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Pornography & Your Relationship

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Kinda works..

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  1526.1
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  Oct-29 9:57 pm

Porn has always been an open thing for us, we watch it together, we buy magazines, whatever, there's no boundaries with us really...until recently.  I noticed that my husband is on the computer with it every time I am not home.  If I even leave to go to the grocery store for an hour he's on it.  He says it's not me, he says he just enjoys looking, which I've always known but dang, every time I leave???  Today I am at the doctor with a sick kid and he's sitting at home surfing porn before he has to go pick up our other kid...He only had maybe 30 minutes and he spent it looking at porn.  I think it's become a little much.  I'm starting to feel like he isn't "looking" at me so much anymore.  He says it's not me, there's nothing wrong with me and for me to stop feeling so jealous...but I can't help it.  Shouldn't he be "looking" at me too???  I dunno.  I like to look as much as he does and I don't want to hound him about it but it's become excessive.  I feel sometimes he looks...then he wants to have sex with me...he says it's all in my head and I'm reading too much into it..it's just porn...but it's kind of like he has to get horny first..then come be with me :(  He says that is not true but I don't know what to think anymore.
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Kinda works..

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  1526.2 in response to 1526.1
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  Oct-30 11:24 am

How old is everyone? How long have you been together?

How is his health? I've heard alot about testosterone replacement. Men do lose vim & vigor also. Male menopause. Have you noticed a general decrease in libido? Could he be trying to prop up libido with porn?

In another thread, you mentioned stress & a lack of time to really spend on some drawn out sexy time. When was the last time you had a "date" or a couples vacation?

Could you send the kids to relatives or their friends' house for a night? Could you set up a schedule with another couple? You take their kids for a weekend night some week & then trade off. So everyone gets a little peace for a night.

Is it the amount of porn? Or the lack of anything "constructive" to do with that half hour you were out? Do you think you aren't getting time to yourself, but he gets time for porn? Unfair? Compounded by the doctor visit & sick child?

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Kinda works..

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  1526.3 in response to 1526.2
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  Oct-30 11:54 am

 

How old is everyone? How long have you been together?

I'm 42, he is 37.

How is his health? I've heard alot about testosterone replacement. Men do lose vim & vigor also. Male menopause. Have you noticed a general decrease in libido? Could he be trying to prop up libido with porn?

I do have to say that last year he did have his testosterone levels checked and they were waaaay down. He was on some stuff to make it rise but it was really expensive and not covered by insurance.  He has also tried Viagra but it wasn't really what he wanted I guess, it didn't provide him with what he was looking for..

In another thread, you mentioned stress & a lack of time to really spend on some drawn out sexy time. When was the last time you had a "date" or a couples vacation?

Gosh it's been months since we went out together, we are so busy with kids stuff and his job that it's impossible to find alone time and when we do it's quick and done.  Usually the sex is in bed, lights out and quick.  We have been known to just close the door and do it in the bathroom quick as we can..We were alot more creative in the past...but since I've opened the porn door, he doesn't seem to want to take the time to be creative with me...almost like it's too much work to do.  He'd rather look at porn, get himself going faster and easier.

Could you send the kids to relatives or their friends' house for a night? Could you set up a schedule with another couple? You take their kids for a weekend night some week & then trade off. So everyone gets a little peace for a night.

No relatives to send them with...

Is it the amount of porn? Or the lack of anything "constructive" to do with that half hour you were out? Do you think you aren't getting time to yourself, but he gets time for porn? Unfair? Compounded by the doctor visit & sick child?

It's the frequency of the porn.  It's knowing that the moment I step out that door he's grabbing my laptop for porn.  It's also the lack of anything constructive being done.  I would even be apt to feel nothing about it had he also folded the load of clothes he was sitting on top of, lol, or took ou the trash that needed to go out.  It's not just the 30  min yesterday, it's every time I leave.  I am a stay at home Mom so I get plenty of time to myself and he does not care what I look at or do with my time..but with that said I am constantly doing things that need to be done to run a household...and wanting to spend time with him doing anything else...I constantly ask to go here and do this or whatever and he's always too tired.  I do believe his low testosterone is an issue..but at the same time I don't think it's fair he use that as an excuse to surf porn while I'm out running ragged with a sick kid, getting dinner, grocery shopping etc...I could be raking leaves for an hour and he'll sit here if he can!  It's the frequency.  I mean when I leave for an hour I feel like he's using it to get himself going ..so he's into sex when I return...which may very well be true...but isn't that what I'm also for?????  I feel like I'm not enough...

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Kinda works..

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  1526.4 in response to 1526.3
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  Oct-30 12:43 pm

He was on some stuff to make it rise but it was really expensive and not covered by insurance. <<<

Talk to the doctor again. Is there a less expensive option, or alternate method.

No relatives to send them with... <<< About the friends option?

We have been known to just close the door and do it in the bathroom quick as we can. <<< That's hott! I'd bring that up. "Honey, I know WE'RE stressed, but I miss the sneaky sex game, I felt like your partner in crime, like we were getting away with something (or whatever your answer is.) Want to try something like that again? We haven't done it in the garage yet, or way back at the end of the yard in the dark, do you think the Tompsons would see us?"

I am a stay at home Mom so I get plenty of time to myself and he does not care what I look at or do with my time..<<<

When does he have alone time? Does he have another outside hobby? A best male friend to hang out with? Maybe he's not getting his alone time fix & this is how it is manifesting. Soccer, golf, fishing? Would you encourage any hobby he had before-kids? Everyone needs time away from responsibilities. And talking to other men at work, isn't the same as hanging with your bud on a weekend day.

I understand wanting more couple activities, besides sex. Mine works weird hours too & isn't home on weekend days. So I do want to spend as much time together when he is home, but have to remind myself that sometimes he'll have to go over to his friend's house. Scratch, tell fart jokes, whatever it is they do.

It's also the lack of anything constructive being done. I would even be apt to feel nothing about it had he also folded the load of clothes he was sitting on top of, lol, or took ou the trash that needed to go out. <<<

Have you approached it from that angle? That if the "chores" were done, it might not be so bad? But ... if the chores do get done & porn still happens when you go out, will you be prepared to stand by your original answer that it would be ok.

Usually the sex is in bed, lights out and quick. <<<

At least start leaving the lights on.

but isn't that what I'm also for????? I feel like I'm not enough... <<<

I don't know. I've never subscribed to that philosophy. I get my libido from so many places, I couldn't say BF should only get hott "from" me. I am the sole beneficiary, yes, but not the sole instigator. Like "I don't care where you get your appetite, but you eat at home." Sex is a constant thought, and always evolving. So sometimes I'll want it because it's been awhile, or because it's Tuesday, or because I'm so in love with him that day, or something I ate, who knows!

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Kinda works..

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  1526.5 in response to 1526.1
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  Oct-31 3:21 pm

If I were in his shoes, I would appreciate knowing how much porn is acceptable and how much is excessive. I would appreciate knowing what it is you want to have done that you think porn is taking time away from. Is it housework, working a second job, playing with the kids, cooking, volunteering in the community? Did he do those things before he started using porn? If not, what did he do with his time? Is this a case of feeling frustrated that he isn't doing something you want him to do or feeling frustrated just about his use of porn when you don't want him to?

I think some relationships suffer from a control problem. One partner feels they need to control the other; they don't trust their partner's judgment in deciding how to use their time, what to buy at the store, what to do on a date, what internet sites to visit, etc. This may or may not be the case in your relationship, but I think it's worth considering.

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