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Feb 09, 2024

Quinn and the Question of Soft Core Corn

Member-only story Faithe J Day Follow -- Share Every day there is another word we are not allowed to use on TikTok. While scrolling through my For You Feed, I came across a Live stream of a man and a

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Faithe J Day

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Every day there is another word we are not allowed to use on TikTok. While scrolling through my For You Feed, I came across a Live stream of a man and a woman and the words “Corn Addiction and Marriage Betrayal” or something to that effect. From lurking on the Live, I learned that “Corn” is now algorithm-speak for “Porn,” and this couple were discussing how “Porn Addiction” had ruined their marriage and led to the husband cheating on the wife. From perusing their profile, I also learned that they were a Christian couple that viewed watching porn as a form of marital infidelity and mortal sin (a viewpoint that not only reflects adherence to purity culture but the popularity of ministries like the XXXchurch).

And while I have written about religious trauma and how censorship algorithms are changing the culture of video-sharing platforms like TikTok, this Live stream showed that nothing will stop creators from discussing controversial topics online. Like many other social media platforms, TikTok is a hotbed of divisive debates, despite heavy policing of community guidelines. But what stood out to me about the conversation was not just the polarizing perspective on pornography but also how the creator used language to define pornography, addiction, and infidelity through the lens of gender and media genre.

Throughout the Live stream, “corn addiction” was framed as a man’s problem, and the comment section was full of women discussing their struggles with this form of “marital infidelity.” Like a digital version of AL-ANON, even XXXchurch has an entire support group for the wives of men who secretly watch pornography. Additionally, the pornography these husbands view is always framed through a specific medium, visual entertainment like photos or videos. However, this doesn’t speak to the fact that multiple forms of pornographic content exist in the media, and various genders struggle with porn. This makes me question whether the consumption of pornography would be seen as severe an issue if the gender roles were reversed or if the content genre was different.

For example, are wives who read romance and other forms of erotic fiction also engaging in “sexual betrayal” or infidelity? Especially when there is an entire genre of Christian romance novels and films, What is so different about the visual medium that…