Pornography & Sexuality: Impacts of Pornography on Sexuality

Sex
Normal / natural / fundamental aspect of being human
Natural desire for and interest in sex
It follows that there is a natural audience – i.e.,  ready-made audience – for sexually oriented material

Culture
“Culture” – the store of knowledge a society possess; these ideas contain the patterns and norms according to which we conduct our social and economic activities

In the recent past (in the U.S.) there were cultural systems of repression – legal, ethical, familial
These systems are being transformed and undermined (in no small part by the mainstream media) and there is a growing permissiveness and acceptance of pornography

Porn Culture
With the lack of repression comes increased commercial opportunity and the pornographers use our natural interests and desires to market us their product

The pornographer’s product part of the new cultural landscape
The more it is directly consumed the more it permeates the culture which results in an increasingly pornographic culture
This is a culture developed on the basic logic of capitalism which requires ever newer and larger markets in order to maximize profits   
Hence, “They will explore every kind of sexual perversion, dysfunction, misery, sadness, desperation to produce anything for which there's a market. And if there isn't a market, they'll go to work to create such a market.”

Conclusion
Our sexual needs and desires are at their root natural
Our expressions of these needs and desires and our overall notion of sexuality – what it means to be a sexual being – are shaped by culture
As our culture is increasingly permeated and shaped by pornography so too is the notion of our own sexuality

    Note: Since we are all immersed in the culture, one does not have to be a direct consumer of porn to be impacted by it

Note: Pornography and Sexual Representations

                    Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)