Hi, everyone! How're you doing?? Thanks for stopping by my page and checking out my spot on this hop. ^_^ The Sex Positivity Blog Hop, the brainchild of author
Grace Duncan, aims to share positive views on sex and any and all topics related thereto.
When I signed up for the Sex Positivity Blog Hop, I kind of had no idea what to expect. And then, when we received the call to arms (a.k.a. the dates on which we each would be posting), I kind of had no idea what to post about.
Should I post about the advances that are currently being made across the United States in efforts supporting marriage equality?
Should I post about bisexuality? Demisexuality? Asexuality? Pansexuality?
Should I post about cross-dressing and how it doesn't automatically imply transgender identity?
Fuck it! I thought.
I'll just post a video of someone rolling a condom onto a banana.
(In case you would rather just see a video of a condom-covered banana (as instructed by Max Ryder!),
here ya go.)
Anyway, I thought about it a little more, and I decided that, in the immortal words of Salt 'N Pepa,
let's talk about SEX bay-bee!
Specifically, porn.
Porn is in the business of sex. Of filming it. Of taking pictures of it. Of inspiring it. Of making it available for the public's viewing pleasure.
There's a huge taboo surrounding sex and, particularly, porn in mainstream society.
YET EVERYONE WATCHES IT.
Well, almost everyone.
The statistics of porn are staggering. Although much has changed about the landscape since I first chose pornography as the topic of my informational speech in my speech course back in 2000 (got an A on that speech, too!), one thing remains the same after all these years: porn remains king of the media.
I apologize in advance because this blog post is going to be short on research links. However, if you really want something, just let me know and I'll do my damnedest to find it. I studied media and communications in college and specifically did copious amounts of porn research for my Speech 100 course. *ahem* REAL research, mind you. *cheeky look*
A few things to take into account:
• Pornography is an eleven-figure, multi-billion dollar industry. A little over a dozen years ago, when I first did my porn research and as porn really began to take over the internet, that figure was less than half that amount. While it's hard to pin down the exact size of the industry, it's pretty safe to say that pornography's revenues are jaw-dropping.
• Trekkie Monster sang in the Broadway musical Avenue Q that "the internet is for porn!" (Avenue Q is an awesomely hilarious musical, by the way - definitely check it out!) And he was right. As this super interesting infographic from HuffPost states, porn sites see more visitors in a month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined.
• The first American antique pornographic film purportedly was 1915's A Free Ride. The plot is classic and something that you'd see today: a man driving on a country road picks up two female hitchhikers.
• Have you ever enjoyed watching a movie on VHS, DVD, or the internet? What about Betamax and VCD? Guess which ones the pornography industry adopted to offer their films. Exactly. The porn industry has had more than a helping hand in revolutionizing technology over the years.
While I am by no means an expert on porn and its influences, my point here is that people watch it. LOTS of people. Millions of people, both men and women. And it has had a huge effect on our lives, whether we know it or not.
Despite all of this, so often porn is looked down upon by society. There are instances of adult stars transitioning into the mainstream, such as Jenna Jameson and her multi-million dollar brand or Sasha Grey's role in Steven Soderbergh's
The Girlfriend Experience, but more often than not the reaction is simply to clam up when porn and sex come up in conversation (if they come up in conversation at all).
There are, of course, issues and concerns in the porn industry over exploitation. However, it bears mentioning that exploitation exists in almost every industry (from sweatshops to childcare workers), and, when done "right," the performers in porn are consenting adults who are earning their honest livings, while entertaining and arousing the audience.
There's nothing wrong with sex on film. Or print. Or screen. So don't let society shame you into thinking there is!
I mean, I watch it. I'm betting you watch it. Or you have watched it. Or, if you haven't, then your neighbor has. And if you have and still do, then go forth and wear that porn badge proudly! With millions of people consuming porn and
12% of the internet devoted to it, I'm pretty sure that you're not alone in enjoying it.
♥
P.S. Obligatory new book plug!
So, I wrote a thing! And it's set in Regency England, when gay sex was, like porn, très taboo.
A Time for Loving is a historical m/m romance short story that offers a glimpse into the lives of Jack and Christopher.
Jack and Christopher have made it through years of campaigning and the horrors of Waterloo together—side by side by day and, by night, in each other's arms. After the war is over, however, will the love shared between this batman and his officer survive when Christopher returns to the life of a gentleman?
Just 99 cents for this bonbon of m/m romance!
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Thanks for visiting and check out these awesome authors who are also contributing to the Sex Positivity Blog Hop!
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