tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/porn-4330/articlesPorn – The Conversation2024-03-14T17:19:11Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250362024-03-14T17:19:11Z2024-03-14T17:19:11ZIs it ethical to watch AI pornography?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580230/original/file-20240306-30-un3efx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=79%2C88%2C5811%2C3850&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mobile-addict-man-using-smartphone-browsing-2391001945">Lysenko Andrii/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’re in your 20s and 30s, you probably watch pornography. Millennials and gen Z are <a href="https://www.lelo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/UK-Sex-Census-2023.pdf">watching more</a> pornography than any other age group and are also <a href="https://www.lelo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/UK-Sex-Census-2023.pdf">more likely</a> than any other demographic to experiment with AI pornography. </p>
<p>As technology advances, AI-generated tools and techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated and accessible. This can lead to unethical content, including deepfakes – videos in which a person’s face is replaced with someone
else’s likeness, without their consent. Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) recently faced a scandal when it became awash with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/31/inside-the-taylor-swift-deepfake-scandal-its-men-telling-a-powerful-woman-to-get-back-in-her-box">deepfakes of Taylor Swift</a>.</p>
<p>But what about other kinds of AI pornographic content? How can consuming it affect you, and how can you make sure that you’re consuming it ethically? I’m a sex and relationship therapist, so I’m interested in helping clients with various sexual issues, including porn consumption problems. I am also curious about the ways AI could be used positively to create pornography that is not only ethical, but educational and sexy at the same time.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our 20s and 30s. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-you-should-know-about-coming-out-as-lgbtq-in-your-20s-and-30s-223910?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">What you should know about coming out as LGBTQ+ in your 20s and 30s</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problems-with-dating-apps-and-how-they-could-be-fixed-two-relationship-experts-discuss-218401?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">The problems with dating apps and how they could be fixed – two relationship experts discuss</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-might-start-to-hate-the-influencers-you-once-loved-222659?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Why you might start to hate the influencers you once loved</a></em></p>
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<h2>The impact of watching AI porn</h2>
<p>While it’s perfectly normal to be curious about sex, watching a lot of pornography can affect your <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/8/7/914">sexual satisfaction</a> – and AI porn is no different. You might, for example, start comparing your partner to the hyper-realistic, but impossibly perfect, digitally generated actors of AI porn. </p>
<p>Already, <a href="https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/5/2/article-p179.xml">research</a> suggests that men who frequently watch online porn may experience erectile dysfunction. This could be due to the idealised unrealistic portrayals in pornography compared to real-life sexual encounters. AI pornography would likely only exacerbate this, with AI porn avatars able to participate in sex acts that wouldn’t be possible, or as accessible, for real people. </p>
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<img alt="Young asian woman lying in bed lit by glow of her phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581005/original/file-20240311-20-jwbnkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581005/original/file-20240311-20-jwbnkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581005/original/file-20240311-20-jwbnkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581005/original/file-20240311-20-jwbnkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581005/original/file-20240311-20-jwbnkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581005/original/file-20240311-20-jwbnkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581005/original/file-20240311-20-jwbnkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Research has found that watching porn can help some women to overcome shame.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/woman-phone-bed">TORWAISTUDIO/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Among women who watch porn, opinions vary. Some women have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0092623X.2021.1885532">noted</a> positive changes, including a reduction in the shame associated with sexual pleasure. But others have expressed reservations about the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328265584_Is_Women%27s_Problematic_Pornography_Viewing_Related_to_Body_Image_or_Relationship_Satisfaction">beauty standards</a> in pornography, finding them unattainable. </p>
<p>This stance is very much shared by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277539500000777?via=ihub#BIB30">anti-porn campaigners</a>, who claim that porn degrades and objectifies women. They believe it feeds into ideas of male supremacy, potentially leading to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342907785_A_Descriptive_Analysis_of_the_Types_Targets_and_Relative_Frequency_of_Aggression_in_Mainstream_Pornography/link/5f21c47b299bf134049257f8/download">violence against women</a>. </p>
<h2>Regulating AI pornography</h2>
