Everybody has a story about how they first discovered porn (perhaps, they were invading someone’s privacy or “innocently” searching through the internet for something else). Regardless of how we set foot into the porn world, chances are we were not completely ready for what we found. From shock to fright to utter confusion, everyone’s first reactions to porn are broad and unique. Here are five stories from Nigerians about their first encounters with porn:
Didi, 25
I think I was like 12, 13, 14 I don’t really know but it was preteen. It was the December period and as an Igbo girl back then, we travel back home every December. We travelled to the village and then, it used to be very interesting because all my cousins would come back. It was like a mini-reunion with different family structures. My dad was very strict. We didn’t own phones, computers, any access to anything like that. We had no access to the internet and if at all we owned phones, it was Nokia torch lights just for important communication. This time, I was with my big cousins who had phones. I wouldn’t call them smartphones but they had pictures, videos and music. On this particular day, I went to my big cousin’s compound and he was like my coolest cousin, light-skinned guy, fresh everything. He had mad playlists with all the current songs. We used to fight for his phone and it was my turn to use it on this day. I was listening to music then I decided to check the pictures. The next thing I know, I’m watching videos. Some of them were funny videos until I reached this weird-ass looking video. At the time, I didn’t know it was a gang bang but I now know that’s what that was. There was this babe with three black dudes. I was so confused because they looked like they were hurting her. There was just so much going on at the same time. The funny thing is it was the first time I saw full-on nudity because in my house, everybody is covered up. That day, I saw boobs, vagina and dicks which was strange for me since I don’t have brothers. I was just thinking, “Oh my god, this is scary,” “Stop,” but the woman looked pretty comfortable like she was enjoying it. Then, I was like, “Oh my God why would you let them do this to you?”. So that’s how I was introduced to porn, but I didn’t really follow it up because my first experience was very scarring.
Oghenetega, 21
I think in 2012 or something, I was at home and my brother was asleep. He had slept off with his phone unlocked and I didn’t have a phone. I was curious to know what was on his phone so I started checking his files. I was literally listening to music until I got bored then I decided to check his videos. I saw things. Actually, I was kind of scared, I was like “what the fuck are they doing?”. When I started watching it I was, “Oh my gosh.” I started imagining my parents and I was like “oh fuck so this is what my parents used to do to give birth to children, oh no.” I couldn’t watch it but later I was very chilled. I was like let me watch this thing again and see what is actually going on. I took my brother’s phone then I went to a corner to watch it and I was like “wow.”
Jonah, 22
Okay, this goes way back to the days of my junior secondary around Junior Secondary School. I had this small-button phone which my friend wanted to borrow my phone to do something. I gave it to him. After a while, I went back to collect my phone. I was shocked to see what he was watching. Freaked out, I asked, “what the fuck is that?” He told me they are called “boobs.” I was like, “wow is this what women look like when they are naked?” and he was like “yeah,” then he showed me other stuff. It was disgusting at first but it felt good somehow, but I didn’t want to give it too much thought. I just collected my phone because I was going somewhere. When I came back that night, the whole video started replaying in my head and I was like, “I’ve got to see more.” I just entered the history and just started checking other stuff. I guess that was the first time I got aroused but it was so strange to me.
Sam, 22
I was in primary school at the time. I noticed a bunch of guys all around a phone. I decided to check what they were doing only to find out that they were watching porn. I was confused and didn’t know what was going on. I stayed a bit and we watched it together. Some weeks later, when I got home, I took my dad’s phone because I was curious and I didn’t have a phone then. There was also no Wi-Fi. It was this modem we had but it was not easily accessible. I decided to search the website on my dad’s phone which was not difficult for me since I had memorized the website. I checked it out and was like “oh shit.”
Darnell, 24.
I think it must have been Jss 2. Somebody had a phone, I think a Blackberry and it literally just had porn on it. I saw a group of guys watching porn so I joined them. It wasn’t anything crazy, It was just naked people. Porn didn’t freak me so much at the time. I was really young. That was the first time I saw porn on that scale.
*This article is based on real-life events. Names used are mere pseudonyms to protect the identities of the individuals mentioned in the article.
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Nigerian Lives is a Culture Custodian weekly series about the ins and outs of the Nigerian experience from actual citizens. It goes up every Monday.
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