“Revenge porn”. It’s when a partner or ex-partner posts nude or intimate pictures or videos online and without consent. And in the absence of better laws, perpetrators are largely getting away with it…
Pornhub’s recent announcement that it would “Give America Wood” quickly went viral. The site’s pledge to plant a tree for every 100 “Big Dick” videos viewed was covered by everyone from AdWeek to Time…
The recent calls for legislation to prohibit revenge pornography – sexually explicit media of unwitting people shared online without their consent, often as punishment for a break up – are not surprising…
The probable closure of Nuts magazine marks a huge blow to the lads’ mags industry. Following closely behind the closure of rival Front, it is evident that the lad’s mags market has entered a period of…
The UK government and many other interested international bodies are duly concerned about the proliferation of internet pornography. The latest development under consideration is the use of licenses to…
Well, I’m outraged, I tells ya. Outraged! This is such a shameful snub. Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, beloved hosts of ABC’s At the Movies, have apparently refused to review a major new Aussie…
According to the American actor Shia LaBeouf, instead of having an audition for Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, he was asked to email a photograph of his penis. While Labeouf supposedly leapt at the opportunity…
Hidden amongst the more high-profile reforms in the newly published Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014 is a proposal to extend the law on extreme pornography. This law, first enacted in 2008, criminalises…
You may or may not have heard about the online practice of celebrity fakes. Website after website, one can find images of the most famous in some of the most hardcore pornographic poses. One of those sites…
When meeting someone for the first time, your impression of that person may be different if you meet that person at a formal dinner party, a cocktail party, or a pool party. These settings typically influence…
The arrest of 348 suspected members of a child pornography network has garnered headlines around the world, especially in countries where mass arrests have been made. In Australia, the Federal Police have…
Last week, the Adult Video News (AVN) Media Network opened pre-nominations for the 2014 AVN Awards, known as the “Oscars of Adult”, and announced the inclusion of two new categories: the best safe sex…
It’s a well-worn political trick that you caricature and call your opponents names when you don’t want to engage with the substance of their claims. In debates about porn, pornography advocates often seek…
Porn. Just utter the word aloud and hearts pound, pulses quicken, and minds start racing. Depending on the context, these effects may be the result of concern for young people’s well-being rather than…
Five years after the government enacted a controversial law criminalising the possession of extreme pornography, it is clear that the legislation is deeply flawed, not least because it fails to cover pornographic…
The launch of a new academic journal doesn’t usually grab popular media interest. But the first journal of Porn Studies seems to have bucked the trend. For the most part, media coverage has contained more…
It would be truly wonderful to live in the world inhabited solely by proponents of porn. In this apparently post-capitalist world, where sexual freedoms abound, there is no need to worry about violence…
Communication Minister Stephen Conroy’s recent decision not to impose a mandatory internet filter on sexually explicit content is a welcome injection of realism into the frequently febrile discussion of…
My first ever time on an aeroplane, the mid 1980s, and the in-flight film was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Equally suitable fare for my younger brother seated to my left and my grandma to my right. Flash…
It is time we recognised pornography as part of popular culture. Millions of people watch the content the porn industry produces. And make no mistake, it produces a lot of content. According to prominent…
Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western Australia