In the age of streaming videos, Wi-Fi, and mobile devices, it has become easier than ever to consume hardcore pornography — especially for technologically literate prepubescent youngsters, many of whom catch their first glimpse of virtual private parts long before entering a sexual education class.
As more research surfaces linking early exposure to pornography to later struggles to maintain healthy, intimate sexual relationships, concerned educators and parents are pondering how to best protect their children from the barrage of sexually explicit material that’s just one click away. One thing’s for certain: a growing number of parents have acknowledged the futility of avoiding conversations about Internet pornography with their little ones.
This realization has prompted calls for sexual education instructors to discuss pornography more — and perhaps even show it in the classroom — as part of an effort to help teens think more critically about what they’re watching and decipher exaggerated sexual scenes from real-life relationships.
Christian Graugaard, professor of sexology at Aalborg University in Denmark, counts among the most ardent proponents of this philosophy. He caused an uproar on Danish public access television earlier this year when he suggested that pornography be shown in schools. He later defended his comments, describing traditional sexual education classes as “boring and technical, where you roll a condom onto a cucumber” and asserting that readily available clips have replaced mature, forward-thinking adults, much to the students’ detriment.
“Pornography — or even erotic literature — is an excellent vehicle for critical discussion about the difference between fantasy and reality and the commercial media’s expression of sexuality, gender roles and body types,” Graugaard told ThinkProgress via email. His suggestion comes nearly a year after the release of guidelines in the United Kingdom that encourage more discussion about sexually explicit text messages, or “sexting,” and adult films.
In comments emailed to ThinkProgress, Graugaard defended “soft” pornography, saying that these products of the adult film industry can have some educational value.
“Soft-core images may generate valuable discussions about the diversity of eroticism and even raise issues such as personal integrity, gender equality, human rights and ‘safer sex,’” said Graugaard, who’s also a medical doctor. “According to Nordic research, the overwhelming majority of both girls and boys have already encountered pornographic images in their early teens. So of course we should make sure that they remain conscientious and critical consumers.”
If American educators heed Graugaard’s advice, they would enter a world that 7 out of 10 children explore without their parents’ knowledge. By the time they reach the age of 13, more than half of boys and nearly a third of girls would have seen their first pornographic image. More than one-third of boys surveyed in 2013 said they have watched pornography “too many times to count.” Even if they wanted to avoid it, sexually explicit content can hit young people from all corners of the Internet. A national 2010 survey showed that more than 25 percent of young people said they were exposed to nudity when they didn’t want to see it.
In 2014, Safe Internet advocate Donna Rice Hughes wrote that pornography can overshadow the lessons that parents teach children about sex in hopes of helping them have responsible, committed relationships. “Every child deserves a protected age of innocence and the opportunity to thrive during childhood. Their hearts and minds are innocent, tender, and trusting and need to be safeguarded from the negative influences of increasingly violent and sexualized media,” Hughes wrote.
Some experts agree, saying that for young people whose minds are undergoing a period of growth, prolonged exposure to sexually explicit messages distorts perceptions of sexual activity, diminishes trust in intimate partners, and erodes their chances of having monogamous relationships. Studies have also shown that portrayal of women as an object for others’ sexual enjoyment can stunt the mental development of boys and girls alike. For some, those problems may follow them into marriage. Scientists have tied erectile dysfunction to excessive porn consumption in men, caused by overexposure to digital sexual images and unrealistic expectations they may have for their partner.
Others argue that moderate pornography consumption has its benefits, the most prominent being the diversity of body types, sexual identities, and interests that resonate with viewers. Supporters also say that pornography allows partners to explore sexual fantasies safely. In his book, Dr. Donald Ardell, a pillar of the wellness movement in the 1970s, noted that pornography has always been around since before the creation of the Kama Sutra, saying that healthy consumption enhances life quality and reduces stress.
Graugaard said that teenagers can make the decision to seek out pornography once they have literacy around what they’re watching. However, the manner in which instructors introduce students to sexually explicit images and movies — or whether they do it at all — remains an issue.
Openly addressing questions about pornography could help youngsters safely navigate physical and emotional changes during their adolescence. Those who want to incorporate discussion about pornography in classroom discussions say it would allow instructors to challenge students’ perceptions of what they may consider safe behavior. Time is of the essence: Forty-one percent of teenagers didn’t use a condom the first time they had sex, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly half of 20 million new sexually transmitted diseases were also among young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
The CDC says that if schools and other youth-serving organizations help young people adopt healthy attitudes about sex, it could reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and the rate of unintended pregnancy. But showing, or even talking, about sexually explicit material could prove controversial in the United States — where challenges to the status quo haven’t been met warmly.
In 2013, outraged parents in Minneapolis railed against an instructor who took nearly a dozen students to a sex shop during the last week of a year-long reproductive health and human sexuality class. A New York-based community development organization also received some backlash about offering “sex-positive” courses for sixth graders that prioritized information about sexting and tolerance of different sexual identities. Educators across the Atlantic Ocean have faced similar scrutiny for their comments. For example, a Cambridge, England principal raised eyebrows when he suggested that adult film actors and actresses visit schools and lecture students about the dangers of the pornography industry.
While sexual education classes in years past have traditionally focused on abstinence, some schools have begun to shift away from that approach due to research finding the “just say no” curriculum is ineffective. One 2013 study, for instance, found a higher concentration of HIV infections in states that lacked comprehensive sexual education requirements. Thinking has also shifted about sexual education on the Motherland in light of studies that suggest abstinence education has failed to prevent the spread of HIV.
“On a global level, sex education is too often non-existent or reduced to the risks and dangers of sexuality or even moralistic ‘abstinence only’-campaigns,” Graugaard said. “Even in Scandinavia, where sex education has been mandatory for decades, we still struggle to develop didactic tools in order to meet teenagers, where they are, and provide them with facts, self-confidence and enthusiasm to think and act for themselves.”