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JSB · 07-03-2009, 04:14 PM

I see porn as the sexual equivalent of refined sugar: it appeals to a primal human instinct, but is an artificial "overload" of an adaptive biological urge.

Most people have an affinity for sweet flavors; this urge serves to help us find nutritious, carbohydrate-rich food: namely fresh fruit, a staple of the traditional (pre-agriculutural) human diet. Likewise, the appeal of rich, fatty flavors attracted us to high-calorie foods back when starvation or malnutrition were far greater threats than obesity or heart disease.

The same instincts prompting us to eat ripe fruit, nuts, and healthy wild game now prompt many of us to eat chips, candy, and cheeseburgers. Fruit is no longer sweet enough, wild game is no longer rich enough to satisfy the cravings. The system has been artifically overloaded and the circuits have burned out; the adaptation has become maladaptive.

Likewise, the sexual urge kept us breeding and building social connections. Back when the average male hunter gatherer might see only 100 women in his lifetime, physical beauty and sexual attractiveness pushed him to be most smitten by the healthiest (no blemishes or external signs of disease/parasites), most fertile women (hence the innate attraction to young women).

Today, advertising, television, mainstream and pornography expose the average man to more intense, "appealing" sexual stimuli in one day than his ancestors experienced in an entire lifetime. For some people, pornography has jaded their sexual palate. The real live woman no longer excites them enough. Once again, the system has been artifically overloaded and the circuits have burned out; the adaptation has become maladaptive.

I don't want to rail against the "evils of smut", but just point out that it may not be as harmless as many people think, at least in high doses. Freedom of expression and the decoupling of sex from shame are wonderful things and should be encouraged. I just think that pornography does have its down side.

I mean no disrespect to those invloved in pornography. I admire the courage it must take to put yourself out there for the whole world to see, and I greatly value what sexual liberation has done in uprooting repressive, judgemental condemnation and Puritanism. I just wonder if there might actually be some psychological benefit to moderating our urges (as opposed to shaming or repressing them).

Any thoughts?

07-03-2009, 04:14 PM	#55 (permalink)
JSB Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 444	I see porn as the sexual equivalent of refined sugar: it appeals to a primal human instinct, but is an artificial "overload" of an adaptive biological urge. Most people have an affinity for sweet flavors; this urge serves to help us find nutritious, carbohydrate-rich food: namely fresh fruit, a staple of the traditional (pre-agriculutural) human diet. Likewise, the appeal of rich, fatty flavors attracted us to high-calorie foods back when starvation or malnutrition were far greater threats than obesity or heart disease. The same instincts prompting us to eat ripe fruit, nuts, and healthy wild game now prompt many of us to eat chips, candy, and cheeseburgers. Fruit is no longer sweet enough, wild game is no longer rich enough to satisfy the cravings. The system has been artifically overloaded and the circuits have burned out; the adaptation has become maladaptive. Likewise, the sexual urge kept us breeding and building social connections. Back when the average male hunter gatherer might see only 100 women in his lifetime, physical beauty and sexual attractiveness pushed him to be most smitten by the healthiest (no blemishes or external signs of disease/parasites), most fertile women (hence the innate attraction to young women). Today, advertising, television, mainstream and pornography expose the average man to more intense, "appealing" sexual stimuli in one day than his ancestors experienced in an entire lifetime. For some people, pornography has jaded their sexual palate. The real live woman no longer excites them enough. Once again, the system has been artifically overloaded and the circuits have burned out; the adaptation has become maladaptive. I don't want to rail against the "evils of smut", but just point out that it may not be as harmless as many people think, at least in high doses. Freedom of expression and the decoupling of sex from shame are wonderful things and should be encouraged. I just think that pornography does have its down side. I mean no disrespect to those invloved in pornography. I admire the courage it must take to put yourself out there for the whole world to see, and I greatly value what sexual liberation has done in uprooting repressive, judgemental condemnation and Puritanism. I just wonder if there might actually be some psychological benefit to moderating our urges (as opposed to shaming or repressing them). Any thoughts?