Any other self-proclaimed perverts out there?

Maybe this will sound really bad or disgusting to some people. I apologize if I offend anyone's sensibilities. But I really need to get this off my chest and hopefully start a good discussion.

I am a pervert; I view it as a positive trait, not a pejorative. I like my sexuality. I'm still a virgin but I've been a regular masturbator since I was 12. And my libido has always been pretty strong. Yeah I like porn, but not just any porn -- I get most aroused when it seems like the woman is enjoying herself. I tend to enjoy porn which is technically oriented towards women... More sensitive stuff, which I know is weird for a guy but there it is. And I love sex scenes that are actually integrated into a good story, like in Japanese visual novels or the rare movie that actually gets it right.

I was brought up to be ashamed and afraid of my own sexuality. I was born in a fundamentalist religion which taught that masturbation, pornography and sex before marriage were all dreadful sins. It was only ever talked about in hushed tones or secret conversations. My own parents were so embarrassed that they really couldn't teach me anything, so I had to learn it all in Sex Ed in the 6th grade. And then they were absolutely mortified when they found my lingerie stash when I was only 13. It seems like everywhere I look these days people are such prudes, and get offended by the slightest hint of sexuality -- a bare breast, or a steamy scene, or talk of masturbation. And yet the porn business is booming. Portrayals of women in the media are often over-sexualized. Sex sells -- but few people will openly admit to liking it.

I can't understand for the life of me why we have to be such hypocrites about it. Leftovers from the Victorian era perhaps, or a result of the conservative religions that permeate every level of society? Why can't people just accept it as a natural and beautiful part of life, without which none of us would be here?

Maybe I'm just too open-minded and liberal for my own good. Maybe I really am a pervert in the negative connotation of the word. But I like to think differently.

Does anyone else feel this way, or am I just crazy?

Uh... not sure how any of that makes you a pervert. None of it was perverse... perhaps a better word would be liberated?

What you described is actually fairly normal, at least in liberal areas. It just sounds like you were raised in a place where being shut down was considered normal (though actually more perverse).

There was an interesting analogy on food made by... I forget his name... he was with Christopher Hitchens... anyway, he accused the catholic church of being obsessed with sex.

His analogy was that the only people obsessed with food are the anorexics and the obese. A healthy appetite is a lack of obsession. The prudes are the perverse ones...

By todays standards, you are actually quite vanilla!

Maybe I have this notion of people who embrace their sexuality and just plain like sexual stuff, and admit it, to be perverts. But perhaps that very notion is wrong... I hadn't considered that.

Although I'm pretty sure that, at least in the religious culture I grew up in, I'd definitely be labeled a pervert and a sinner. And even though I've long since left that religion behind me, I guess I still carry bits of it with me.

HBO has a few documentaries on various attitudes on sex common in todays world... Watch one of those and you will think that you are definitely not a pervert! I mean, if I had a daughter, I would tell her to find someone like you (when she was old enough). An interest in the experience of the partner is something that isnt valued enough... I think of perverts as people who dont care about the partners enjoyment.

I agree with somat, nothing perverted there. Just completely natural and healthy feelings and attitudes in my opinion. (Well, there might be some bitterness there ...)

And just for a laugh ... A feather is sexy, perverted is the whole chicken.

Psst ... women watch "porn for women" less that you'd imagine actually. A big pay site did some data mining and their female members actually tend to search for "lesbian porn" the majority of the time.

I like the porn you like too. In that case, I'm a pervert too.

I actually masturbate too much I guess people would say, but I too have a very overly-sexual mind, more than most people I would imagine, with a high "drive" too.

But, the funny thing is, I don't enjoy real sex that much, it's kinda boring. Part of the reason I think is because I've never had sex whilst in a relationship with someone, it's been casual. I feel bad about that because I think it has desensitized me to what a beautiful thing loving sex can actually be between two people. Also, I think porn is a little exaggerated, and there's a reason those people are called actors, because they truly do act.