This is the shocking effect aggression in porn is having on young people

A RISE in aggressive porn could be having a devastating effect on the way teenagers view sex, an expert has warned.

The industry is worth £15 million globally, driving a third of internet traffic,and many kids use porn as an informal sex education.

But in recent years filmmakers have pushed the boundaries to include more humiliation and degradation of women than ever before, says sex expert Maree Crabbe.

She said:  “Porn portrays messages that men are powerful, aggressive and get their way, and to the consumer there’s something appealing about that message.

“Women in heterosexual porn look like they are happy to do anything the man wants, from being gagged or chocked and even spanked.

“The films show that they enjoy it and that’s part of the appeal. But the reality is, it’s not always the case.”

Maree, co-producer of an Australian documentary called The Porn Factor, believes accessibility has created a big problem and caused confusion amongst young people about what women actually want in the a sexual relationship.

According to experts interviewed on the programme, young women would often continue to participate in an aggressive sexual act even when they found it uncomfortable, distasteful or degrading.

Maree said: “Porn is a powerful communicator, and it can influence us even when we aren’t aware that it is,” said Ms Crabbe, who has worked with young people for more than 20 years.

“Both young men and women are getting very unrealistic views on sex and on gender and how women are to be treated.”

The programme looked at 50 of the best-selling pornographic videos available and 88 per cent contained physical aggression, while almost half contained verbal aggression, with 94 aimed towards women.

A recent survey in the UK, found that 94 per cent of 14-year-olds said had looked at X-rated footage or photos and half of boys though porn was “realistic.”

Porn is shaping many young mens’ tastes and hopes and experiences before they even have sex for the first time,” Maree said.

“They see something in porn and want to try it out. Women (on the other hand) don’t necessarily want to try what their partner wants to do, but they also want to please their partner.

“Often the conversation about what the woman enjoys is absent.”

While pornography is nothing new, it’s the accessibility and the increase in aggression that Maree believes is contributing to the “cultural conditions that make violence against women more likely”.

“We know the key driver is gender inequality. Unequal power, stereotypes and disrespect, and porn does all of those things,” said co-producer Maree.

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“It’s confusing for young men. Often they say it’s not realistic, but it can still shape what they’d like to do when having sex.

“If you watch something often enough, it can start to turn you on. Research suggests young men are aware that sex may be painful for women, but still want to try certain positions because of what they’ve seen in porn.”

Maree believes the ease of access on the internet is a huge part of the problem.

She said:“Pornography is not new, but people once had to work much harder to get it.

“The 80s had a couple of hundred films made each year, now that number is around 8000 to 12,000 yearly. Porn consumption is anonymous, accessible and free. The nature of the material is not the centrefold it used to be.”

She added that parents and teachers needed to be aware of the adverse effects.

She said: “There’s a deliberate degradation and humiliation towards women in porn with men being in control and overpowering.

“It’s not strong to have power over someone in those ways, and porn has created a very disturbing model of masculinity.

“We need to help men capture vision of how consent is sexy. It’s sexy to be with someone who wants to do something with you. It’s not sexy to pressure someone into something.

“The porn industry’s model of sex and gender are selling everyone short.”