<p>The roles women are given within mainstream pornography often portray a different power imbalance than, for example, gay male porn. For this article, I spoke to porn actor John Thomas. He argued that gay male porn was somewhat more ethical than mainstream straight porn which is [made for men to consume]. “Both roles in a gay scene might be appreciated by the viewer, rather than the pure objectification of the woman in a straight scene.”</p>
<p>One of the many concerns with unregulated AI-generated pornography is that it can distort a viewer’s sense of reality, leading to misinformation, unrealistic expectations around sex and potential harm. However, since the moral landscape surrounding ethical AI porn is a grey area, we are pushed into uncharted territory. As new technology emerges, new challenges arise.</p>
<p>To ensure <a href="https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3230/323047487009.pdf">responsible</a> innovation within the adult entertainment industry, it’s essential to be aware of AI’s ongoing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7296407/">integration</a> into our daily lives. For example, risks could be mitigated by training AI systems to recognise deepfakes, violence or child pornography. </p>
<p>For actors in the adult entertainment industry working pre-AI, consent has always been key. I asked John Thomas about best practice in the industry: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When working for a porn studio [as a freelance worker], I sign a contract which typically includes clauses relating to rights to my image – usually I am signing to give the studio the right to use, and alter, my image [from the photos or video created] and distribute it. AI is not specified in any contract I’ve signed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But since AI porn is expected to become more mainstream, the topic of consent becomes more ambiguous. As John Thomas adds: “I think one could interpret the contract to include AI … the contracts are written in such an expansive way that, having signed away the rights to your image, and consent to your image being altered, it could [hypothetically be used in AI].”</p>
<h2>How to be an ethical porn consumer</h2>
<p>Just as there are fair trade brands known for their ethical practices in producing coffee and clothing, there should be a safe space for consumers to explore their sexuality and fantasies. </p>
<p>As a porn viewer, you can be more ethical in your consumption by becoming <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2018.1556238">porn literate</a>, improving your understanding of realistic sexual expectations, gender identities, sexual orientations, relationship styles, kinks and ethical BDSM practices. </p>
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<img alt="A gay couple in bed together, looking happily at a phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581293/original/file-20240312-16-wqqfqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581293/original/file-20240312-16-wqqfqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581293/original/file-20240312-16-wqqfqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581293/original/file-20240312-16-wqqfqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581293/original/file-20240312-16-wqqfqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581293/original/file-20240312-16-wqqfqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581293/original/file-20240312-16-wqqfqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">It’s good to talk about your porn preferences with your partner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/affectionate-gay-couple-watching-content-online-2233406561">Lomb/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>And if you decide you want to watch AI porn and want to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1363460720936475">minimise</a> the risk of consuming unethical content, here are some tips to help enhance your porn literacy skills: </p>
<p>• consider joining online communities where discussions about <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460720936475?icid=int.sj-full-text.citing-articles.43">“feminist porn”</a> and sexualised content are open and encouraged</p>
<p>• if you are a fan of a particular porn actor, consider following them on social media. This will provide you with some insights into their performance activities and their preferred ways for you to access their content </p>
<p>• when coming across porn sites, take a moment to assess if they are recognised for ethical production practices. Some <a href="https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/30093">established sites</a> are known for their commitment to ethical pornography. Typically, the ethical emphasis will revolve around aspects such as production standards, consent, representation of diverse body types, genders and races, portrayal of safe sexual practices and prioritising the enjoyment of all involved</p>
<p>• keep in mind the difference between fantasies and real sexual encounters when watching porn. Remember that what you see online may not translate to real life</p>
<p>• keep a close eye on your porn consumption. If you sense it’s becoming overwhelming, or impacting your daily life or sexual experiences, don’t be ashamed. Seek support from a professional, such as a sex therapist.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chantal Gautier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People in their 20s and 30s are more likely than any other age group to experiment with AI pornography.Chantal Gautier, Lecturer, Sex and Relationship Therapist, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147582024-02-13T15:05:19Z2024-02-13T15:05:19ZGirls and pornography in South Africa: going beyond just the negative effects<p><em>Academic research tends to focus on the negative aspects and sexual dangers of girls and young people viewing porn. But what do girls themselves say about growing up in a world where porn is so readily available from such a young age? It’s a question Deevia Bhana, a professor in gender and childhood sexuality, sets out to answer in her <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Girls-Negotiating-Porn-in-South-Africa-Power-Play-and-Sexuality/Bhana/p/book/9781032028897">book</a> Girls Negotiating Porn in South Africa: Power, Play and Sexuality. We asked her five questions.</em></p>
