I read the most disturbing article today...(about porn and sex and possibly a little TMI)

I read the most disturbing article today about the porn industry.

Now, I'm not too shy about this--yes, I do watch porn occasionally. I guess I've never really realized just what goes into the making of it. I can try to console myself by saying I watch lesbian porn and there's probably not as much abuse in that as there is in straight porn, but I don't know that.

I was reading this article about a UK documentary about what goes on behind the scenes in the "adult industry," and I was shocked at the percentage of women who are abused in the making of porn.

One woman in particular that the documentary followed was a woman whose agent referred her to a particular director, Max Hardcore, who is currently actually in jail for the crap he's done to the women who have "worked" for him. He choked her until she was in tears (as part of what I'm assuming was an S&M bit), yelled degrading verbal abuses at her and tried to make her continue even though she was in a lot of pain and obviously didn't want to, and was gotten out of the situation when the documentary camera crew stepped in because they didn't want to be complicit in her rape.

There was other information about, for example, a woman who did an anal rape scene, and the men on set were laughing at her as she was cleaning up blood from it. Just how little care is given for women who endure things that they aren't enjoying, and then no one makes sure they're all right afterwards. It's just expected. Women are in pain, women are abused. It's disturbing.

Honestly, not gonna lie, I enjoy porn, but after reading that I don't know if I'll be able to watch it the same way again. That knowledge will be on the forefront of my mind. Because even if the actresses in the video are all girls and they understand what it's like being a woman in the "adult industry" and they treat one another with respect, that really doesn't say anything about what may go on off camera, with directors and other people on set and in the vicinity.

Someone left a comment on the article about how some men think porn is something to learn sexual technique from. While that may have merit in some cases--e.g., getting ideas for new positions and such--in general, there really is no guarantee that what happens in a porn video/movie feels good for the woman at all. Many times, it doesn't.

It really made me take stock in how lucky I am to have someone who respects me in the bedroom. If he's even slightly concerned that I might be uncomfortable, he'll stop and make sure I'm totally okay with everything before continuing, whether it's something we're trying for the first time or something we've done a million times before. I shudder to think what it would be like to be with someone who just does what he sees in porn and assumes I'm okay with it.

The whole article just really made me take a closer look at sex and porn and all of that.