Is Porn The Same As Cheating?

A group of bloggers and their commenters who normally write about things like capital gains taxes and the legal ramifications of wiretapping are in a bit of slap fight over a recent column by FoxNews.com “sexpert” Yvonne Fulbright. The column was about the warning signs of porn addiction (Sign #1: if you’re reading this, you have it), and the debate revolves around an offhand remark stating that many partners just assume that using porn “is the equivalent of having an actual affair.” (Except Playboy! That’s totally cool.) At least one guy agrees, saying that paying for porn is sort of like paying to watch a prostitute have sex with someone else and that sort of makes you a cheating asshole! Others responded with more nuanced arguments, like “that’s insane.”

The conflict also has something to do with a “moral continuum,” which we thought was some kind of weapon on “Star Trek” but apparently is something that measures how much trouble you’re currently in with your girlfriend. Which leads us all back to our original question: Is looking at porn the “equivalent” of cheating on your significant other? We were going to make this today’s poll question … but given our readership, we think we know how that one would turn out. Leave your thoughts in the comments anyway.

· “8 Signs Your Partner is Addicted to Porn” (foxnews.com)
· “Honey, I Think You Should Know, I’ve Been Seeing Joanna Angel” + “Porndultery” (juliansanchez.com)
· Porn and Adultery (Culture Wars) + Part (II) (theatlantic.com)
· The Douthat-Carter Continuum (willwilkinson.net)
· A Post Calculated to Boost TNR’s Web Traffic (tnr.com)
· To the People: 9. He Blogs Less (tothepeople.com)

· Thumb via Cheating Strap-on Lesbians (lesbianstraponparty.com)

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  • DontFearTheReaper

    How can anyone take Faux News seriously??

  • Venus Muffinpants

    @DontFearTheReaper:

    thats the problem, loads of people do.

  • Gone Elsewhere.

    I suppose it depends upon how secure your partner is. And whether or not you’re meeting their needs in the relationship.

  • Brian47

    I know, it’s silly for us here to comment on this, we’re all preaching to the choir! But I do think that some people jump on this bandwagon simply because it’s the socially accepted bandwagon. Most people are afraid of not being socially acceptable. Until it becomes more obvious that porn can be part of a healthy, stable marriage or long term relationship, it will continue to be the scapegoat and whipping boy of many conservatives… hmmm, conservatives and whipping boys? Didn’t I read about that story somewhere? :)

    Although I shouldn’t stereotype either, I know there are liberals who also have no love for porn. I can understand if someone has no use for it, but to want to eradicate it completely, not understanding porn has its own intrinsic high & low art value as a representation of human sexuality, is such an insane reaction.

  • RoboSheep

    Do you hide your porn watching from your other? If you do then it’s some minor form of cheating. If you don’t hide it (heck it might even be shared) then it’s not cheating.

  • Venus Muffinpants

    Î also think that a key to it is the hiding factor. It just instigate doubts. Dont hide and your partner shouldnt feel cheated.

  • B

    I’m just glad Fox News didn’t find away to like Porn to terrorism….yet.

  • Angelo

    It’s all about love. People don’t love porn stars; they love their lovers.

  • etho

    Me and my fiancee both rather like porn, so it’s not much of an issue. I don’t see it as cheating either way though. Hiding it is dumb though.