These three categories, three layers of arousal, will help us in dividingthe act of male self gratification through porn, from the act ofmale self gratification through sex when porn isbeing used,only the significance of that which is observed causes the reaction of the viewer, there is no 'real' sensoryinput, the information which the body receives does not correspondto areal sexual act - there is no one there to createthis stimulus only significance conveyed on the visual/audio level is responsible for the excitation of the viewer.
Thus while the structure of the experienced
sexual act mayinclude in itself various fantasies + perceptionof significance + direct sensoryinput,
the act of solitary masturbation is based(if without ritualistic reenactments)
on fantasies only, and the act of masturbationby use ofporn
- mainly on the perceived significance of what isbeing
viewed. And it is logically the structure of the significance, which is the main
dimension of this text.
Additional differences between 'porn' and
'sex' includes the total character of the control over situation - the porn situation may be
altered or terminated at any chosen moment bythe viewer, it may even be speeded
up, sloweddown or frozen, unlike the sex situation. This total
control includes a highlyimportant male state -penile potency. The abilityfor erection is
much more predictable whenwatching porn, then in bed with a
real partner.
Orifices
In contemporary porn, the male actors have some obvious anuscentered
impulses - from insistent licking the anus of the female, to having their own anuses licked, to the 'ass to
mouth' fascination, manifested inthe practice of entering the female's anus with one or more
fingers, penis ordildo and the moving, the redirecting
of the penetrating organ/object into the female's mouth. This connecting of both ends of the digestive tract could serve
many purposes, fromthe social dimension of 'she's a dirtybitch', tobeinga mediated
version of feces play.
However, the mouthbyitself also gets attention, even outside the dualityit forms
with the anus: fingers, penises anddildos are inserted into it, spit is spat into it, its contours
are changed by manual stretching. The mouthis an important orifice into which on one hand
various phallic objectsand organs are inserted, andonthe other -
organic matter like saliva, sperm, in 'underground' porn also urine and fecesare being deposited.
Elements
hat the Sadomasochistic (S/M)dualityis the basis for standard heterosexual actsand
masturbation fantasies within the patriarchy, was apparent to the careful observerback
at the turn of the 19th and 20 th centuries: "The most common and the most significant of all perversions -
the desire to inflict pain upon the sexual object, and it's reverse - received from KraftEbing
the names 'sadism' and 'masochism' for it's active and passive forms respectively."
Sigmund Freud, 'On Sexuality' p70, Penguin Books, 1991
Small details within the behaviorof the mainstream male porn stars, not necessarily
foreseenin the script (when there is any) point to the classical patriarchal male sadistic
sexuality: the unnecessarilygrim grip uponthe flesh of the female actor. the pulling of
hair. the spanks and slaps. a momentarily choking gripupon her neck. as well
as the constant attempts to ram the penis into the female actor's throat.