“The onslaught of porn,” she wrote, “is responsible for deadening male libido in relation to real women … Far from having to fend off porn-crazed young men, young women are worrying that as mere flesh and blood, they can scarcely get, let alone hold, their attention.”

and

In the past few years I’ve spent a lot of time talking to women in their teens and early 20s about porn, sex and body image. There is a profound difference in the context in which these women have come of sexual age compared to that of my adolescence only a decade earlier. The difference is that most young people now have witnessed countless sex acts long before they even get naked with another human being.

It could be argued that such exposure is educational, but only if you’ve never seen any mainstream porn, which is, most industry insiders and observers agree, getting more and more extreme. This may be, at least in part, a reaction to the adoption of soft-porn aesthetics by mainstream popular culture. Porn needs to be nastier and more hard-core to differentiate itself from beer ads and music videos.

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

In this marvellous video, Professor Philip Zimbardo (of the famed Stanford Prison Experiment) “conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.”

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

■ Female genital mutilation, also known as cutting, is practised in 28 African countries. The prevalence rate ranges from 98% of girls in Somalia to 5% in Zaire. It also takes place among ethnic groups in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, the US and New Zealand.

■ Until the 1950s FGM was used in England and the US as a “treatment” for lesbianism, masturbation, hysteria, epilepsy and other “female deviances”.

■ A survey in Kenya found a fourfold drop in FGM rates among girls who had secondary education.

■ Reasons for the practice include conforming to social norms, enhancing sexual pleasure for men and reducing it for women, cleanliness and chastity.

■ No European country accepts the threat of FGM as a reason for asylum.

■ In Sudan, 20%-25% of female infertility has been linked to FGM complications.

■ In Chad, girls have begun to seek FGM without pressure from their immediate family, believing that to be “sewn up” proves they are virginal and clean. The fashion has led to uncircumcised girls being labelled “dirty”.

From “British girls undergo horror of genital mutilation despite tough laws” in The Guardian. Watch the disturbing video.

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

Whew!

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

CNN on women watching porn

I’m amazed that so many women indulge in porn…one in three visitors to porn sites are female…about half the business of porn videos comes from women.

It’s refreshing to know the truth. More and more women are okay with porn. They enjoy it. And with their endorsement, porn becomes more respectable.

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

The author, Sharene Azam, interviewed a large number of young women across the country (and their parents) and gathered substantial data about current social mores. Today’s young women (and young men) have a very lax attitude toward sex. For example, they think holding hands is *more* intimate than oral sex!

Young women also “prostitute” themselves at a very early age. They’ll sleep with older boys for money or designer goods or special favours. To them, it’s no big deal.

These revelations got me thinking: Is it such a big step from this situation to young women growing up to become prostitutes or working in the porn industry?

Obviously, the answer is no.

Should it surprise us, then, that there are so many women anxious to enter the porn industry to make their fortunes? Again, the answer is obviously no.

The reason this issue was raised in my mind was because some while back, I saw a Christian website that claimed women were being exploited in the porn industry. We were told that women in the porn industry had been abused as youths and that’s why they were vulnerable to exploitation, why they would lower themselves to working in such a degrading industry.

When Azam delved into this question, she found that these young women were NOT abused. They came from regular middle-class families and were perfectly “normal.” The fact that they would sell themselves sexually was simply a reflection of the current cultural milieu. It was a sign of the times.

This puts the lie to such Christian groups who attack the sex industry. Not all women are being exploited. Many are voluntarily choosing to work in the industry, and in many cases, that’s their ambition!

Consider the call girls who charge thousands of dollars for their services, eg, Ashley Dupré who serviced Governor Eliot Spitzer. Did she look like she was being exploited?

How about the famous Bunny Ranch in Nevada where hundreds of young women happily make good supplementary income? (They don’t work full-time. They do other things in their life and come to the ranch to work in short two-week stints.)

The distance that prostitution needs to go to achieve respectability is not as far as you might think.

Ditto for exotic dancing and the porn industry. Is it too much to hope, then, that perhaps we are witnessing a growing social enlightenment with regards to sexuality?

I welcome your comments and input.

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

With her perky and effervescent personality, she charms you into feeling comfortable with the subject material. There is a palpable authenticity about her. She’s very comfortable in her own skin. (This is more than speaking figuratively — as host, Katie appears totally nude in these HBO specials.)

The HBO specials are:

1. Katie Morgan on Sex Toys
2. Katie Morgan’s Porn 101
3. Katie Morgan’s Sex Tips: Questions, Anyone?
4. Katie Morgan’s Sex Tips 2: Any More Questions?

I highly recommend them. Look for these shows on cable television. Request that HBO re-air them.

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

Here’s a lovely Valentine’s Day message from The Onion:

I Love The Idea Of My Wife

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)

- RKE

(This opinion belongs solely to the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Good Sex Network.)