Good news everyone! Another myth is debunked. It’s official — porn consumption does not cause erectile dysfunction. In what is sure to be a relief to penis-bearing people everywhere, Nicole Prause, a neuroscientist and clinician, reported that no link between porn and sexual performance could be found.
“Neuroscientifically, it seemed very unlikely that merely viewing sex films would transfer to partnered sexual experiences,” said Nicole Prause in her article in the Daily Beast. She goes on to point out that sex and porn stimulate the brain differently, effectively demonstrating that while porn may be a corollary factor in reported cases of ED, it is unlikely to be the cause.
She is hardly the only one to draw that conclusion. Despite many self-reports of erectile difficulties attributed to adult films, at least SEVEN clinical studies have found absolutely no connection between the two. So what, then, are people experiencing that is causing them to feel that porn is the problem?
Just like other aspects of life, sex is far more nuanced than we would first suspect. Prause suggests that those affected look at the reasons they are masturbating and watching adult movies in the first place. Relationship stressors, unrealized sexual preferences, and anxiety are all key factors in why some people seek solo pleasure — and likewise, are all potential causes of performance problems during partnered sex.
The article goes on to quote Samuel Perry, PhD, author of Addicted to Lust. “Professional clinicians, scientists, the media, and the general public need to think about the context in which people view sex films and not feed into the false narrative that viewing images on a screen is itself the kiss of death for relationships.”
No aspect of life exists in a vacuum, and that goes especially for sex, whether solo or partnered. It’s nice to chill out and trust that temporary problems are probably just caused by the usual stresses of life, rather than our preferred methods of relaxation.
Resources:
- https://www.thedailybeast.com/porn-didnt-break-your-penis-studies-show-no-physiological-link-between-sex-films-and-erectile-dysfunction?ref=home2
- https://www.xbiz.com/news/245180/neuroscientist-debunks-porn-causes-erectile-disfunction-myth
- https://www.realyourbrainonporn.com/research