<h2>What’s the book’s central idea?</h2>
<p>When it comes to porn, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23268743.2015.1051914">research suggests</a> there are differences between boys and girls, where it is more acceptable for boys to view porn than it is for girls. These gendered differences are based on gender roles and identities where boys’ interest in and expression of sexuality is deemed to be more appropriate than that of girls, who are expected to be sexually innocent and subdued. </p>
<p>In South Africa, these divisions are made deeper by <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad738-south-africans-see-gender-based-violence-as-most-important-womens-rights-issue-to-address/">sexual violence</a> and <a href="https://www.inclusivesociety.org.za/post/understanding-gender-inequality#:%7E:text=%5B1%5D%20Its%20inequality%20is%20profoundly,lower%20than%20that%20of%20men.">gender inequalities</a> where girls are seen as passive victims of sexuality. Putting girls and porn together as this book does is taboo. There are many reasons for this, including perceptions of respectability. </p>
<p>In contrast, the book provides evidence of girls’ widespread engagement with porn. Digital technologies, social media platforms and a wide array of online sites offer access to sexually explicit material. Sex is all over the internet and porn is everywhere. And girls do engage with it to expand their knowledge – whether teachers and parents like this or not. </p>
<p>The book elaborates on girls’ sexual curiosity, their ideas of sexuality and bodies and their objection to racial categorisations and sexual objectification. It opens up and broadens the conversation about how girls engage with porn in a far more nuanced way beyond danger narratives. The book advocates for a more open and nonjudgmental approach to understanding teenage girls’ experiences with porn, focusing on their voices, experiences and perspectives. </p>
<h2>What research was involved?</h2>
<p>The book is based on focus group discussions and individual interviews with 30 teenage girls between 14 and 18. It draws on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/photo-elicitation">photo-elicitation</a> methods, drawings and poster making. The girls presented visual images and drawings to describe what porn meant to them. </p>
<h2>What did girls tell you about their experiences of viewing porn?</h2>
<p>The book opens with 17-year-old Nqobile (not her real name). She recalls she first encountered sexual scenes on TV when she was eight, but knew this was something that she couldn’t discuss with her parents. She found this exciting and wanted to know more about it. Like other girls in the study, she spoke about what online porn meant to her. </p>
<p>The girls in the study did not have to access porn online to see porn. They said porn was everywhere, in billboards, movies, music videos… Porn is a normalised aspect of everyday life and the online world. They openly mocked and discarded dominant understandings of porn and sex as inappropriate in their young lives. </p>
<p>They spoke about the excitement of forging sexual relationships, their concerns about first-time sex and their desire to learn about sexual intimacy. One participant said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Maybe, if you are very inexperienced with sex, you can watch something or look at something to give you an idea of what to expect, and just how to approach the situation, what to do in the situations so that you don’t feel inexperienced.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When girls engage with porn they don’t simply see sexual content. They also see women whose bodies don’t reflect reality. These images can shape girls’ perceptions of their own bodies and a desire to conform to certain beauty standards which are gendered and racialised. The book shows that girls may find themselves pursuing these elusive “ideals”, but may also challenge them. Many were aware of slim, straight haired, fair skinned and blonde ideals. </p>
<p>Rather than reinforce outdated beauty norms, the girls suggested alternative media and social media platforms that celebrate the real variety of bodies. They also used discussions about porn to talk about male power and female sexual subordination. That only men were seen as deriving pleasure from porn was viewed as one-sided. Women too, the girls argued, experienced pleasure. </p>
<h2>Where do power, play and sexuality fit in?</h2>
<p>Girls engage with porn through their online adventures as they play with the boundaries of respectability. Play also indicates the fun and pleasure they derive from talking about their online encounters with sexuality. So, they play with porn, make jokes about its content, learn about sexual relationships, while they also critically object to the domination of heterosexuality and racialised and gendered patterns of inequalities. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/help-ive-just-discovered-my-teen-has-watched-porn-what-should-i-do-215892">Help, I've just discovered my teen has watched porn! What should I do?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The lack of comprehensive sex education that addresses girls’ desires and porn can leave young people with limited resources for understanding healthy relationships, consent and sexual pleasure. Online porn becomes a primary source of information. </p>
