Billie Eilish Opened Up About How Porn Negatively Affected Sex For Her
In a new interview, Billie Eilish detailed how watching porn at a young age negatively impacted some of her first sexual experiences
For years, there’s been a push to convince us all that porn is harmless and sex-positive, despite the fact that the vast majority of porn downplays consent, creates unrealistic standards about bodies and sexual acts, and perpetuates misogyny and violence against women, young people, and queer and trans people. Thankfully, the younger generation seems to be opening their eyes to all of this, as shown in Billie Eilish’s new interview with Howard Stern. In an appearance on his SiriusXM show, Eilish detailed how watching porn at a young age impacted some of her earliest sexual experiences and (spoiler alert) it was hugely negative for her.
“As a woman, I think porn is a disgrace,” Eilish, who is 19, told Stern. “I used to watch a lot of porn, to be honest. I started watching porn when I was like 11. I think it really destroyed my brain and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn.”
She added, “The first few times I had sex, I was not saying no to things that were not good. It was because I thought that’s what I was supposed to be attracted to.”
That’s a serious problem with porn, especially in the digital age when a virtually infinite amount of it can be found in a moment on the internet. People in porn perform sex acts that can range from uncomfortable to downright extreme, and those videos almost never touch on subjects like setting healthy sexual boundaries or seeking enthusiastic consent for fetishes and other acts.
“I’m so angry that porn is so loved, and I’m so angry at myself for thinking that it was OK,” Eilish continued, adding that the porn she watched also affected her body image. “The way that vaginas look in porn is fucking crazy. No vaginas look like that. Women’s bodies don’t look like that. We don’t come like that.”
Eilish isn’t wrong about any of this. Research shows that porn, especially when viewed by young people, can be incredibly damaging to body image and healthy attitudes toward respectful, consensual sex. Multiple studies have also linked porn consumption to sexist attitudes and violence toward women. Despite this, porn is widely available, even to kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics found that 54 percent of boys and 17 percent of girls ages 15-18 admitted to viewing porn intentionally — and that’s just the number who admitted it. Actual numbers of kids watching porn are likely much higher. If you need to talk to your kids about porn, Very Well Family has some tips on how to do so safely and impactfully.
