Pornography, how it alters your brain and the effect on women | Dr Fiona Vera-Gray interview 

Agree that the title is misleading because we're not talking about the neuro chemistry or the physiology of the brain. This is an important conversation to have so I would re title this interview and have another guest that does have the experience of talking about how it changes our minds, not just the brain but the entire physiology of the body. Adrenals, cortisol, reward response, etc.

this is one of the most eye opening videos ive ever watched. thanks so much for having Fiona on.

As a PhD student (aka baby academic) researching how pleasure and desire shape our understandings of ourselves, I appreciate these interviews. Thoughtfulness and nuance takes time, which a lot of news outlets don't necessarily allocate to their content. Also good to see an interviewer who's clearly taken some time to read and understand the material discussed (not that Oli's always got good takes or whatever but he has a knack for asking the questions that guide the interview in interesting directions).

Thank you so much for inviting this guest and broaching this topic. I'm here in Southern California which is known as the pornography capital of the world or certainly the US. How violence towards women percolates down into the culture and is exported because of that industry is a constant problem. The disrespect and violence that's trickled into dating now for the past decade has caused so much sexual violence to women. And even sexual violence from women to other women. It certainly benefits the capitalists but as an art instructor I was hired into an enrichment program in the San Fernando Valley and I found out later that the woman who hired me, who always had extravagant amounts of money to spare and a monstrous palacial home with 4 car garage, was a porn baroness, that she was using her charitable donations to support arts education...

What an excellent interview and some very thoughtful questions, well done guys

I am so glad you are covering this topic. 💗🙏💗

The state is drunk on the revenues from addiction based industries so this is unlikely to ever change. #technofuedalism

Interesting and fascinating interview. Dr. Vera-Gray is doing vital work, especially considering the increasing impact this issue is having on society.

Complex and useful, thankyou.

Very insightful interview. Great stuff.

Quite the perfect interview. Profoundly human, insightful, intelligent and will hopefully cause pause for thought in many of us. Thank you.

There is exploitation in the manufacturing of some of our clothes. We have to react to that as well.

Good video but the title is misleading. The Doctor is a Sociologist she has no insight about how porn affects your brain. Otherwise great info

thought provoking conversation. much appreciated

I think this is a great analysis!

I feel like there’s some parts of the picture for women that have been left out, not purposefully but unavoidably. Great content and mission.

I agree with most but only fans was not created to be a porn site. The users moved Only Fans in that direction. You cant really blame men for creating a platform with a non sexual idea that was morphed into a sexual platform by the public. The question is who pushed it into a sexual direction? Men or women or both

Pron is like drugs. We should tax the companies and individuals who sell it to fund the myriad of abuse, recovery and health schemes we need.

Absolutely fascinating interview and this expert manages to vocalise things that I’ve been thinking for years but have never been able to say because our thoughts on this subject ARE so nuanced and complex

Surely porn is a tiny part of the construct of sexism. Children are fed sexism everyday from TV, movies, social media. Things that children consider an establish criteria of "normal life"

Curious as to why you opted for Johnny Sins and Angela White for the thumbnail for this video? This was interesting but there was so much that was alluded to without really being covered it was a bit frustrating. How are they defining pornography? Even using the definition of anything on a big platform doesn't account for there being both amateur stuff produced by couples and stuff made by production companies. Where does parental responsibility come in for kids? Would Onlyfans be okay if it was women in charge making millions instead of men? I get the impression that this isn't really covered in the book either since it's apparently a collection of interviews.

Good interview. Have experienced the resrrictiin of the imagination thing...

I disagree with his point about how most people can distinguish between fantasy and reality, as though porn is somehow like a Harry Potter novel, or even, as he says, like fast and furious. The kinds of hormones that get released while watching porn re-wire our brains in ways that are different.

I don't think it should come as a surprise what kind of porn you are presented with on the "free" sites. Think about what makes the sites free to use. They're not charitable organisations. It will be influenced by what kind of material caused people to first of all click on it, and secondly to go on to click on the adverts and eventually buy something. The main difference to Google which has an empty page is that perhaps you don't know what to search for, so "popular" choices would be front and centre.

