Porn: Education or Entertainment?

Aryoevjcaaavbco

Last week I was a part of a very interesting panel that asked the question, "Is porn education or is it entertainment?" 

Moderated by Lynsey G, as an extension of her curatorial project Consent, joined in by Sinnamon Love, Tina Horn, Dan Reilly, Cindy Gallop and Madison Young we each tried to address the nuances of what makes this such a difficult question. 

In many ways porn is serving as a form of sex education, like it or not. Particularly when no formal sex education is provided whether it be from parents or education systems, porn becomes the teaching tool, a tool that does not accurately represent sex and sexuality. Beyond a conversation of idealized bodies and improbable situations, pornography often shows the evolution of a sexual encounter not as it could or should be for a partner to actually received pleasure, but rather as a commodified entity...short and to the point and goal oriented a la the "money shot". So is porn teaching a whole generation how to have bad sex? For some the answer is yes.

So while porn may be shaping the current state of sex, does the industry have a role in creating content that would promote a more holistic attitude toward sex and sexuality? Would this take away from the entertainment value of porn? Is it the obligation of the porn consumer to seek out porn that addresses the deficiencies of the mainstream industry? Does "authentic" good sex in porn make it more entertaining? These were just a few of the topics we covered...but its a conversation that can certainly grow....What are your thoughts?