Science of Sex – the relationship between porn and sexual performance

Here’s another article from Psychology Today that looks at the link between pornography consumption and sexual performance. Like a previous article I mentioned here a couple of weeks ago, this is not an official study, but a look at anecdotal evidence on how men who view a great deal of porn have increasing difficulty performing sexually. You’ll notice both articles are by the same author, Marnia Robinson.

As an erotica author, the subject matter of these articles are of great interest to me, and leave me with a lot of questions. Are porn and masturbation really damaging to a person’s ability to form relationships or perform sexually? How much porn is too much porn, and how much masturbation is too much masturbation? Are men the only ones who are having problems with viewing too much porn or masturbating too much? Is porn/masturbation really the cause of these social problems, or is it just the result? (In other words, do people who have problems finding a sexual partner turn to porn/masturbation because they have no other choice, or are these people having problems finding sexual partners because they watch too much porn and jerk off too much?) Which is the cause and which the effect, or are they both too intertwined to determine? And most importantly to me, has anyone done a scientific study on this topic?

I would really like to see some scientific studies on these topics. Because as I read these articles on the possible link between porn/masturbation and sexual disfunction/social anxiety, I’m sure there are people out there who are jumping up and down and screaming, “See?! I told you so! Porn and masturbation are BAD for you! You have to give it up RIGHT NOW!” Well, guess what, eating is bad for you too if you do it too much. Masturbation, in my mind, is like eating, drinking, playing games, reading, exercising or any other pleasurable habit we might have. Granted, it’s probably not as essential to our well being as eating, but it does most definitely trigger those feel good endorphines when we do it. Yes, you can masturbate too much, just like you can eat too much, drink too much, read too much, etc. You can do anything that’s fun too much, and when you do something too much because you’re caught in the rut of pursuing that pleasure factor, you’ve got what’s called an addiction.

The key is to find a balance. Don’t let just one thing dominate your life. If masturbation is a person’s primary source of pleasure, then yes, that person needs to ease up and find something else they enjoy. A couple of something else’s, in fact. But if someone only masturbates occasionally, or does it as part of repetoire of sexual techniques with a partner, then it shouldn’t be a problem.

If anyone has heard of any studies done on this topic, please let me know. I’d like to start digging into this more, to see how porn/masturbation addiction might be different from other addictions, or to see if they involve a lot of the same brain chemicals.

About Cynical Woman

Cartoonist, Artist, Geek, Evil Crafter, Girl Scout Troop Leader and Writer. Also, a zombie. I haven't slept in I don't know how long.
Bookmark the permalink.

One Comment

  1. [New Post] Science of Sex – the relationship between porn and sexual performance – via @twitoaster http://www.cynicalwoman.com/2010/04/30/s

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.