o. friends and I used to trade porn VHSs - I expect today they trade notable urls. As a person who grew up on the crusty edge of the internet in the US, I certainly did trade notable links. With particular friends. Only. Other friends were never told that I knew that women were different in any way because they were of a different cultural norm. > [@Kobal2](#): > > Teenage boys are completely obsessed with sex… and never really cease to be. Girls might be a different story I suppose, but judging by all the giggling I wouldn’t bet on it ;). In the US, though, acknowledgement of that basic fact can land you in many situations that, as a teenager, you don’t want to (or can’t) deal with. You can lose friends because their parents don’t want you to ‘taint’ their innocent children with your bad influencing ways. You can get ostracized from school, if the people in the area particularly traditional. More can happen, depending on the play between multiple factors. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705/85 "2014-02-26T14:01:25Z")
> [@Farin](#): > > Oh, good. Perfect clarity and regard to reality. 😛 Going “Man, I’m exhausted from the 27 hours marathon sex I had just last night.” is not comparative or reality based. See the difference between an actual reality check and douche bags that brag near a water source? Well, yeah :). But Jimmy’s a jerk who only gets validation by trying to impress all of Accounts Receivable. We humor him while secretly assuming he’s got a micropenis. I also reckon everybody also has at least a couple of \*actual \*friends of either or both genders they can actually be open and honest with. Or, hell, anonymous strangers on the interwebs, who are a lot more easy to be honest and open with. > [@](#): > > There is still a heavy stigma attached to sex in the US. People find themselves in partnerships with prudes all the time. It may not be conducive to the relationship to talk about how you watch porn. Well, then I’d say they have worse and more immediate problems than wangst over their oogy bits, no ? > [@](#): > > Take me, for instance. I’m technically the prude in my relationship. My wife loves going to strip clubs, both male and female. I’d never been to a strip club before I met her, mainly because I never saw the attraction. I still don’t have a particular fondness for them. But my wife wanted to go and was afraid to ask me to go with her because she didn’t want to find out I was into all sorts of Bible thumpin’ and soul savin’ or what have you. FWIW, I don’t get strip clubs either. Actually paying to get professionally induced blue balls ? What. But again, if you can have sex with someone but not just \*talk \*about sex with that person, then y’all have issues that go above and beyond garden variety insecurity. And, all right, it might be a bad idea to mention to one’s spouse your fantasies with the horse, the lesbian twins and the bathtub filled with blackcurrant liqueur (although you might also be pleasantly surprised :p), but “Am I doing OK ? Should I be doing something different ?” is not exactly putting oneself out there. > [@](#): > > In the US, though, acknowledgement of that basic fact can land you in many situations that, as a teenager, you don’t want to (or can’t) deal with. You can lose friends because their parents don’t want you to ‘taint’ their innocent children with your bad influencing ways. Oh, come now. What teenager actually listens to what their parents say or want ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Melchior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Melchior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melchior)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705/86 "2014-02-26T19:00:49Z")
> [@Farin](#): > > While I don’t agree with that author, it is worth noting that nudity is not sex. > > The Talk is important to the development of minors because it puts into context what they will see in porn (there’s no use pretending they won’t see it). Like in all things, minors need guidance from adults they can trust. Yes, but I am sure that some, if not many of these primitive cultures do not have permanent or elaborate shelters that allow privacy. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/peru/10255412/Rare-video-of-long-isolated-Peru-tribe-of-Mashco-Piro-Indians-released.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/peru/10255412/Rare-video-of-long-isolated-Peru-tribe-of-Mashco-Piro-Indians-released.html) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705/87 "2014-02-28T15:03:35Z")
Who needs an elaborate shelter? Us small-town kids always found it hilarious that big city teens/low-20s apparently needed to have sex in cars, since beds were easy to find for us, specially in the summer. In the spring and fall, those who couldn’t get themselves to a bed just went to a field… and in the winter many of us simply weren’t willing to take that much clothing off. Do all those naked people now live in places without fields? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-how-harmful-is-pornography-anyway/680705.md?page=4)