According to Pornhub data, Australia ranks 7th in the world for porn consumption. With data from other sources suggesting the average age of first consumption of porn is nine, it’s easy to see why porn use has become a contentious issue. So what gives porn its allure? What makes watching specific videos enticing? In light of what porn has the potential to reveal about human nature, can porn ever be merely entertainment? 

Today, to help explore what our porn use says about individuals and culture more generally is Giorgio Tricarico. Giorgio is a clinical psychologist and a Jungian analyst, and a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology. He is the author of Lost Goddesses: A Kaleidoscope on Porn.

Giorgio argues porn is a complex symbol of our current world and a shining example of Jung’s idea of the 'Shadow' of the Western culture. While many books essentially show its negative sides; the risks of addiction and the danger of damaging the relationship between sexes, Giorgio’s work focuses on porn as a phenomenon of our times, exploring its many colours, trying to capture its inner logic and essence. 

Giorgio and Caroline discuss the social ideas that enabled the proliferation of mass internet porn, what our preferences and proclivities say about our psyches, and what Carl Jung’s idea of ‘Shadow’ has to contribute here. They also discuss what divinity and porn have in common, and the deeper layers of human experience that could be driving porn use.

Resources:

Giorgio’s work, Lost Goddesses: A Kaleidoscope on Porn. 

Recommended reading from Giorgio: 

"Gunther Anders' Philosophy of Technology: from Phenomenology to Critical Theory", by Babette Babich, Bloomsbury Academic

"The End of Meaning and the Birth of Man", Wolfgang Giegerich, Guild of Pastoral Psychology, 2004

"The Sacred Prostitute", Nancy Qualls-Corbett, Inner City Book, 1998

"Pornified: How Pornography is Transforming Our Lives, Our relationships, and Our Families", Times Books, 2007

 "The Principle of Individuation: Toward the Development of Human Consciousness" by Murray Stein, Chiron publication, 2013.

"Consequences of Capitalism: Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance", Marv Waterstone and Noam Chomsky, Haymarket Books, 2021

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