WINNIPEG (CUP) – Once a taboo topic, porn has gone mainstream.
“It’s distressing that we celebrate sex in a fashion that’s commercial,” said Bonnie Dowling, an employee of an Osborne Village video store in Winnipeg that rents porn.
As an art history student at the University of Winnipeg, Dowling says that sex has been the catalyst for brilliant art. However, she’s concerned that sex is quickly becoming a commodity.
“It’s being turned into something gross, diminishing all sense of reality,” she said. “It’s inhuman.”
Still, statistics show that our interest in sex is on the rise. A recent campaign from Good magazine showed a nude model adorned with stats written on her body: Sex is the most searched word on the Internet. Every second, $89 is spent on Internet porn. The video is stunning proof that porn has become an increasingly sought after form of entertainment in the 21st century.
Porn is even creeping into regular entertainment. Case in point: Kevin Smith’s new movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and the myriad of men’s magazines like Maxim, Stuff, and FHM, all of which slowly push the envelope of acceptable sexual innuendo and imagery.
Lana Young, manager at Discreet Boutique, explains that this is turning many people on to porn, inspiring them to incorporate it into their lives.
“Shows like the Sunday Night Sex Show and Sex and the City have broken some of the taboo attitudes about sex,” Young said. “Previously, men were the majority of the consumers, but now couples are viewing it together. People are becoming more comfortable with their sex lives.”
Carmen Haywood, general manager for 20 Source Adult stores across Canada, agrees, also crediting the increased emphasis on sexual education in school.
“As people become more educated about sex, they are becoming more experimental and turning to porn to add that little kicker to their love life and learn how to perform sexual acts better.”
Haywood sees the move as a positive sign.
“Porn provides a safer, more fun alternative to previous practices,” Haywood said. “They buy toys, magazines, or videos instead of turning to escorts or prostitutes. People used to see porn as dirty and gross. Now they see that we’re actually clean cut and professional.”
She adds that while there will always be a group of people whose anti-porn views will never change, the industry will always exist in some form in society.
“Porn will continue to exist because of human curiosity,” Haywood said.
While Brandon Piety, operations manager for XXXChurch, is an advocate for a life without porn, he doesn’t fault human curiosity.
“Sex is powerful and we’re a sexual people,” Piety said.
The XXXChurch is an anti-porn advocacy group based in Las Vegas. Formed in 2001, the group attends porn conventions and brings their debates with porn star Ron Jeremy to university campuses across the United States.
“We raise awareness and start conversations about the impacts of porn,” Piety said. “There are people who love porn but there are those who hate it because it’s destroyed their relationship or their marriage. We’re able to help those who want porn out of their lives because of their family or because they don’t want to be known for starring in a movie.”
Piety added that the XXXChurch does not set out to demonize those who produce porn.
“People who make porn aren’t bad people, but it’s fast-food sex,” Piety explained. “It’s not good for you and leaves you hanging every time wanting more. As a culture so advanced, we’re obsessed with looking at the computer screen and masturbating. What’s up with that?”
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