“In the last ten years especially, there has been a more pro-pornography, feminist, sort of approach to not just pornography but women owning their sexuality,” Dan explains in this week’s episode of The Man Rules podcast, “and that, in many ways, one of the ways they’ve found to do that is through pornography.”
But is that really a good thing?
Dan sat down with Dr. Robert Jensen this week to explore the implications of porn for individuals and our culture at large, especially considering its role in male-dominated power systems.
“There’s nothing wrong with human beings using our creative capacities to explore the complexity of life …” Dr. Jensen says, “but there’s a difference between using our artisit and creative capacities and pornography.”
“It might be … that our sexual explorations are better conducted with real-live people and not through this mass-mediated channel.”
If you’re ready to reexamine your relationship with porn, these practical and tactical tips are a great star.
Practical & Tactical Tips
- Instead of asking yourself what kind of man you want to be ask yourself what kind of human you want to be. Free yourself from worrying so much about what it means to be a man.
- If you’re using porn, ask yourself why. Is something missing in your life or in your intimate relationships? What are some ways you could find what you’re missing outside of pornography?
- Think about what gets you aroused. Is it connected in some way to ideas of male power? What does that mean?
Listen the full episode here:
[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5628362/height/90/width/480/thumbnail/yes/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/515453/custom-color/#87A93A” height=”90″ width=”480″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen]Please SUBSCRIBE on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcasting app. And please leave us a review, if you haven’t already!
About Our Guest
Robert Jensen is a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and a board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center in Austin and the national group Culture Reframed. He is the author of The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (Spinifex Press, 2017). Jensen’s other books include Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully (Counterpoint/Soft Skull, 2015); Arguing for Our Lives: A User’s Guide to Constructive Dialogue (City Lights, 2013); All My Bones Shake: Seeking a Progressive Path to the Prophetic Voice, (Soft Skull Press, 2009); Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity (South End Press, 2007); The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege (City Lights, 2005); Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity (City Lights, 2004); and Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream (Peter Lang, 2002). Jensen is also co-producer of the documentary film “Abe Osheroff: One Foot in the Grave, the Other Still Dancing” (Media Education Foundation, 2009), which chronicles the life and philosophy of the longtime radical activist. An extended interview Jensen conducted with Osheroff is online . Jensen can be reached at [email protected] and his articles can be found online at http://robertwjensen.org/.
Mentioned in this Episode
Getting Off: Pornography and The End of Masculinity
