I discovered this site linked from a philosophy / theology / public affairs site I frequent called "Public Discourse", where it received plaudits in being part of a new wave of thinking regarding pornography - a new wave that considers it more of a drug, an addiction, a negative, rather than "harmless fun", or something that's okay because "everybody does it". So, here I am. 36 years old, male, husband, father of three, Catholic, lawyer (in no given order of importance). I like to read, write, talk, enjoy learning philosophy and theology (and law, of course), play chess, and home brew, among other hobbies. I have been faptive since my early 20s, when I discovered internet porn. I hope to use this website to defaptize as much as possible. -NFC
I like the avatar; it fits! Welcome to the rest of your life. It may not be easy, but NoFap is worth the pain the change causes.
I would modify that in a slight way to say that porn is not the issue, but rather an individual's addiction to porn. Porn can be sex positive or not, or exploitive or not, but these are questions not covered on this site. I think this is subtle but important as if porn is the negative, the individual is a victim and less responsible for his or her addiction. Without a sense of ownership and responsibility, I don't know that the individual is setting him/herself up for success. Curious to hear your thoughts back on this.
There are a variety of interesting considerations in that reply. To take them in order: Negative addiction (or simply "addiction", as the connotations are negative in and of themselves) is certainly the problem. And, claiming oneself as a "victim of circumstance" rather than owning the action is definitely a way to displace responsibility and set up for failure. In this, it is no different from displacement in any other addiction, such as alcoholism. So, we are in agreement here. With that said, I am not sure what you mean by "sex positive or not" and "exploitive or not". As to the former, perhaps you refer to whether porn use assists a couple in their sex life? And the latter, whether the porn itself exploits women or men?
