Anybody else been watching this? Three-part series every Wednesday, part two was on tonight.
Basic premise is exploring the current state of the porn industry in the UK, and how everyday mums are exposed to and shocked and disturbed by the sheer amount of extreme, hardcore porn that is easily and freely available to anyone. Their mission is to produced something that is more female-friendly and not so male-centric, something that can be both arounsing and educational, and gives a more realistic depiction of sex for young people who are in danger of being negatively influenced by what's already out there in bulk.
Personally I think proper education starting at home is the most important thing to combat this sort of thing, not leaving it all to the glorified biology lesson that is school sex ed. Saying that I'm fully on-board with the mum's mission and agree that there's always room for additional and alternative types of porn out there. As a young(ish) male who watches a wide variety of porn - including extreme, hardcore stuff - I find it very much depends on mood, and I have also searched for and enjoyed, for want of a better term, "female" porn; stuff that's focused on female pleasure and not just the man, that's sensual, romantic, passionate, etc. Just as I'm sure there are plenty of women who enjoy the "male" extreme stuff. There's room for both and no reason why they can't both be erotic, intense, hot, etc.
Anyway, I'm enjoying the documentary and think it explores some interesting topics and questions. Any thoughts and opinions from anyone else? I'd love to see some discussions, and would recommend the programme to anyone who's interested.
Hi, I’ve read an article about the series and am definitely planning on watching it. I have concerns for girls growing up now, due to the amount of pornography available to young people. I talk about to both my daughter and son about sexual relationships and consent. And that a sexual relationship is meant to be mutually fulfilling. Young women are growing up, along side young men who’s only information about sex is coming from extreme pornography, and believe this to be a true depiction of what sex should be like. Unfortunately it puts young women at risk of harm from men who think they should enjoy what happens in pornography, and the young girls are expected to “perform” sexually. it is even more important for them to be able to use their voices, and have the confidence to only engage in acts that they are comfortable to do. There was a study about anal sex and young people, you can read it, it’s called Anal heterosex among young people and implications for health promotion: a qualitative study in the UK. The conclusion of which was very worrying: Conclusions Young people's narratives normalised coercive, painful and unsafe anal heterosex. This study suggests an urgent need for harm reduction efforts targeting anal sex to help encourage discussion about mutuality and consent, reduce risky and painful techniques and challenge views that normalise coercion. I think the mothers have taken action to address the concerns, and am really interested to watch it. I will then be showing it to my daughter (early teens).
After reading this thread I watched the two first episodes and I'm loving it. I have some very reserved friends too who would be mortified with what you could see easily on the Internet. I think this programme will be both beneficial for teenagers and also there parents.
@BlueMaggie79: Yes, educating yourself and also your children is definitely the key to combating these dangers. I think you're absolutely right to focus on teaching your kids about consent and sex being something that is mutually fun/pleasurable for both/all parites involved. The anal sex thing, too - one of the mums on the programme commented on the fact that a lot of the extreme acts in porn can in fact be done safely and pleasurably, it's just that most porn skip all the safety and education (like lube, lube and more lube) and go straight to aggressive, violent depictions of those acts that young people might well try to replicate. You should definitely watch it, and showing your daughter is also a very responsible, commendable decision too, in my opinion. It should open up a lot of questions and talking points about sex that you can then make the most of. For instance just make sure to hammer home the point that porn is fantasy, an artificial depiction used to visually titilate and stimulate and nothing more.
@MrsG.: I'm glad you found it through this thread and are enjoying it. Yes, spread the word! Talk about these things with your friends, family, etc. Education is our friend and ally!
@HNHanin: You're welcome. Definitely recommend it. Come back once you've seen it to share you're thoughts! Enjoy.