<p>But relying solely on online porn for sexual knowledge can lead to perceptions of intimacy that are unrealistic, where understandings of boundaries and consent reinforce male power. Additionally, girls’ engagement with porn without proper context or guidance can contribute to feelings of shame, guilt and confusion about one’s own desires.</p>
<p>In South Africa, while comprehensive sexuality education is compulsory in schools, a focus on disease, poor health, violence and the need to abstain is prominent. Sexual desires, pleasures and discussion of first-time sex are often of marginal consideration. In fact <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-82602-4">across the globe</a> young people are denied sexuality education that actually takes heed of pleasure.</p>
<h2>What do you hope readers will take away?</h2>
<p>The research offers five key insights:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Girls are not passive recipients: The book challenges the prevailing notion that teenage girls are passive victims of sexuality. Instead, it highlights they actively engage with and navigate the complex world of online porn.</p></li>
<li><p>Girls’ experiences are complex: The research shows girls have a wide range of thoughts, feelings and reactions to porn, including curiosity, playfulness and critical thinking. This challenges the view that porn is universally harmful.</p></li>
<li><p>Context matters: The study highlights the importance of considering the specific social, economic and cultural contexts in which girls are growing up. It recognises that girls from privileged backgrounds may have different experiences and access to online resources that permit ways of learning about porn.</p></li>
<li><p>Better sexuality education is crucial: Instead of shunning discussions about sexuality and porn, the book shows that girls do want to have conversations about these topics. It is adults who refuse to do so. </p></li>
<li><p>We should listen to girls’ voices: The book underscores the importance of valuing girls’ voices and perspectives. It advocates for an approach that recognises that girls both desire and object to porn’s racialised and sexist messages.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deevia Bhana receives funding from the National Research Foundation. This work is based on the research supported wholly by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 98407).</span></em></p>Sex is all over the internet, and girls engage with it in many different ways. They shouldn’t be judged for it.Deevia Bhana, Professor Gender and Childhood Sexuality, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171822023-11-28T21:53:23Z2023-11-28T21:53:23ZCyberbullying girls with pornographic deepfakes is a form of misogyny<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561919/original/file-20231127-19-5mwcx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C3840%2C1931&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Much commentary has focussed on the political harms of deepfakes, but we've heard less about how they are specifically being used to degrade girls and women. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/cyberbullying-girls-with-pornographic-deepfakes-is-a-form-of-misogyny" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The BBC recently reported on a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66877718">disturbing new form of cyberbullying that took place at a school</a> in Almendralejo, Spain. </p>
<p>A group of girls were harmed by male classmates who used an app powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to generate “deepfake” pornographic images of the girls, and then distributed those images on social media. </p>
<p>State-of-the-art AI models can generate novel images and backgrounds given three to five photos of a subject, and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/12/thanks-to-ai-its-probably-time-to-take-your-photos-off-the-internet">very little technical knowledge</a> is required to use them. While deepfaked images were easier to detect a few years ago, today, amateurs can easily create work rivalling <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/11/20/a-history-of-fake-things-on-the-internet-walter-j-scheirer-book-review">expensive CGI effects by professionals</a>. </p>
<p>The harms in this case can be partially explained in terms of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-023-00657-0">consent and privacy violations</a>. But as researchers whose work is concerned with AI and ethics, we see deeper issues as well.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-combat-the-unethical-and-costly-use-of-deepfakes-184722">How to combat the unethical and costly use of deepfakes</a>
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<h2>Deepfake porn cyberbullying</h2>
<p>In the Almendralejo incident, more than 20 girls between 11 and 17 came forward as victims of fake pornographic images. This incident fits into larger trends of how this technology is being used. A 2019 study <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/porn-deepfakes-96-percent-online">found 96 per cent of all deepfake videos online were pornographic</a>, prompting significant commentary about how <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/10/7/20902215/deepfakes-usage-youtube-2019-deeptrace-research-report">they are being specifically used to degrade women</a>.</p>
<p>The political risks of deepfakes have received high-profile coverage, but as philosophy researchers Regina Rini and Leah Cohen explore, <a href="https://jesp.org/index.php/jesp/article/view/1628">it is also relevant to consider deeper personal harms</a>. </p>
<p>Legal scholars like Danielle Keats Citron note it is clear society “<a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674659902">has a poor track record addressing harms primarily suffered by women and girls</a>.” By staying quiet and unseen, girls might escape becoming victims of this new and cruel form of cyberbullying.
