I love the satirical website The Onion. They made this amazing video about the effects of pornography on consumers and today we’re going to use that as a teachable moment. “Children exposed to pornography may expect sex to be enjoyable” runs the biting headline. Burn!
Many people are concerned about the effects of pornography on young people. And who can blame them? There exists quite a coalition of people making this point, including social psychologists, radical feminists, conservative Christians and nice middle-class people who think that sex should ideally be as quiet and peaceful as possible in order to fully express your love for your partner. An honest conversation with the young people in your life about porn needs to balance a sex-positive attitude that embraces all kinds of consensual filth with advice about the less practical elements of pornographic sex. How to start such a challenging conversation? Well I recommend watching this hilarious video and then using the Study Guide to prompt a conversation that talks honestly about your vision for good sex – including whether it should be fun.
Warning: this video includes a short clip from a mainstream heterosexual porn movie, jokes about killing sex workers, and extensive disrespect for cultural commentators who are concerned about the effects of pornography on young people.
Study Guide: As you watch this video, consider the following questions:
- Can sex be fun? Should it?
- One of the commentators in the video says that sex leaves you “numb and shivering for days” – have you ever had sex like that? Do you know anybody who has?
- Can you forgive this video for calling sex workers “whores”? Why/not?
Entertainment Sex-Ed 