Evolutionary psychology and a minor point about porn

[footpad]

I can understand why I should be pleasurably stimulated by pictures of attractive persons in positions of immediate sexual availability. In the gazillion-year history of my 'Y' chromosome, the sight of a healthy, aroused breeding-partner has usually presaged an imminent opportunity to mingle my genes with some high-quality genetic totty. It's no

Comments

[theodor]

Hmm…

I’m going to have to bring in some heavy duty architectural theory to answer this one, namely the work of Christian Norberg-Schultz, who wrote about existential space and mans ability to project himself.

We each carry a bubble of existential space around with us; it is the volume that we inhabit, and it is the amount of space we feel comfortable perceiving. We are said to interact with an object or person when our existential space overlaps with the one surrounding the aforementioned object or person.

As well as having the bubble, we are able to project it. We can look at a cave and have an idea of what it will be like to be in that cave. We can imagine the interaction without having it directly.

This is where we get to porn. You are placing yourself in one of the roles you are seeing. Have you ever noticed that you seldom see the face the male in heterosexual porn made for men? He is little more than a stand-in for ‘you’. You are not watching him breed with that piece of genetic totty, you are envisaging yourself doing it.

If you ever find yourself on xtube*, take time to read some of the comments. You will often see things to the effect of ‘I wish I was you’ or I want to be that bottom’ and so on. It the same thing.

That’s why porn is hot. It has little to do with evolution, other than the primal urge to get our collective rocks off.

*Don’t deny it, we’ve all been there.

[rustyfox]

Heh, usually when I watch hetro porn (and I sometimes do) I'm most often imaging myself being the woman ;p

But there is something else about voyeurism other than projecting yourself into the situation - at least for me - other people's lustful emotions can rub off, without consciously picturing myself in any role. In much the same way that laughing can be infectious, I suppose, so can sexual excitement (and this is why I prefer clumsy bedroom "amateur" porn, the emotions conveyed are genuine, I just don't get that with clinical, studio-lit, directed commercial porn).

[shazomei]

Amateur Pornography is an art form!

There is nothing more of a turn-off than that disastrous saxophone music that accompanies any of the so-called 'professional' pornography.

[footpad]

There is something that's more of a turn-off: namely, the grossly artificial passions of the participants.

[branwyn]

I believe there was an internet theory/meme that putting any video to the song "Yakkity Sax" could make even the least funny video absolutely hilarious. At the time, the prime example was footage of the World Trade Towers in New York City being attacked and destroyed - which becomes disturbingly hilarious when accompanied by "Yakkity Sax". I would be surprised if there isn't at least one available example involving porn.

B.

[mikosquirrel]

In my years of extensive porn viewing, I have witnessed exactly one instance of saxophone deployment, in a clip from 1978.

[footpad]

Ah, thank you. And hence the stereotyped attractiveness of male porn 'stars': not "OMG I have to compete with that" (in which case they'd all be gruesomely ill-favoured), but "I'd like to be as attractive and well-endowed so that those women, being the mechanical objects they are, will open their legs for me and beg to be inseminated."

[mikosquirrel]

Funnily enough, Ron Jeremy's career and current porn legend status is presumed to be predicated upon a combination of average-to-plain looks and an extraordinarily large penis.

[branwyn]

Well, I was going to say something to the effect that "many people prefer to imagine themselves as one of the participants" but - well, you've already gone far and above with this explanation. :)

I might add that there seems to be a fairly distinct dividing line - ie. most people have a definite preference one way or the other. I have a very close straight friend who actually gets angry about solo-female and lesbian-action porn - he needs there to be a male in the porn to project himself into. But another straight friend can't look at porn with guys in it - just seeing a guy naked turns him off. (The things you learn about the lives of straight guys when you're in a band with them for a long time!)

Based on the personalities involved, I suspect that the difference is in their level of self-confidence - the first friend believes he could be that guy in the porn he watches; the second friend believes he'd never have a chance with another guy in the picture.

Myself, I definitely prefer porn where I can imagine myself as one of the participants.

B.