A Challenge for Men to Give Up Porn

The puppeteers of porn are having a field day defining our sexualities for us and they're getting filthy rich in the process.
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Albert Einstein did not have an erection when he developed the Theory of Relativity.

That is one outrageous claim I can make with full confidence knowing it's absolutelytrue. No, I was not in the room at the time. I didn't have to be. I'm a man. I knowfirsthand that it's impossible for men to form even the simplest thought after theblood rushes south from our genius noggins. Can I get a witness?

Internet porn is changing who we are and I don't mean in a good way. CharlesDarwin could never have predicted how our species might devolve. Imagine thepurest look of horror on Darwin's face upon learning that the next image in hiselegant evolutionary progression -- culminating with the dignified, upright modernman -- is followed by a revived Neanderthal lounging on a sofa with laptop and anapkin. Grunt once if you understand what I'm saying, friends.

Men are at a serious disadvantage spending so much time artificially aroused andI'm here to tell you guys -- you're being had. If there's one thing I hate it's whensomeone tells me what to do, how to think and how to feel. The puppeteers of pornare having a field day defining our sexualities for us and they're getting filthy rich inthe process.

Last week I had the opportunity to view some porn with a full supply of blood in mycranium and the astute guidance of author Gail Dines. Oh sure, I had seen all stagesof nakedness on the Internet before but never had the images and the languagebeen so revealing to me. You might say that I suddenly saw the Emperor without hisclothes and it made me wonder how the innocent liquor store glances at Playboymagazine had so quickly grown to the violent extremes of "Gonzo" porn. Oh, ofcourse... money.

Just so it's clear: I'm no prude, there are no references to Biblical passages in thisarticle and Larry Flynt is not interested in your first amendment rights. Onlinepornographers want your money and they will feed your most disturbing fantasyto get it. If you're like me and you don't have any disturbing fantasies, one willbe invented for you and you'll learn to like it. What's your pleasure: 12 year-oldswith tattoos? Handicapped housekeepers? Humiliated Asian boys in bondage? Ifyou buy into the idea that all is fair amongst consenting adults, you should knowthat your sons are being groomed as the next generation of porn consumers ... and,interestingly enough, so are your daughters. Oh, is that YOUR rape fantasy website?Well, your kids may have clicked on it too. "Dad, that is so rad!"

So, aside from your kids being emotionally scarred forever, what's the real harmin all this porn? Well, I learned that one of the things I like most in life -- women-- are being transformed by the porn culture. Not women themselves but the wayI perceive women. When I think of the millions of men glued to their computerscreens watching scenes of exploited girls and women in sex acts that most oftenturn sadistic, I wonder how many licks it takes to get to the center of our TootsiePop brains. How many distorted images do we need to watch before our actionsbecome equally distorted? How many times can someone see or hear women beingcalled "whores" before they begin to believe it themselves?

Even worse for me, because I work as an anti-human trafficking advocate, I havethe sneaking suspicion that porn has contributed greatly to the expansion of sextrafficking worldwide and the numbers of children, women and men trapped inmodern-day slavery. Those being exploited in porn are not much different fromthose being exploited in prostitution except the camera has been turned on for yourviewing pleasure. If you don't believe that your consumption of porn contributesto the exploitation of innocents, then it may also be hard to convince you that theline of coke you just snorted contributes to the suffering and loss of life south of theborder where fighting rages on so that you can get a good high at a low price. Butwho am I to judge, I'm just beginning to come to my senses.

The real clincher for me is learning how the packaging and commoditization of sexaffects my own manhood. I mean, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt andthe people studying this subject talk about how the unrealistic and violent storylineslead porn viewers further and further away from being able to relate to real women.And, somehow, we begin to feel inadequate when measuring ourselves against studsjacked up on ... well, pretty much everything. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing thatmost men are not willing to permanently trade-in real women for Internet porn. Orare you?

By the way, I'm sure some of you Pornbots will be inclined to call me an unflatteringfeminine name for speaking out against the unabated proliferation of sex on theInternet, but my masculinity is quite secure and that can be confirmed by thebreathing women to whom I relate in real life.

To summarize, the people making all the porn are also making all the money andleaving millions of men with a handful of nothing. Enough smoke and mirrors. Seefor yourself what you've been missing and check out Gail Dines' book, Pornland.

In the meantime, give your penis a holiday by putting thought into someone real. Pausethe porn for just one week to start. Just one week moves us all a little further fromprimitive man and a lot closer to Einstein.

I have a feeling the women you know will appreciate the gesture.

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