The argument I commonly hear of pornography causing more extreme sexual experimentation is a very weak one. I know, for sure, pornography did not cause me to be a homosexual.

Kinks, BDSM, and what have you, have always existed and will continue to exist. The solution is teaching safe ways to participate, and the importance of consent. A desire to just wipe them out is naive, and will not work.

> Pornography has caused choking behaviors among youth to go from negligible to over 38%.

That which is asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.

I have a lot of concerns about your presentation of this.

A. It’s also true that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption and yet we sort of see experimentation with alcohol as a rite of passage.

B. I mean, so is walking out your front door. I don’t see this as adding much to point A.

C. This is a big jump. First, we see more openness about sexual behaviour. While I’m prepared to agree that it has likely gone up, I would not be comfortable with the degree you imply. Second, while I do think it is likely that pornography has indeed contributed to this, pornography has also likely contributed to an increase in experimentation in general, with other sexual behaviours also likely seeing an increase (for example oral/anal sex, water play, etc).

D. I find this very hard to accept at face value. Do you have studies/evidence to support this claim?

E. Yes, I would likely agree, although whether “encourages sexual experimentation” is a bad thing or not is a question for further debate.

F. This conflates some very weird things. “Fighting words” are a specific type of restricted speech (i.e. you can’t go round shouting “I’ll kill you”). Sharing misinformation is broadly not illegal (except in very specific sets of circumstances-fraud, inciting violence, etc.). It’s also broadly speaking not against the law to tell the truth. “Some people like to choke each other during sex” is a true statement, even if it’s harmful.

Do you support a ban on porn all together? That’s quite a radical view.

I don't believe that choking leads to brain damage in every single individual who has been choked, for whatever duration. If that is the case, then holding your breath should lead to brain damage too, no? You really need to back up that claim with some evidence.

Can you explain point A? It seems fundamentally flawed unless there is also brain damage from breath holding, hiking at high altitude, and other normal activities that involve operating at lower oxygen levels.

>and "misinformation" shouldn't be free speech

That worked so well during covid, right?

The extreme danger of marijuana and its role as a “gateway drug” was also extensively studied and “proven” by a handful of moralist researchers and groups who had an agenda to push. The highly biased “researchers” who pursued this were often directly funded by the US government.

And now? This research has been debunked. It’s likely bad for people prone to mental illness, especially when taken regularly and in excess, and even stable people shouldn’t overdo it, much like alcohol. But it’s not going to cause lasting harm to most people.

Regarding porn, your argument from authority is extremely suspect. Porn is considered morally suspect due to lingering Puritan values, and if there is a research deficit (which I doubt) then it is likely because reputable researchers avoid the topic due to reputational damage. Sex researchers in general have often faced harassment, targeted government inquiries, and threats. So in short, I don’t believe you here.

I haven’t personally met anyone whose life was negatively affected by porn, except for a couple of people who were in relationships where one partner considered porn to be a form of infidelity. Utterly ridiculous from my perspective.

Edit: Total bunk. After looking into it, reputable meta-studies have showed no link between porn and sexual violence, ED, or mental health issues. It’s trivial to find this research, search for it if you care.

So what? The problem here would be if these activities are nonconsensual. I've seen no evidence of that. If you're just trying to thought police ideas that lead to people doing risky things you better drop your clutching pearls and pick up a pencil cause that's a long list, some of which are probably things you do.

You did in fact just say that nobody did it before - or very strongly implied it based on how sloppy you want to be with the phrase "near 0%".

Stop pretending you know what that number is.