This seemed to me to be more of a 'who is wearing the better boots' question than anything else. ❤

One of the major issues with anything on a global online platform is what *can* we do about it? My worries is a single country can put regulations in place for a country, but VPN's are so easy to use people can and will still circumnavigate the regulations, especially young technology literate people who are most effected by the negative outcomes. Also what regulations do we think would be effective to create the change we would like to see? And i worry then who becomes the gatekeeper of porn, i wouldn't trust our current parliament to decide this with rampent transphobia/racism/homophobia/misogyny ect.

zerking off to this vid for the irony of it

Welp, this has gotten Fiona a book sale for certain, absolutely fascinating to hear her discus some of the moral ideas and ethical issues in pornography. I must say, I think some of Oli's questions misses the mark, not that they were wrong or anything but that I think Fiona wanted to come at them from a different angle, but she did a fabulous job of working with that

Definitely a topic little discussed in modern society without it going to extremes and anger. Certainly more to explore as I feel it is making society angrier, and considering how little online it is regulated and how much people are making in many cases out of exploitation its insane!

Porn has definitely affected dating, relationships and sex. Women are certainly expected to do things they may not have twenty years before. It affects how women may feel about themselves and body dysmorphia has increased exponentially. Erectile dysfunction and porn addiction in younger men is connected. Rape porn is seen as normal and that becomes a “no means no” issue for some people but of course not mutually exclusive. The idolisation of Andrew Tate is very depressing.

such an excellent interview and insightful woman!

Was hoping you'd actually have Angela White contributing to this, left disappointed.

Excellent and necessary interview 👏

Excellent and informative

Just on her point of sexual violence shaping sexuality - I know so many men and women where traumatic experiences (not necessarily SA) have caused them to develop a sexual fetish related to that trauma. I really hope this is something that's researched in the future.

Good convo

Sorry my hand slipped and I hit the like button.

Porn makers are in it for revenue shocker. It's like alcohol. Most consumers live normal lives and a minorty need help due to addiction.

Good stuff

Wow, I've never understood 'triggering' now I do ! At at least I know I'm not the only one

some of this reminds me of behave Robert Sapolsky, free will may not exits.............we are a complex accumulation of experience and environment

There should be like an overton window of what's "mainstream" in porn

It was really hard to watch this without counting the number of times one of them said "it's really hard"

The Tech Titans of porn have a lot to answer for.

Brilliant interview. I'm pleased porn wasn't as available growing up. Wish age verification was here. I'm a woman who watches porn and joined groups for more positive porn so women are good at talking to each other about this issue.

Sorry, what? What’s your definition of normal pornography again? Did I miss it?

I find it interesting that Dr Vera-Gray begins by saying that pornography is bad because it denies women agency and humanity, and then lays into OF, which is a site where content creators decide what kind of content *they* want to release & how they want to price it. Thinking also about the cam sector - this is content created by people who decided on what they were happy to produce, at least in the main. The T*te brothers hornswoggled a bunch of women into camming for them & giving them their earnings, & that's a huge problem. But in principle, these sites are generally places where the performer has a lot of agency. Hey, does anyone know why porn producers keep churning out stuff based on a blended family situation, with step siblings, step parents etc? Everyone I've read, and myself included, really dislikes this sort of pseudo-incest stuff. It's weird and icky, but they keep producing it.

The levels of sexual violence have always been there. In the past though women never spoke out or reported anything.

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, the Titanic being Western civilization.

Great interview Oli

Who's the actress on the thumbnail? EDIT : It's Angela White

Why I subscribed to this channel....:)

Thank you so much Dr Vera Gray and Politics Joe. This video really captures my frustrations and the complexity of pornography in a way that honours feelings in a balanced way, but which also holds porn platforms accountable. I would like to add that peoples work contracts especially teachers, and fear of exploitation are limiting us unpicking these issues. Schools for instance refuse to address these issues with pupils. We now have pupils experiencing and consuming pornography being taught by people have grew up with pornography, and so are let down by those 20-30 year olds that could guide them through with honest conversations like how misleading it is, consent, pleasure etc. safe places for adults, safe places for students and hold these toxic platforms to account.

Good chat

Thank you so very much for this.

Aaaaaand the book is 99p on Kindle today…. Three months after release.

I feel healthier using my imagination but it's true that it takes time to get past the memory recall stuff which is largely male dominant stuff. Imo.

Isn't there a study that explains when pornography was legalized in the Czech republic after the fall of communism SA dropped a huge percentage because it had been illegal until 'democracy kicked in'?