We think it is likely this technology will create additional barriers for students — especially girls — who may miss out on opportunities due to the fear of calling attention to themselves. </p>
<h2>Used as tool for misogyny</h2>
<p>Philosopher Kate Manne provides a helpful framework for thinking about how deepfake technology can be used as a tool for misogyny. For Manne, “<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/down-girl-9780190604981">misogyny should be understood as the ‘law enforcement’ branch of a patriarchal order</a>, which has the overall function of policing and enforcing its governing ideology.”</p>
<p>That is, misogyny polices women and girls, discouraging them from taking traditionally male-dominated roles. This policing can come from others, but it can also be self-imposed.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trolling-and-doxxing-graduate-students-sharing-their-research-online-speak-out-about-hate-210874">Trolling and doxxing: Graduate students sharing their research online speak out about hate</a>
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<p>Manne explains there are punishments for women perceived as resisting gendered norms and expectations. External policing of misogyny involves the disciplining of women through various forms of punishment for deviating from or resisting gendered norms and expectations. </p>
<p>Women can be denied a career opportunity, harassed sexually or harmed physically for not living up to gendered expectations. And now, women can be punished through the use of deepfakes. The patriarchy has another weapon to wield. </p>
<p>When considering Manne’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/608442/entitled-by-kate-manne/9780593287767">notion of male entitlement</a>, we can predict instances of this policing occurring if female students are offered positions male students deem they are entitled to, such as winning the student council elections or receiving academic awards in traditionally male-dominated fields. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man seen looking at a phone while two women walk past." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561899/original/file-20231127-24-ovh6wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Will cyberbullying via deepfakes be presented as ‘just a joke’?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A ‘joke’?</h2>
<p>The technology of deepfakes is a very accessible weapon to wield in these cases, and one that can cause a lot of harm. The shame and threat to personal safety are already evident. Cultural misogyny additionally harms by trivializing this experience: he can still say it is just a joke, that she is taking it too seriously and she shouldn’t be hurt by it because it isn’t real.</p>
<p>Self-imposed policing can be reinforced through deepfakes and other image manipulative technology. Knowing that this form of cyberbullying is available can lead to self-censoring. </p>
<p>Students who are visible in public leadership have more likelihood of being deepfaked; these students are known by more people in their school communities and are scrutinized for public roles. </p>
<h2>Will we become more used to them?</h2>
<p>It could be that once these deepfakes become more common, people will be less surprised to see these images and videos, so they will not be as scandalous to others and embarrassing to the victim. </p>
<p>Yet, philosophy scholar Keith Raymond Harris discusses how people can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-021-03379-y">make psychological associations even when they know they are basing these on false content</a>. These associations, even if they may not “rise to the level of belief” can be classified as a harm of deepfakes. </p>
<p>That means that when students make deepfakes of their classmates, it can alter their perception of their targets and cause further real-life mistreatment, harassment and disrespect. </p>
<p>It means that boys are less likely to consider their peers, who are girls, as capable students deserving of opportunities. The use of this technology amongst peers in schools risks damaging girls’ confidence through the sexist education environment that this technology will enforce.</p>
<h2>Another tool for ‘typecasting’ girls</h2>
<p>Manne’s analysis also suggests how even if a girl does not have a deepfake of her made directly, deepfakes can still impact her. As she writes, “women are often treated as interchangeable and representative of a certain type of woman. Because of this, women can be singled out and treated as representative targets, then standing in imaginatively for a large swath of others.” </p>
<p>Girls are often classified into types in this way, from the ‘80s “<a href="https://www.tripletsandus.com/growing-up-in-the-80s/slang-terms-from-the-80s/#:%7E:text=Valley%20Girl%2FVal,%2C%20omygod%2C%20so%20rad!%22">Valley Girl</a>,” the millennial notion of the “<a href="https://www.thecut.com/2014/10/what-do-you-really-mean-by-basic-bitch.html">basic bitch</a>” to Gen Z classifications of <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/9/24/20881656/vsco-girl-meme-what-is-a-vsco-girl">“VSCO-Girl</a>,” (named from a photo editing app) or a <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a42134933/what-is-a-pick-me-girl-definition/">“Pick-Me Girl</a>.” </p>
