I meant to post this last week. It's a piece based on a conversation that I had with CBC producer Jessica Linzey about pornography, sex education, and kids.
Porn is now ubiquitous and easily accessible. Kids encounter it, whether by accident or intentionally. With that in mind, the best approach is to make kids porn literate and savvy consumers (when they are of appropriate age, and if they choose to watch porn).
Th CBC article scratches the surface. There is much more to discuss, including the nature of pornography, good versus bad porn, performer rights, and what research tells about its impacts (it's not nearly as bad as many people assume). I'll follow up on the blog over the next few months.
A few snippets from the CBC article:
"Parents think if it doesn't get talked about at school, their kids won't be interested in it, or won't find it," he said.
"Access to porn is easy, it's absolutely everywhere ... All young men watch porn and now many young women do as well."
But as Winters points out, porn distills sex down to the absolute and most intense part of the fantasy — there's rarely even a conversation before sex happens.
So if kids watch porn without context, they have no idea that this isn't a relationship, he says.
[...]
Winters says sex education needs to discuss more than just the anatomy and risks of sex — and put pornography in context, by discussing exactly what it is missing.
"What is intimacy? What is love? What are the emotions that you feel? ... What are the impacts of relationships on you? How can you stand up for what you want and what you don't want?"
"These key components of intimacy are all missing from the sex ed curriculum, much like they're also missing from pornography."
Read the rest here.
Check my media page for other interviews and pieces on this issue.