You'd have to say with a background like that before going into research, it's likely to have an impact on the focus and output of your research on this topic. So not likely to be free from bias. People have sexual thoughts that, like most of our behaviour, is on a spectrum from mild/nice characteristics all the way out to the extreme. I take the Bill Hicks point on this matter, which is porn only exists because people have sexual thoughts and it reflects our sexual thought. A rapist is a rapist, and may well be such without any porn in his or her (because this is politics Joe after all, think Ailsa Bryson 🙂) lifetime. There are proabably billions of people watching porn, the vast majority of whom will never become a rapist because of it, and will not have unrealistic expectations because of it. And then of course there will be some women that like sex, and some that don't so much.... a topic that probably will not ever be discussed. And these days i guess people work this out before they get married, so may decide not to when they realise their sex life will be not what they are interested in. People fail to realise that sex is a two way street, and ultimatley you need to think about what you give as much as what you get, and for god's sake talk about what you like and want sexually. And taking your foot off the gas in that dept once you for example, buy a house, get married, or whatever results in relationship problems down the line. But this is converasation nobody wants to have post me too, for fear of being labelled a Harvey Weinstein. Satisfaction is just that, and it doesn't get satisfied with half measures.

Kind of mental that our society is having to “relearn” things our society knew since year dot. Yes watching filth is warping peoples relationships with others. Yes it is better to have a mother and father in the home. Yes ethnic and religious diversity carries risks of conflict and political instability. Yes having lots of young men with nothing productive to do is a big problem. What is it about the way our political and cultural elite are living that makes any of this controversial?

I am so in that group xD 34:00 Where there's a plain and clear corrolation between abuse I been through growing up, and my sexual desires. When I realise it I somewhat don't wana think about it but, there's gotta be more than just corrolation right? Fortunately the abuse was minimal so I don't take it to heart it's just incrediblely ironic

I definitely think porn is damaging. If I think back to when I was younger nothing turns me on anymore the same way it would in my teens, you expect all women to be up for everything and it's really depressing when they can't fulfil your needs

46:00: The interviewer says the porn you watch at night-probably-undermines the things you fight for at day. Well, I think the jury is out on that one. Fighting for a policy where you are not allowed to have a night will make also the day a bad experience, methink. Maybe the Taliban would disagree with my idea, but I don't think Voltaire or Socrates would…

Introduce a ‘Corn Laws’ style law for pornography

On the question around 50m of whether people's preferences in private shouldn't be a matter for judgement, Amia Srinavarsan's book Right to Sex tackles this well, on how preferences are shaped.

I stopped consuming pron a few years ago after watching two women discussing it on a podcast. Glad I did - not a healthy pursuit.

What about the Politics of Corn??

F@ck for Forests could be Wood for the Trees.

My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!

This is a great angle to critique the porn industry. I was initially concerned it was going to be another 'all porn is bad' take that doesn't take into account that gay people exist. But then the discussion was more focussed on the 'capitalist', neolib, individualist structure behind porn that has brought it to where we are. There are obvious feminist critiques of porn that I'm not going to dispute, but often there is a generalisation of porn from the feminist lens that neglects that porn may not even have women in it. And which can also neglect to highlight the abuse and exploitation of men in porn too. Dr Vera-Gray really sounds like this wider structural critique of the porn industry has been considered, even though her book is specific to women (and that is obviously fine if you want to explore the impacts on women specifically). Unfortunately, this wider structural issue with porn has only exacerbated the impact on women, whether with the sociological impact on them (body image, sex life expectations, etc.), or the more physical (sex trafficking, exploitation, abuse) in the drive for profit (look at cam model 'businesses' like with Tate). It's also brought some of these onto men (especially those from minority groups like queer men and men from racial minorities) when it comes to body image and exploitation.

This a purely Anglo Saxon view on things. What about Jewish, Christian orthodox, Chinese, Indian , Arab, Muslim views? Some themes, such as power games, pervade all cultures. Some groups, however, are discussing these more openly than others. There is also rasist and chauvinistic propaganda against certain cultures or groups. This video is a good starting point for each individual to reflect on their own views and attitudes and their own groups at workplace, family, friends and acquaintances.

24:51 guys subconscious body language

Title is clickbait bullshit, this person isn't a scientist and this has nothing to do with the brain. Secondly, it seems that most people commenting here have not actually watched porn, or are aware of the myriad varieties of porn. Saying porn is bad is a bit like saying books are bad.

I came here to see Oli start acting inappropriately like he does in the podcast. 😂

As a painter l regard what society calls porn as an artistic resource (Augustus Klimt was denounced as a "pornographer").

