“Then there are the pornography centres. Are they really necessary?”
Fine. Porn is fine. That is: Porn is fine when it is made by a consenting, enthusiastic creator; and taken in by an informed, conscientious consumer. There is nothing inherently wrong with creating things for/from sex, or an industry which exists for the creation and distribution of those things.
I have a feeling there is a significant generational difference on attitudes on this, and it is important to trace the underpinnings of where the younger folks have developed this acceptance. Obviously, the Internet has a lot to do with it; changing attitudes on sexuality (and -- more complicated -- on race); so too, the hijacking of 'sex positivity' from Third Wave Feminists by Fourth Wave ('intersectional', millennial) Feminists.
And that would be a lot to unpack. I'm not going to attempt it here. Most kids, even ones who don't partake, see a well regulated THC industry as an overall good for a variety of economic and public health reasons. So too, with sex workers and the sex industry -- even for folks who don't partake in it personally or economically -- there exists a broad consensus that a well-regulated, visible economy around sex work is significantly better for the public's health and well being (as well as the [highly organized] workers themselves) than a clandestine, underground, organized crime economy.
I'm actually cautiously optimistic that reported decrease in sex by younger folks is from them having more, better consensual and egalitarian sex -- with partners who are aware of and maintain good boundaries.
On the other hand -- and I am being completely serious -- lower rates of sex in people my age and younger could be from lowered libido due to a mental health crisis instigated by the negative effects of social media. Recent neurochemical studies seem to bare this out. Same too, the ongoing crisis of not being entirely sure this planet with be inhabitable by humans within three or four generations. We live in the country that has contributed to this most -- and don't all the young kids know it. Shout out to Scott Pruitt. The heady weight of all this, as a daily part of your life, can be a real drag. So, why not 'do you' for as long as it is feasible and not drag anybody's mess into their own -- careful, quiet, safe -- space.
What all this -- if I had to sum it up -- is saying: nobody is judging you for the sex stuff you are into. Enthusiastic consent, healthy boundaries, and non-exploitative practices are the cost of entry into that space. Fuck that up and it will end you.
