I really want to fill out the questions in this survey from Clarissa Smith, Feona Attwood, and Martin Baker about the ordinary person’s use of and relationship to pornography. For maybe the first time ever, some serious researchers (in England) are getting together not to talk about how good or bad porn is, or whether it’s destroying or elevating our sexuality, or where the moral line is drawn. Instead, they want to do a huge-as-possible survey of normal people who use porn and find out just when, why, where, and how people use it, how they feel about it, and how the actual, everyday use of pornography applies to real life.
From the site: “Our project is concerned with the everyday uses of pornography, and how the people who use it feel it fits into their lives. Pornography is of course a highly topical issue, subject to many opposing views and ‘strong opinions’. And we are not saying that there are no moral or political issues. But we are saying that the voices of users and enjoyers have been swamped. In fact, there is very little research that engages with the users of pornography, asking how, when and why they turn to it.”
Oh my gosh! No finger-pointing, no soap-box standing, no preaching. Just an honest look at what porn really does and how it works at the ground level!
However, my problem is this: the questionnaire “will enable us to understand the patterns of use of porn by ordinary people.” And, well, I’m not exactly your ordinary user/enjoyer of porn. I’m more of a professional porn viewer and thinker. I don’t think the researchers are looking for my responses because I think WAY more about all the topics they’re considering than your average porn consumer. Anyone who wants to Google me can find out my views on porn in no time flat. It’s the REST OF THE WORLD they need to hear from. So I thought, “Since I can’t participate, I’ll try to get as many OTHER people to participate as possible!”
Please, readers, do what I can’t! Help inform the world about porn and your life! Go fill out the questionnaire, and come back and tell me all about it in the comments! Your input is important; if the world is ever going to get a fair, even-footed, rational look at the realities of our “pornified” world and views about pornography, it has to come from data collected in a study like this. All this mumbo jumbo about smut’s “damaging” nature or “immorality” or “morality” or “positive” nature is mostly hearsay at this point. Let’s change that and start having a REAL conversation!
…Have you not clicked on the link yet? Jeeez, what’s Easter Sunday for if not filling out 20-minute online porn surveys! Go! Do it!