Porn (pornography)
What is porn?
Porn is sexual images or videos that have been created to make someone feel aroused (feel turned on).
Porn can show sexual body parts (for example penis, vulva, vagina, breasts), or show people having sex.
The types of porn that are free or easy to access do not show what sex is like in real life, or show a range of real life bodies.
Why do people watch porn?
There are lots of reasons someone might watch porn, for example:
- to find out more about bodies and sex
- to have a laugh
- to feel aroused (feel turned on)
- they have been sent something by a friend
- they have accidentally stumbled across it
- they feel pressure to watch it because everyone else is watching it
- they are curious
It is natural for most young people to be curious about sex and they may be tempted to look at porn to find out more.
Does everyone look at porn?
No, not everyone looks at or watches porn. Some people do not like porn or are just not interested in it. Other people are curious about porn or enjoy looking at it. Some people never look at porn, others do it sometimes, and others look at porn a lot.
Looking at porn is a choice only you can make. No one should make you look at porn.
If you are worried about porn you have seen, or about how much porn you are looking at speak to an adult you trust or one of the services listed at the end of this page.
Most porn does not show us what real life sex looks like
Stories in porn don’t often show:
- asking for or giving consent
- giving pleasure or enjoyment equally to both partners
- practicing safer sex
Consent, pleasure and protecting both you and your partner’s sexual health are things that are important to healthy, safe sexual relationships.
A lot of porn can show violence as well as non-consensual sex. Porn that shows sexual assault or rape, violence that might put someone’s life in danger, or risk hurting the sexual parts of their body, is illegal.
It is important to know that the way sex is shown in lots of porn is just a story or fantasy. It may be very different to how you or others would like to have sex.
Read more about the difference between porn sex vs real sex – Brook
Speak to someone
Looking at porn is a choice only you can make. No one should make you look at porn.
Some porn can be upsetting because it shows a person being hurt or abused or it can show sexual acts that many people would find distressing and painful in real life.
If you are worried about anything you see or have shared on online speak to someone at sexual health centre, a trusted adult, Childline, or report it to CEOP’s child protection advisors.
If you are worried about the kinds of porn you are watching and want support to stop, you can also get help from Shore Space.
Worried that you are watching too much porn?
Visit these websites for some great advice
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