How Porn Impacts Us, Part 3 (long): “Context”

I’m not sure I would have chosen the title Context for this post – though context is part of what I’ll be talking about – but I’m writing at least in part in reaction to a post from Danny Wylde with the same title on Boinkology so I’ll go with it. This is not a direct response to Danny’s post, I’m not trying to start an argument, but we’re coming at an issue from different angles, and, yes, there are some things in the post I disagree with. (It’s just as well that I’m not trying to start an argument, since I doubt Mr. Wylde will ever see this in the first place. An argument with only one participant is a lonely argument indeed.)

I’ve been writing about porn’s impact on us (from a purely amateur, “armchair sociologist” point of view), and I don’t think any discussion of porn’s impact on society would be complete without a discussion on whether and how our consumption of porn impacts our views on sex. Do the images and videos we see on our laptops and tablets and smartphones colour the way we think about or carry out activities in the bedroom? Do the depictions of sex we consume impact our views of the real thing?