Porn is a spiritual and pagan tonic for the precarious male libido.
If later in the evening he is revitalized by a little explicit action, and he gets it up and pleases his woman, then more power to the life-affirming virtues of porn. Any human being, male or female, who takes that away from men is a sadistic bastard who deserves to burn in hell.
One of porn’s redeeming social values is that it is like a great sponge. It absorbs the leftover sexual energy, desires and libidinal tensions that cannot be fully absorbed or utilized in a marriage or monogamous relationship. Women who complain that they feel slighted by pornography because their husbands seem to be paying more attention to the screen than to them need to think about this issue seriously before engaging in emotional hyperbole. No human being can have his or her sexuality absorbed entirely by a monogamous relationship.
I uphold, defend and practice monogamy in my personal life. I accept as a small price for emotional security and the inherent respect paid to my partner the loss of my right to exhaustive sexual expression. As western creatures who love and bond within the context of the west’s valuing of monogamy, we value longevity of relationship, peace of mind, honesty and fidelity over libidinal excess.
But we should do this without buying into the sentimental idea that fidelity and love make us immune to outside sexual stimuli. Pornography is one venue that allows us to experience this inexhaustible sexual life force without betraying the bonds of our monogamous commitments.
