The sinister reality of Pornucopia

It’s hard, if you’ll pardon this and any other inevitable puns you are about to encounter, to talk about pornography and be taken seriously. Speak to one group of people and they’ll deride you as a consumer of filth, dedicating your life to sweaty onanistic pursuits. Address your concerns to others however and they’ll be too busy high-fiving and sticking their tongues between their fingers to listen what you have to say.

Both groups have their reasons of course. Sex is an incredibly awkward and personal thing for people to talk about and prudish dismissal is often the easiest way to go. Couple this with the always welcome interference of the Catholic Church and you can see why many older Irish people shy away from the porn discussion. The reason for the other reaction is even more obvious - few things are more awesome or funnier than sex.

But you do need to consider porn and consider it seriously because it plays a big part in how the psyche of the world is shaped. Both males and females are genuinely consciously and subconsciously influenced by porn especially as it becomes more and more mainstream.

Movies like Boogie Nights and Zac and Miri Make a Porno, an episode of Friends (that show’s own cancerous influence is its own story) and an internet phenomenon involving two girls and one cup are clear indicators of this new acceptance. Ordinarily this mainstreaming of dirty movies had been lauded as a victory for liberal thinking and free love. This ignores a serious consequence. Most of the appeal of porn is that it is something forbidden.

This is why San Fernando Valley can continue to mass produce its endless almost identical videos of what John Lydon referred to as “two and a half minutes of squelching noises” and remain one of America’s biggest industries.

However as porn becomes more mainstream and popular, the industry will not only struggle to meet demand but also to retain its edginess.

This means the porn has to become more violent and weird to stay popular. Max Hardcore’s Gonzo style (dressing women in children’s clothes, punching them in the face, always being a “stepdad” or an “uncle”) was met with disgust when he started but now it’s becoming to closer to the norm. All over the cultural psyche attitudes have become more and more extreme. 4chan, one of the most visited sites on the internet, has only recently begun banning people from posting child pornography, a common occurrence which is regarded as a joke among their users. The absurd moments of pornography can often be hilarious, Efukt.com providing ample evidence to support this. Mixed in with the bloopers and pratfalls are scenes of such repugnant violence that it would be impossible to describe them here.

In the 1980s men were the porn stars and the women were anonymous accessories. The implication of this is fairly obvious. These days the women are the stars and men, aside from those with a gimmick like the biological anomaly that is Peter North or the repulsive psychotic Rocco Siffredi, are the props.

This is a victory for feminism according to the female stars. However what they are famous for is a matter of concern. The main source of pride seems to be the punishment these women can take and their willingness to debase themselves. S&M is a legitimate form of sexual expression but to expose young people to this at too young an age when they cannot really understand it could seriously warp their perspective.