Pornland: How porn has hijacked our sexuality (My review)

In the last year or so, I have become increasingly interested by the 'study' of pornography and the effect is has on those who use it. I think it began when I joined a facebook group called "Stop adult magazines being sold at convenience stores". This lead to me doing my own research on the subject and becoming incredibly disheartened with what I learned.

I heard about a documentary about porn, entitled The Price of Pleasure. I was interested to see it but I learned it included clips of hardcore pornography (surprisingly enough!) so I decided I didn't want to watch it. Instead I was pointed towards a book by Gail Dines, called Pornland: How porn has hijacked our sexuality. Gail Dines has studied pornography for several decades, and also founded www.pornharms.com.

So, for starters, it took me awhile to track down the book, and I every time I was in a bookstore and asked if they had it, I got strange looks. ("We're not that kind of bookstore!"Haha.) I found it online and started reading it. It was absolutely fascinating to me, but at time very confronting and uncomfortable.

Gail Dines recounts the history of pornography in our culture, starting with pornographic magazines like Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler, and shows how they have lead into the mainstreaming of porn today. She provides information about the billion dollar porn industry, and the economics behind it. She also dedicates certain chapters to racism in pornography, and to child pornography.

The majority of the book is about 'gonzo' porn. Gonzo porn is a particular genre of porn that is based on violent, humiliating, body punishing acts done by men to women. The very intention is to cause the woman as much pain as possible, to dehumanize and degrade her as much as possible- all while remembering that she loves and enjoys it. Apparently. I won't go into any more detail about this other than to say it could be quite upsetting.

Gonzo porn is becoming very prevalent, and according to Gail Dines, if you googled "porn", you will get a lot of this. Perhaps you see how this could potentially be a problem as even primary school aged boys are exposed to these kind of acts online as their first experience of what sex is, with nothing to compare it to. And statistics say 92% of children 8-16 has come across porn online, accidentally or not.

Another large segment of the book was devoted to how porn has become normalised and a part of our lives without us realizing. Fashions are inspired by porn and pornographic brands are on everything from bed sheets to pencil cases.

Gail Dines has done a fantastic job and this book is very informative as well as logical. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject, and especially anyone who thinks porn is harmless.

Why are we depressed?

Living in the 21st century, our lives are very different to generations of the past. We have so many modern conveniences and luxuries that in many ways our lives could be considered easier now. We live in comfortable homes and have limitless options available to us. So why is it that so many of us are taking antidepressant medication?

I am a young woman who has found myself in a similar circumstance. I am very blessed to have a wonderful loving husband and three beautiful, if not insane, children. So why have I been depressed?

I have started reading a very interesting book called The Depression Cure, by Stephen S Ilardi. He is a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Kansas and has treated many patients for depression using what he refers to as TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Change). I find the more I read of this book, the more I am nodding in agreeance at his logical advice.

Dr/Professor Ilardi makes the following point-that while the risk of depression is increasing in western countries, depression occurs significantly less in developing countries, and that among the Amish, and in some tribes who still live a hunter-gatherer type lifestyle, depression is almost non-existent. He attributes this to the fact that the human body was not designed to live the sedentary, fast paced lifestyle we have become accustomed to now, and that the way that humans used to live before industrialisation was an 'antidepressant' lifestyle. It included the six factors he discusses in his book as helping to cure depression.

This made perfect sense to me. Think about the way we live now, driving everywhere and watching TV, sitting in front of computers, and having access to junk food all the time. Or, in circumstances where husbands and wives are both required to work to achieve financial stability. If you were living in a tribe, you would be on your feet walking around looking for food to hunt to keep you alive. We wouldn't spend so much time alone, and isolated from each other by technology.

The six elements Ilardi referred to are:

- Dietary omega 3 fatty acids (very important in brain structure and function, eaten in abundance by former generations, and significantly less by us)
-Engaging activity
- Physical exercise (consider a modern sedentary lifestyle and compare it to hunter/gatherer lifestyle)
-Sunlight exposure
-Social support
-Sleep

Think about it- if you are a very new mother, for example, chances are you won't be involved in much of any of these. Time for cooking nutritious meals and exercise and sleep is out of your control often enough. And I know there have definitely been some days earlier this year after I had my third child I would realise I literally had not walked outside, even to the letterbox, in days. Combine that with little sleep and nothing to do apart from child care duties, of course I was going to lose it!

Exercise is what saves me. On weekday mornings, I go to the gym around 530 in the morning and lift weights or run. It completely lifts my mood and energises me for the rest of the day.

I would definitely recommend this book to anybody, whether they have struggled with depression, or want to prevent it....or really, anyone!