Apart from anything else, how can you have a discussion about "the politics of porn" WITHOUT ANYONE WHO WORKS IN PORN.

"i love the idea of equitable and feminist..." So she is advocating for equal pay for men? Male stars are heavily underpaid compared to their female counterparts. So, same work same pay or it doesn't work like that whenever females benefit from the system?

My dad when I sneak out

You can't do survey/study on pornography without taking a look at the underlying exploitation inherent to capitalism. Her analysis is incomplete.

Is this the Stormy Daniels video?

Religion is just another type of addiction.

All the pleasures we working class have to get away from the hard work and elitist corruption are taxed! We are taxed for working , buying , drinking , smoking , driving and now porn.Those earning over £50k a year should pay 99% tax!!!!

Ollie wearing his mum jeans....

47:25 "There wasn't demand for pornography before Pornography flooded the market" WHAT? How ignorant is she! Demand for Pornography has existed since the dawn of time!

Men won’t watch a blank screen, time the women were called out, no just blame men

Small detail but please ditch the plastic bottles and invest in a jug and some water glasses from IKEA!

Erotic art and pornography, like prostitution, have been around for millenia.

I am old and I am going to sound old. I have never watched pornography and have not missed it. What happened to the idea that you discover sex in a private setting? I think sex education only needs to provide the basics. Everything else is meaningful (or not!) within the context of a private experience. The idea that you need pornography to explain a blow job, or any other sexual practice is bizarre and mechanistic. We seem to be forgetting that human beings are sexual beings, long before magazines, videos, abd now internet porn invaded our lives.

Oh come on, did the Carry on films with their not so subtle innuendos affect my brain, or, Fiesta, Men Only, Debbie does Dallas? Of course it did, so did 50 shades of gray, Ann Summers, Dildo's, The Chippendales..etc afect women and their expectations of men ffs. The real problem is keeping hardcore pornography out of reach of children, this is dangerous.

How long until AI generated porn starts replacing real porn I wonder.

Awesome. Appreciate Dr she excellent on this. Adult entertainment with Reno Gay Adult entertainment $1 Trillion business. Reno gold super rich he accountant but no Money in it Thomas. Awesome thanks. Support STV voting system for UK general election. Switzerland 20% income yes wealthy Thomas. State pension Switzerland high standard of living Switzerland.

☯️💜

Good conversation here. Nice to see the jokes are absent as it ruins the podcast. This was good though.

Pornography is a form of art, so it often has a political influence - it's also a huge share of all the art consumed, and one form of art perhaps most influential yet the only one where schools and parents etc have nothing of value to offer in terms of preparing one to be a critical consumer of this art form in particular...

Women own only fans..

Waste of time having this argument. They ain't gonna change it. It makes money. Money is more important than healthy lives and relationships, remember. We are capitalists. Your addictions are your problem. Even if we are proliferating your media with it 24 hours a day. 😂 But yeh. It's all on us.

Looking forward to Oli mansplaining woman's sexuality to Ava on the next podcast XD

Addressing who started & still runs the industry? Lobbied for it to be decriminalised? Who have branched out & own OnlyFans & most of the HookUp apps?

I wanted the discussion about social moralities and outcomes of the sex industry.. instead we got cliche, unfounded statements and a decent into marxist backed tropes about intersectionality. I much more appreciated the input from Genevieve Gluck on the subject even if at time as a man I felt Gluck goes too far; she actually has a real evidence based opinion. I got halfway through this interview feeling absolutely nothing has been said, and there was absolutely nothing to take away from this academic other than she has been scared into a nuanced vague outlook that has surrendered completely in protecting womens rights. There is no statement about Trans pornography being forced on gay men or the straight men predating gay dating sites for young women calling themselves trans or NB. There is no commentary about sextoys (as far as I could stand to watch) or relations to virtual sex, or AI sex.. and even how she talks about her own sex is so pathetically weak, stereotypically victorian and yet unprepared to point out how certain women are really behaving in the porn industry and how ID politics has fooled these women in catastrophic personal decisions based on personal liberty and methods of income verses the social cost with finding a male partner., and security that is longlasting. A waste of time! Joe looked bored, and well my critique for Joe is your team keep choosing poorly. Try the “Womens Voice” podcast for a good discussion on this topic.

The ad for this program showed a large breasted attractive woman. I’ll confess, it’s why I clicked on it. Don’t judge me. All women are beautiful. Respect and enjoy each other with your own boundaries. Reject the idiots.