It staggers me how many people are in such wilful denial over how destructive it is, just because it gives them a slightly better wanking experience.
I had a relationship with a porn addict which gradually became more and more sexually abusive. I was the veritable frog in the boiling pot, groomed from the outset to accept whatever he wanted to do (unlike those other frigid girls, those prudish women who “didn’t like sex” and weren’t “open about being sexual” like I was 🙄). Apart from being sexually assaulted and raped frequently, he burst my eardrum because he liked to hit me round the face / head as hard as possible. Dislocated my shoulder once, too.
I then had several short relationships with heavy porn users and every one of them sexually assaulted me, at best. These men weren’t deliberate abusers - they just thought that’s what sex was.
I used to be one of those women who thought it was cool to be open to these things - it’s only porn, what’s the big deal, etc etc. I think back to how much time I spent allowing myself to be hit, spat on, choked, bitten, beaten, and worse, and I’m horrified at how easy it was to manipulate me into tolerating things during sex that I’d never tolerate for a second outside of that.
I’m sure people will say I was unfortunate, just one crazy man, not the fault of porn, but I joined support groups, I heard the same stories over and over.
The fact that anyone can deny the impact of being exposed to this at a young age is absolutely baffling.