Is Porn Bad For You?

Is Porn bad for you?

We at Ajax Books contend that this is a difficult question to answer because “porn” constitutes so many different mediums, exposure levels, and professional production ethics.

Porn is not just one thing.

Here at AJAX Books, we think porn can include erotica, arthouse films, private forms of communication between people, and more.

We also feel that porn can be valuable in helping an individual untangle the difference between sex and fantasy as it can be detrimental for the same reasons.

Porn can open up conversation between sexual partners just as much as porn can close the same conversations down.

Pornography is free speech.

Pornography at its core is free speech. When you want to prevent someone from saying something, making something, or distributing something, you must have a good, clear reason for shutting that action down.

The only good reason is that your free speech enslaves or endangers someone else.

Therefore, if the porn you watch has children or those who have not given consent, you are watching a crime, not pornography.

The best antidote to free speech is your own ideas.

In a world where we value the right to speak, we must encourage and nurture the ability to refuse what someone says without silencing them.

The arguments against porn often cite porn as a heightened stimulus that affects the vulnerable. The best antidote then would be to remove that vulnerability.

No one should be swept along blindly by someone else’s ideas.

Using political, spiritual, or moral arguments to stop someone from doing something forces us all to have the same ideas, and no two people in the world agree on everything.

If you don’t like someone’s message, film, book, tweet, or Facebook post, raise a counter-argument. Seeking to shut them down weakens your ability to handle your opponents.

Is watching porn bad for my health?

The best experts can’t agree on the harm porn can cause. However, every expert in the world agrees that learning to control your interest in porn is very good for you.

Learning how to choose what you consume and helping others do the same is far more important than shutting something down that you don’t agree with.

Here at AJAX Books, we feel that your relationship to the pornography you consume is as important as your relationship to your diet, your physical exercise, or your mental health. Just as you choose a workout that is right for your body type, you choose pornography that is right for your mental state.

Porn is no worse or better for you than other unpleasant things we have developed in our society. There are people who think alcohol is far worse, prescription drugs, sugar, and consumption of fast fashion. These are all human-made behaviors that can have negative consequences in our lives.

Porn isn’t bad, but you must be responsible.

Here at AJAX Books, we seek to break open the porn taboo. We want to examine different types of porn. We seek to offer up questions surrounding some porn, and answers surrounding others.

We like to read pornography. We do not feel that all this literature can be classified as ‘erotica.’ Nor do we feel that distinction is helpful today. There is beautiful life-affirming pornography that answers questions and offers suggestions. Calling it erotic does not mean it can’t be harmful in certain circumstances.

Here at AJAX Books, we want to have a go at demystifying the central questions surrounding the world’s tremendous porn consumption and taking a frank look at what might be going on and why.

If you want to read more: