Paradox of Porn: Notes on Gay Male Sexual Culture
by Don Shewey
Don Shewey shares his intention in writing this book: “I want you to do whatever it takes to wake up to the joy of life in a body.” What is the paradox of porn according to Don? Porn fosters erotic embodiment and sexual well-being in many, especially gay men. Porn is also a troublesome and even harmful medium for others, including some gay men.
His book is full of truth-telling with guidance on how to enhance sexual health and avoid harm while masturbating to porn. As a somatic sex therapist and sex educator, Shewey offers us case studies from his thirty years of working with gay men. The book ends with his own research on the negative and positive impacts of porn watching. He introduces his research by saying, “Probably the most significant finding from this study was that the different positive effects outnumbered the negative effects about 2 to 1.”
His Porn, Her Pain—Confronting America’s PornPanic with Honest Talk about Sex
by Marty Klein, Ph.D.
An Amazon reviewer writes: “Refreshingly honest, logically sound, and desperately needed.”
For practical advice about porn, check out therapist Marty Klein’s brilliant Pornography and Porn Addiction blog with over 300 posts.
Somatic Suggestions to a Psychotherapist
Joseph Kramer suggests Embodied Porn Watching to psychotherapist Tim Norton as an antidote to the epidemic of disembodiment. This Hard Conversation podcast is available both as an audio recording and as a written transcription.
