I have a confession to make and I hope you’re sitting down. I watch lots and lots of porn. As a man, I’d be surprised to find another man who doesn’t. But in today’s world, it’s become an acceptable routine. Much like caffeine, we don’t like to admit it might be an addiction. That would be blasphemous, yet if we try and give either of them up for a month or so, I’m sure we’d have similar effects of aggression. We do it every single day that it’s become a part of our schedule.
For gay men in particularly, we carry a need to be visually stimulated. Having a visual canvas is super important to us; it’s why we judge each other so harshly. Straight men have turned women into objects and gay guys have seemingly done the same thing with other gay guys. It’s hard to feel remotely attractive if we don’t look like either a porn star or an Abercrombie model. Is gay porn to blame? If you ask me, I’d say it subliminally effects the way marketing execs use their power to advertise because, surprise-surprise, they’re humans too, who probably watch porn.
It can definitely be argued that pornography is the beginning of many perspectives on pop culture. Sex has always inspired the way we view art. Only now in recent years art has become a part of life. We live our lives inside it; we act out for the sake of it; we pretend we’re more involved in it than we actually are. So it shouldn’t be surprising that porn has seeped into the way execs market companies, which then effects the way we, society, view each other. If you see it that way, then yeah, a man’s personality might change a tad bit.
When it comes to porn addiction, there is definitely something to be said about it affecting your everyday life. I remember being a young teenager and all I wanted to do on the weekends was watch porn because it helped me get over my anxiety of being closeted. But besides being gay, for many young dudes it helps to ease the fear of sex, which, when taken to unhealthy limits, might take away much of the motivation behind it too.
I’ve met tons of single (and coupled) gay guys who’d rather watch porn than have sex not because it’s better, but because it’s more comfortable. Think about it. You don’t need to douche, hell, you hardly need to shower, yet you can have mental sex with the hottest men in the world. Sounds nice to me.
As a man with a fairly decent amount of discipline, I know I’m able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. I may watch a hardcore scene set underneath a freeway, but I’m pretty sure my man wouldn’t want to bring it to life. On the same argument, I don’t believe that porn should be thought of as “strong enough” to change an entire personality; but I do believe it can be strong enough to change your standards on people.
Anything you look at 24/7 is eventually going to inspire your opinion on whatever subject it’s associated with, whether it’s sex, politics, or arts. Porn is tied to so many things other than sex, such as body image. If you live your life as if you’re in a nonstop porn film – surrounding yourself with hottie-totties, picking up strangers at the corner, hunting around the gym for a quick fling – you’re probably letting porn turn you into someone you know you’re not. Trust me, you’re not the first creep to have been turned by gay porn. And you definitely won’t be the last.
