Criticizing porn will earn Billie Eilish scorn, not new fans
Early exposure of children to porn can be damaging, as pop star Eilish revealed. And that’s the failing of a society that considers easy access to porn more important than shielding minors from potentially harmful material.
Eilish, 20, is one of the most popular Gen Z celebrities. And like many other names in the entertainment industry today, she frequently shares her progressive beliefs with her audience. As a good, socially concerned, leftwing celebrity, Eilish has campaigned for US President Joe Biden, is an outspoken feminist, and frequently promotes veganism.
However, in a recent interview with comedian and radio host Howard Stern, Eilish shared some beliefs that surprisingly departed from the accepted liberal agenda. When discussing her experiences with porn, far from espousing the “sex-positive” openness that pop culture now embraces, Eilish instead blasted the medium in a move so unexpected from the young singer, that her anti-pornography comments, once the norm, are now the topic of international headlines.
“Progressive” pornography
The prevelance of pornography in Western culture is certainly nothing new, but in the era of sites such as OnlyFans and PornHub, X-rated material has never been more ubiquitous, varied, or easily accessible. And in addition to porn’s widespread availability, the attitude toward it in the post-sexual revolution era is overwhelmingly positive.
Though in the past merely consuming porn, never mind starring in it, would be considered a source of shame, today, criticizing the use of pornography is much more likely to earn you scorn than if you were to encourage it, especially in spaces dominated by younger generations. And similarly, porn performers may still be stigmatized as far as personal relationships go, but there is nonetheless an entire class of activists and progressive journalists dedicated to defending and promoting the “legitimacy” of sex work.
And so, by declaring that “As a woman, I think porn is a disgrace,” Eilish pitted her own experiences with porn against its increasingly mainstream acceptance. But whether the majority of viewers want to acknowledge it, the sad truth is that the singer’s own struggles with pornography are not uncommon, especially for those introduced to graphic material at a young age.
Children’s exposure to adult materials
In her Stern interview, Eilish revealed, “I started watching porn when I was, like, 11 and I didn’t understand why it was a bad thing. I thought that was how you learned to have sex.”
Viewing pornographic material so early in life may sound shocking to many, but as children have gained unmonitored access to electronics from a young age, it is understandable that, for many, curiosity leads them to seek out adult material. And that’s assuming it isn’t just offered up to them in any number of ads or pop-ups, as can often happen.
While a burgeoning interest in sex from minors coming into adolescence is a natural part of growing up, and no cause for shame, that does not negate the fact that adults have a responsibility to protect children from content which they are too immature to process. That so many children, like Eilish, were able to view pornography at a young age is not just a failing of parents, but also of a society that holds ease of access to pornography as more important than shileding minors from potentially harmful material.
It’s one thing to believe that adults should be able to consume pornography if they choose, but the sexualization of children through early exposure to porn is not only illegal, but as Eilish admitted, also damaging. When discussing how early exposure shaped her sexual experiences, Eilish explained, “I was a virgin. I had never done anything, so it led to problems where the first few times I had sex I was not saying no to things that were not good, and it’s because I thought that that was what I was supposed to be attracted to.”
The never-ending cycle of escalation
Eilish went on to describe how her early exposure to pornography led her to view increasingly graphic material after just a few years. “I was watching abusive porn, to be honest, when I was, like, 14,” she notes. “It got to the point where I couldn’t watch anything else, unless it was violent, I didn't think it was attractive.”
Adults who indulge in “kink” communities online are well within their rights to do so, but often any extreme acts also come with strict guidelines regarding consent and techniques to maximize safety. As a 14 year-old exploring BDSM videos, it’s unlikely that Eilish or the many teens and pre-teens like her would be able to understand those intricacies.
And age aside, Eilish also lamented the general effects that the intense footage had on her: “I think it really destroyed my brain, and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn.”
While no one can deny Eilish her own experiences, criticizing the sacred cow of pornography is unlikely to earn her any new fans, especially among a generation that has been raised to view X-rated content with few taboos, if any. But to her credit, Eilish also seems aware that her position is an uncommon one in modern-day society, as she bemoaned, “I’m so angry that porn is so loved, and I’m so angry at myself for thinking that it was OK.”
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
