This is Day 1 from the #UnashamedList Series. For the intro/what’s Jas getting into now?, start here.
Porn is crazy addictive. Yes, some may feel revulsion, but others glimpse a few seconds and get hooked. I know.
I’m not the only one. A Porn Kills Love/ Fight the New Drug Movement is happening in the US.
So how did porn meet me?
In the 80’s & early 90’s we didn’t have tablets, laptops, internet or smartphones. My parents were always open, but never told me to look out for images with naked people, or why (who thought of that back then?).
One day I stumbled on the “porn channel” and didn’t tell them.
Digital TV has pretty good parental blocks, but pre-digital TV didn’t. If you flipped channels you’d catch images and sounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2yhRA9xigI
Gabe Deem’s Story: Unable to Perform – The Prob W/Porn
Being sexualized at an early age sucks.
It wasn’t just the porn. You can accidentally discover an orgasm during an unsupervised bath time. Woops. And it’s possible to get hooked.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Kids could just be Kids?
Are regular relationships possible in a sex-saturated culture?
Porn is readily available even to little children (1/10th of all users). When they learn letters, they can type a few and get blasted. Young brain wiring is designed to mirror, so mind wiring can be hijacked.
“Yes, as a society we have a problem. But we’re also the first generation with the science of porn, and the heart to fight.” (tweet)
https://youtu.be/ys2n8NpKo6s
Tip: Multimedia clip shows how each generation is born into a world decided generations before, porns surprising origin, and our collective power to change things (2mins, worth it).
Dear Porn,
You’re a terrible spokesman for relationships and love.
You wreck expectations and damage physical abilities for arousal and climax–especially for the guys! Heartbreaker!
You’re like a slave-master or evil magician turning people into objects and making self-gratification pri one.
You steal and destroy the real beauty and authenticity of love, sex and relationships. (tweet)
But Porn, you greedy, relentless traitor: Society is on to you.
And I’m so done.
https://gph.is/2W68S9v
This isn’t a post about the industry, or its contribution to increased exploitation and abuse of children, or that 1 in 10 visitors to the sites are kids younger than 10 years old.
This is just me saying: I know what it’s like to be hooked,
I know it’s possible to not even know,
Written forms can fuel it too, but it’s possible to kill the habit. (tweet)
When I realized it was a problem (post-marriage), I knew I needed to quit cold turkey.
How much harder today when showing everything has become so mainstream straight up sex scenes are rated 12 on Netflix??
As a parent, the threats to kids are worse and closer than our day. Start a conversation BEFORE YOU THINK YOU NEED TO. Stay open and understanding.
Your own wifi networks, apps and browsers may be secure, and you may have screens-in-shared-spaces-only policy, but you don’t know the set-up in someone else’s family (eg playdate). Or what they see at a playground or school.
(Porn also being used to groom children and called out as cause for rise in child on child abuse).
Check links at bottom on porn-proofing kids and being a supportive adult if exposure occurred.
To the Kids & Youths: You’re absolutely not alone. At least 1 in 3 under 18 experience some form of sexual abuse–porn isn’t sexual abuse? It is actually considered a form (nu.nl).
I know about the pull to watch and shame. Or laughing it up. Being aroused is part of our natural wiring as sexual beings, but our wiring is getting hijacked (science).
The images are everywhere and keep coming, and are getting more extreme (Drug addiction word: “Tolerance”)
But get the facts:
It can be like a drug, and maybe worse because you can purge your system of a substance, but images not so easy..
But it’s never too late to quit. <3
Check tomorrow for Day 2 in this #UnashamedList series.
-Series start here.
-Follow blog/series by clicking button on bottom of homepage (if you’re mobile), or in sidebar if you’re on desktop.
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Hey, I’m Jasmine, about to get coffee and wondering: What about you?
What are some lessons you wish you knew sooner? If you have kids, did you shared some of your mess with them? Why or why not?
Post a comment below. Please also share this post/series with any youth in your life. ❤
Links of Interest
- Porn Kills Love/Fight the New Drug site
- Fight the New Drug Youtube Channel
- “Why Porn is Full of Lies” from FTND here.
- Protect Young Minds.org
- “Can’t Touch God – Can’t Touch You” (for any who ever doubted their worth, or experienced any form of abuse).
- “Good Feelings, Bad Feelings: Helping Kids Unravel Porn’s Tricky Dual Emotions” (via protectyoungminds.org)
- Prevent It – Taking Acton to S.T.O.P Child Sexual Abuse workshop (free, available online and accessible to parents and professionals alike).
- “1 in 10 Visitors to Porn sites are under 10 years” (with info, tips and this crazy graph)
Image Credits:
-Cover: Terry Crews rocking his Porn Kills Love shirt. One of many Hollywood Actors speaking up/out on the harmful effects of porn.
-CAN DO Plan, one of the many free resources from Protect Young Minds.org
-“We’re Done” gif via gify.com.
– Repaired pottery pic via bing.net
-We shine like lights in the heavens.. Lamps photp by Krissia Cruz via unsplash
-Confined Ocean, “Me” exhibition from collaborative in Mori Museum, found via ThisIsColossal.com.
