Pornography and Human Futures
Foreword
This first issue of Fully Human cuts a different path through the discussion of online porn.
People often think online porn is about sex. So we talk as if we’re talking about sex. Squeamishly or stridently. As moralist or libertarian. Denouncing porn as sexual perversion or celebrating porn as sexual freedom. The two sides line up in opposition while pornography itself grows and changes beyond recognition online. Because mainstream online porn isn’t about sex. It’s about money, and what happens when technology is aimed at the most intimate parts of us in the pursuit of profit.
If porn was just about sex, we’d have the debate about whether there is anything inherently harmful or unethical about creating and viewing films and photos of humans involved in sexual activities. But mainstream online porn is not just films and images, and this is not the debate we need have.
Instead, when there is now a rich and growing research literature1 revealing mainstream online porn’s wide-ranging harmful effects on humans, including on relational and sexual satisfaction, attitudes towards women and girls, the prevalence of harassment and other unethical behaviour, we need to ask — why?
Q: Do you like having your picture taken?
A: I don’t like having my picture taken.Q: Do you believe that it is possible that, at some point in the future, one will be able to achieve sexual satisfaction, “complete” sexual satisfaction, for instance by taking a pill?
A: I doubt that it’s impossible.Q: You don’t like the idea.
A: No, I think under those conditions we would know less than we do now.Q: Know less about each other.
A: Of course.
From ‘The Explanation’ Donald Barthelme Forty Stories
During the pandemic, Pornhub had a bigger audience than the BBC2 yet the increasing media and government scrutiny of tech corporate practices and their influence on humans is not being applied to the online porn industry. This is despite the porn industry’s engagement in many of the practices being questioned elsewhere (and more besides) and the fact that a significant proportion of teenagers view pornography regularly.
UK government made a commitment to age verification of online pornography in 2015 which five years on is still not in place. There is a lack of clarity about its future and whether other forms of regulation will be applied to the industry. The 145 page draft Online Safety Bill (2021) going through parliament at the time of writing does not mention pornography once (excluding reference to the distinct issue of children involved in its production, a form of child sexual abuse). So while pornography remains ubiquitous in online life, it is near invisible in policy. These facts combine to create significant, poorly understood and unchecked influence on individuals and society, including on children and young people.
In Fully Human Issue #1, our exploration of this influence concludes that at its heart, mainstream online porn is not videos or imagery, or even a product. It is an invitation – or endless invitations — for individuals to go on a journey in which their sexuality, self and values are shaped towards others’ profit, and away from their own and others’ potential for rich, connective life. This understanding has profound implications for young people’s education and for wider societal action aimed at supporting human thriving, and preventing injustice and harm.
JB
A recent representative survey of children and parents commissioned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, 2020) found that 41% of 16 – 17 year olds had seen it in the last two weeks, alongside 32% of 14 – 15 year olds, and 18% of 11 – 13 year olds. This study found high levels of viewing in girls as well as in boys.
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For an overview of current research into the impact of online pornography on adults and young people see: Hanson, E. (2020). What is the Impact of Pornography on Young People? PSHE Association
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Waterson, J. (2021). Half of adults in UK watched porn during pandemic, says Ofcom Guardian online, Accessed 28 June 2021