So you have used porn for years secretly. Your wife has caught you a few times and you sincerely promised to never do it again. But a few weeks/months later, you saw a link and… well. There you were.
Then you started wondering why all men look at porn no matter how religious, Christian, or sincere they are. What if the reason you keep doing it again is because God never intended you to stop. There is no “way of escape” because there is no “temptation.”
So you want your wife to understand and (fantasy) maybe even join you. Here’s what I did.
I am a psychiatrist, and the art of psychiatry is the skill of getting people to act in their own best interest even when they don’t want to. We do this by realizing their perceptual distortions and helping them overcome them.
Everyone, not just schizophrenics, have perceptual distortions. Remember when we used to read comic strips (I know, dinosaur age) Cathy had a perceptual distortion about her weight. Much like an anorexic sees a fat girl in the mirror.
Now you think that only sick people think that way, but you are wrong. Everyone does this. I recently got a hair cut and the hair falling in my lap was grey. This is strange, because the hair I see in the mirror is brown. I have to actually cut off a piece and look at it off of my head before I can perceive it’s true color. I once died it and was disappointed because it didn’t change color (in my mirror) while everyone else was rolling their eyes.
So your wife thinks that she is fat and ugly. When she looks in the mirror her baby stretch marks stand out like beacons. Her breasts sag like an tribal woman in National Geographic. Her hair is a straggly mess of grey that should be convicted in the Salem Witch Trials and her butt is disgusting.
Now you don’t see her that way (or you shouldn’t – if you do, then some family counseling is in order – more in a later post). You see her through eyes of love. Those stretch marks are from your babies that nursed at those lovely breasts. You have mounted that butt with joy uncountable times.
This is why your wife has such a violent (literally sometimes) reaction to the thought of you looking at porn. She thinks that you are wishing to be out of your marriage, to be able to “hit that.” She thinks that you are “lusting in your heart” that you want to sneak off and get you a piece of that pretty young thing.
Your job is to get her to see it through another lens – through the lens of romantic chick flicks on the Hallmark channel. When Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Sully make out, is she thinking – “Oh, I wish I could kiss that manly tomahawk-wielding hunter in buckskins with long wavy hair”. No, of course not, she is seeing herself as Dr. Quinn and you are her Sully. That’s why you take her to the theater and sit through RomComs right? For the sex afterwards. Yeah, I know you do and you know you do.
Ok, so in this feminized society where masculinity is hated, and normal men’s erotic desires are despised, how do you convince your wife to go against the Christian culture that pervades your life.
Don’t try to argue your side. That will only lead to many long arguments which you may or may not win, depending on your marriage dynamics. You need to tell her how you see her while not giving up your masculinity.
For example. Let’s say that your wife has watched Game of Thrones with you (even though she makes you fast forward through the good parts) in a moment of casual nudity, stare at her breasts for a long time, lick your lips, play with a nipple and say, “You know, you look like Daenarys Stormborn but with LOTS bigger boobies.”
Now, you are going to get a rise out of her. She is going to ask what you are doing looking at Danni’s tits. You reply, “Hey, I’m a guy, I like titties. Wanna make love?” She’ll continue to argue, you just keep touching her and telling her how turned on she makes you and asking for immediate sex. Tell her that you are a man, show her your erection and prove it. Even if this ends with, “I’m not having sex with you if you are thinking about other women” You have started making your point.
Then a few days later, sometime after great sex, during the cuddling, you say,
“God, that was hot, I just feel like I fucked <insert famous porn actress name>”
“Who is that”
“She’s a porn star”
Yes, she is going to hit you. Be prepared. You’re playing the long game here. She is going to be mad that you just confessed to watching porn. Make sure that you are prepared to not get mad, don’t raise your voice (you are going to be tempted to, don’t do it). Your line is “I’m a guy, aren’t you glad that I’m a man and like girls. I sure like you. You turn me on and I love having great sex with you. You’re the only porn star that I have ever made love to.”
You might even ask her, “You’re so hot, can I take some pictures of you to beat-off to when I’m at work.” If she lets you do this, then make sure and call her from work and tell her that you are jacking-off to her pictures.
Her line of attack will be to try to get you to promise to stop porn. Tell her that you will try to stop if that what she demands, but then say that she knows and you know that you will just do it again. No matter how hard you try.
She will try to get you to get “help” from “mindfulness” or “porn addiction” snake oil “experts” like Gary Wilson. This is your line in the sand. Tell her these guys are doing just as much porn as anyone else and they are not experts and do not have a cure. And then drop it and return to telling her how sexy she is and maybe you need to drain your balls a little bit more with her since she is turning you on this way.
Now, you used a porn actresses name on purpose. That name is going to drive her nuts. SHE IS GOING TO LOOK THAT NAME UP AND WATCH IT. I hope that you didn’t use a name of someone you actually liked, because even after you win the day THAT actress is going to be off the table. You won’t be able to watch anything with her in it ever again. Ok, yes, I may have made that mistake.
So this argument is going to go on for weeks and months. Hold the line without getting mad. Your line is that God made you like this. You like looking at naked women. You are a man and isn’t she glad of that. And (the ultimate argument terminator) she is turning you on by talking about sex this way, let’s go to bed.