Pornographic artefacts have existed for thousands of years. Porn movies first became easily accessible in the 1920s and from the 1950s onwards, the popularity of pornographic magazines and films has skyrocketed. Since then, beauty standards and expectations for women's bodies have become evermore absurd and unrealistic.
Like most women, the second I hit puberty and started growing more body hair, I was immediately told to get rid of it. At the time I honestly didn’t think too much about it, until I realised that shaving every two or three days was a pain in the neck. For years I watched the media call women who proudly showcased their body hair unhygienic and label them as “radical feminists”. The hypocrisy from the men behind these words drove me insane and I wondered why female body hair removal had become so popularised worldwide. One of the answers is pornography. Now don’t get me wrong, hair removal has been around for thousands of years too, but the porn industry has a lot to do with the increased popularity and sexualization of smooth hairless skin.
As fashions changed throughout the years, the mid-1900s saw the shortening of sleeves and skirt hems for women’s clothing. Companies such as Gillette took advantage and started advertising ‘shavers for ladies’. Most beauty standards set for women have been created by companies trying to sell you their products to get rid of this new, made-up ‘imperfection’. Hugh Hefner's infamous porn magazine ‘Playboy’ introduced clean-shaven lingerie models and the world hasn’t been the same. The men who consume pornographic media have been conditioned to think that hairless bodies on women are the norm, and this of course has caused many women to think this too. It’s causing any woman with body hair to be written off as unattractive and unsexy. There have been arguments raised that the desire for smooth baby-like skin, along with the preference for shorter women and virgins, has a paedophilic feel to it. But that's a whole other discussion. I would just like to take this opportunity to tell anyone reading this that body hair is completely normal and actually serves a purpose. It protects the skin from dirt, dust, and small particles and helps the skin keep its moisture. There is nothing unhygienic about having it there and it is your choice completely whether you want to remove it or not.
The crazy beauty standards do not stop there, unfortunately. Those cast in porn movies have been chosen for their so-called ‘perfect bodies’. Of course, even that is dependent on what's considered most attractive at that point in time. The female actors starring in porn are often thin, with large and perky breasts and ‘bbl bums’. God forbid a man find normal bodies attractive. Plastic surgery has often been involved, and although there is nothing wrong with undergoing plastic surgery, it only further convinces men that these women are representative of every other woman on the earth. This is absolutely not the case. Breasts and vulvas come in a whole range of shapes and sizes, none should be considered more attractive than the other. Sadly this is not the case. Recently with the help of TikTok, it’s become common for those with vulvas to worry about what theirs looks like. Do they have an ‘innie’ or an ‘outie’? Labiaplasty is a procedure becoming increasingly popular, with it increasing by 600% from 2012 to 2019 in the US. It is worth noting that worries about appearance caused by porn and other media are not the only reasons for having this procedure. Those with larger than usual labia may experience discomfort on a day to day basis and during sexual activity. However, in the UK 1 in 4 women have considered getting some form of plastic surgery because of the standards set in porn.
Women are not the only ones suffering from porn however, unrealistic standards are set for men as well. Performance-enhancing medication is often used in porn, exaggerating the amount of time sex can last. The act of sex itself sold in porn is just that, an act. In real life sex is not this choreographed act that looks perfect, it’s often messy with odd sounds and awkward moments. It usually takes time and discussion to know your partner and get in the flow. Porn often shows sex being violent and rough, with kinks like BDSM becoming increasingly popular. If all parties involved are into this and want to take part then go for it but it’s important that we don’t completely normalise this and teach younger girls that wanting non-violent sex makes them ‘vanilla’. With young people turning to porn for educational purposes, there is a risk that it will alter their sexual tastes, with women thinking they have to be submissive, and men only finding pleasure in being aggressive and degrading. The reality is that this can lead to increased sexual violence and assault, particularly among adolescents.
Another problem heightened by pornography is the fetishisation of lesbianism. It’s no secret that many men find ‘girl-on-girl action’ a turn-on. Lesbian porn is one of the most watched categories. Interestingly, lesbian porn was the most viewed pornhub category for women in 2022. There is nothing wrong with lesbian porn and LGBTQ+ relationships should be featured and normalised. The problem comes, however, when these movies are made more as a sexual fantasy for straight men, rather than tailored for those actually in the LGBTQ+ community. The hyper-sexualisation of lesbians has been around for years. It's crazy that in 2023 we are still having to tell men that lesbians are not objects of sexual desire and that these relationships are real. Thanks to porn and other media forms like TV and film, it has been normalised for heterosexual girls to perform bisexual acts to attract men (also known as queer-baiting). Queer women should be able to have their romantic relationships, and not worry about what the people surrounding them think (or a man asking them for a threesome).
This is not to shame those who watch porn, many sites offer ethical, inclusive, and respectful porn. It is to highlight that the porn industry has contributed to many issues in society, particularly for women. This article of my thoughts is just a drop in the ocean of this topic. This particular discussion could go on for days. Each point mentioned can be looked into in more depth and there are multiple other side effects of porn. For example, the fact that porn can become very addictive, and can cause damage to an avid watcher's mental health. In 2023 we should be making a conscious effort to undo the problems featured in porn.
Sources:
ANON (2017). The History of Female Hair Removal. [online] Women’s Museum of California. Available at: https://womensmuseum.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/the-history-of-female-hair-removal/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2023].
Barker, E. (2011). Does pornography lead to unrealistic standards of attractiveness? [online] Barking Up The Wrong Tree. Available at: https://bakadesuyo.com/2011/10/does-pornography-lead-to-unrealistic-standard/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2023].
Furnas, H.J., Canales, F.L., Pedreira, R.A., Comer, C., Lin, S.J. and Banwell, P.E. (2021). The Safe Practice of Female Genital Plastic Surgery. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open, [online] 9(7), p.e3660. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/gox.0000000000003660.
Gallagher, S. (2019). Porn Has Made A Quarter Of British Women Seriously Consider Plastic Surgery. [online] HuffPost UK. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/a-quarter-of-british-women-say-porn-has-made-them-seriously-consider-cosmetic-surgery_uk_5c87eea1e4b0450ddae4d5ed.
Stapleton, E. (2021). Let’s Unpack the Root of Beauty Standards for Women: Pedophile Culture. [online] MUD Magazine. Available at: https://www.themudmag.com/post/let-s-unpack-the-root-of-beauty-standards-for-women-pedophile-culture [Accessed 27 Oct. 2023].
Valentino, J. (2022). Investigating the Who and Why of Body Hair. [online] getmegiddy.com. Available at: https://getmegiddy.com/body-hair-pubic-hair [Accessed 27 Oct. 2023].
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