Is porn like real sex?
Pornography is a fictionalized and exaggerated version of sexuality. Why is porn so far from reality? Find out in this article.
To remember
👉 Porn doesn't have much to do with real life: everything is staged, no consent, no build-up of desire...
👉 In porn, it's 100% penetration, whereas there are a multitude of other things that make up sexuality.
👉 These are actors and actresses, who play according to a script, and position themselves for a camera.
In real life, you're not always at your maximum arousal or ready to do anything. In porn, the actors are made up, styled, and retouched. Scenes are filmed multiple times to make it seem like the action lasts a long time.
Little or no communication
In porn, communication is limited or nonexistent and there usually aren’t any affectionate acts. If you try to do the same thing in your own sex life, you’re likely to hit the wall! It’s essential to communicate with your partner to find out his/her tastes and share pleasure together.
In addition, you never see the actors make mistakes, talk to each other, or ask questions. They all seem to be on autopilot! In a real relationship, each person has their own say in creating a mood that will make it easy to get close to each other.
Overly “perfect” bodies
Maybe you’re attracted to pornography because you find it beautiful to watch, but the actors are often chosen because they have specific kinds of bodies or they’ve been transformed by plastic surgery (for example, the actresses’ big breasts or their labia, which are still small, even very small, whereas they get longer in puberty). Actors are also chosen because they have bigger penises than most men. In reality, not many people are built like that!
💡Read our article: What’s a Normal Penis Length?
Penetration as the be-all and end-all
Porn really emphasizes penetration. However, in real sex, there’s a lot more than penetration! In fact, penetration isn’t even obligatory. There are also oral sex and mutual masturbation, for example. In addition, anal sex (sodomy) is very common in porn. In reality, not that many people do it.
You’ll also notice that condom use is rare, whereas it’s important to protect yourself against BBSTIs or unplanned pregnancy.
💡Read our article: Five questions about fellatio
To sum up, from one scene to the next, the actors’ behaviour is often predictable, and the orgasms are pretty unrealistic. You need to remember all these things when you watch porn, so it doesn’t warp your view of reality.
