Making Porn the Norm: The unintentional warping of how viewers perceive sex

As working in the porn industry becomes increasingly normalised, what it depicts tends to remain a fantasy – but do its viewers know that?

By Conor Clark

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

When viewers enjoy porn, it can be easy to forget that it is simply not real. Most movies depict moments of flawless passion which erase the realities of the bad and ugly parts of sex.

In the world of the internet and social media, though, porn is more accessible than ever and many people’s first experience of sex is often through watching it online – so what happens when they get the real thing and it’s not the same?

“The porn industry has a massive role into how people view sex and sexual health,” says nurse and former employee of a London sexual health clinic, Jonathan Durbz.

“People watch porn (and) see two random dudes or anyone hook up with no condom and think that's okay.”

Adult movies often depict people as having incredibly athletic bodies and have been confirmed as being damaging to relationships due to the unrealistic expectations it makes people have of their sexual or romantic partner.

Photo by Dainis Graveris

According to recent studies, it has been noted that there has been a sharp increase in young men’s level of erectile dysfunction rates in the last 50 years across Europe, which has been widely attributed to the increased accessibility of free porn and the perception of sex it often portrays.

For DamagedBttm, a homemade porn star working in the industry who remains anonymous beyond his performer name, the solution is to be open and honest about sex. “Information and honest discussions are the best way to combat stigma,” he believes. “De-stigmatising sex will lead to everyone having better sex, and what’s not to love about that?”