Pornography and masturbation problems connected?

Last updated on: October 14, 2012 at 11:43 pm by Natasha Helfer

Pornography and masturbation problems connected? 2012-10-14T23:43:57-05:00 Natasha Helfer

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Guess I should admit it here, I didn’t realize the connection between porn and masturbation until I was in my 50s. It is only in the last year or so that when I hear about someone with a porn problem I realize that they have a masturbation problem.

That still seems strange to me.

I’m a guy.

I am uncomfortable with this general assumption that seems to be prominent within LDS culture. First of all, how we define “problem” can sometimes be a problem in of itself. For instance, I often see the “addiction” label thrown around carelessly with no diagnostic criteria to back it up – causing shame issues that are unfounded in the severity of the “transgression,” (i.e. the young man who is referred to the church addiction program because he masturbates once a month).
Secondly, although pornography use can be accompanied by masturbation – this is not always the case. And masturbation occurs much more often than pornography usage. In other words, there are many more people who masturbate than there are people who look at pornography (especially when looked at over an extended period of time). Therefore, assumptions can be incorrect and shaming to those who deal with these very personal issues.
Third, the “problems” that come about because of pornography use and the “problems” that come about because of masturbation vary greatly in magnitude and in quality of life. Masturbation can be seen as a normal part of sexual development whereas pornography viewing isn’t intrinsic to human development as much as it is culturally based. They are both things that the church has asked us to abstain from as part of a sexual code of conduct (with the boundaries around pornography being much clearer than those around masturbation) – but they vary vastly as far as their significance and level of seriousness when it comes to looking at them through the lens of “sin.”
My main reason for responding to this comment is wanting to caution all of us against making generalizing assumptions that many times are uneducated, unwarranted and often only serve to judge and shame others – even if unintentionally. Proper education about these issues should be an important goal for all of us.

Masturbation

Pornography

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