Pornification: When the Thrill is Gone, What Then?

In an article from the Boston Globe, author Don Aucoin gives some interesting perspectives of the "pornification" of America. As sexual imagery becomes more and more mainstream, what effect is it having on society? And if sexual imagery has become so commonplace - we wonder - what are they repercussions for pornographers?

While feminists and moralists decry the misogynistic effect that "porn" imagery is having on young men and women, some media analysts say that the increase in sexually explicit content is just a function of trying to make messages stand out from the never-ending flow of media that assails us everyday. Are we becoming desensitized?

Pamela Paul, author of "Pornified," compares pornographic imagery to cigarette smoking - once glamorized in movies and music; when the unhealthy effects were exposed to the public, people quit their pack-a-day habits. Paul hopes it will be the same with porn - though, we dare say, that no one ever got lung cancer from looking at XXX-rated magazine or movie.

But with Paris, Brittney, Christina, Gaga and other starlets ponying up to play like porn stars - what happens to the real porn stars, when you take away the thrill? -jc

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