<p>When these psychological associations made of a particular woman lead to misogynistic associations of all women, misogyny will be further enforced.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="(A girl's face against technological imagery like a fingerprint and a grid." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C431%2C6000%2C3260&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561905/original/file-20231127-28-cgy6zn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Deepfakes are the latest technology used to uphold patriarchy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lampooning, shunning, shaming women</h2>
<p>Manne explains that misogyny does not solely manifest through violent acts, but “women [can]… be taken down imaginatively, rather than literally, by vilifying, demonizing, belittling, humiliating, mocking, lampooning, shunning and shaming them.”</p>
<p>In the case of deepfakes, misogyny appears in this non-physically violent form. Still, in Almendralejo, one parent interviewed for the story rightly classified the artificial nude photos of the girls distributed by their classmates “an act of violence.” </p>
<p>We doubt this technology is going away. Understanding how deepfakes can be used as a tool for misogyny is an important first step in considering the harms they will likely cause, and what this may mean for parents, children, youth and schools addressing cyberbullying.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217182/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Understanding how deepfakes can be used as a tool for misogyny is an important first step in considering the harms they will likely cause, including through school cyberbullying.Amanda Margaret Narvali, PhD Student, Philosophy, University of GuelphJoshua August (Gus) Skorburg, Associate Professor, University of GuelphMaya J. Goldenberg, Professor of Philosophy, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1985762023-03-06T13:35:30Z2023-03-06T13:35:30ZWhat parents and educators need to know about teens’ pornography and sexting experiences at school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512713/original/file-20230228-2960-yiwjos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C64%2C8634%2C5691&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pornography presents persistent risks for adolescents.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenager-boy-is-using-smartphone-at-home-in-bed-royalty-free-image/1353071585?phrase=teens%20iphones%20school&adppopup=true">EMS-FORSTER-PRODUCTIONS via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Three out of four teenagers have seen online pornography – often before they even became a teenager. That’s according to a new report from Common Sense Media that examines the <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/teens-and-pornography">role pornography plays</a> in the lives of today’s youth.</p>
<p>Some teens do more than just watch pornography. By way of “sexting,” teenagers are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.10.026">creating and sending their own images and videos</a> of themselves in the nude.</p>
<p>For the most part, it’s not the job of school staff to worry about what kids are looking at on the internet or sending over their phones. However, as an expert on human development – and as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=TZgnU_QAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">one who studies adolescent sexuality</a> – I believe parents and educators should be prepared to address potential issues that might arise as a result of students’ engagement with pornography and sexting. This sort of preparedness is especially pertinent today because smartphones enable kids to look at porn and to sext during school hours.</p>
<p>Here are five things that parents and educators should know as pornography use and sexting become more commonplace among students:</p>
<h2>1. Pornography is not what it used to be</h2>
<p>Fifty-two percent of teens have <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/teens-and-pornography">seen violent pornography</a>. This includes acts such as choking, slapping, gagging, hitting and crying. This is because the internet changed the way pornography is distributed. There used to be <a href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1004/obscenity-and-pornography">more regulations</a> on violent content and age verification to adhere to pay-per-view standards in hotel rooms and DVD sales. Now, self-produced and distributed content reigns on “tube-site” platforms that function similarly to YouTube.</p>
<p>Tube sites like PornHub allow for users to freely view and upload their own content. At its inception, many users assumed it was primarily “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23268743.2016.1184477">amateur content</a>” or homemade and consensual content. However, one <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/61/5/1243/6208896">study</a> showed that 1 in 8 titles of videos on the website described sexual violence. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55333403">An investigation</a> by the BBC and New York Times was prompted by victims who learned that video footage of their sexual assaults was being freely viewed on the website. The investigation uncovered millions of videos of suspected abuse and coercion, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/19/pornhub-abuse-videos-new-york-times-mastercard-visa">causing credit card companies to cut ties</a>. </p>
<p>OnlyFans, another tube-site platform composed of user-uploaded content, also facilitates camming, or live sexual interaction, with content creators for a fee. Although there does not appear to be peer-reviewed research on adolescents’ use of OnlyFans, there are <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/05/27/children-are-selling-explicit-content-on-onlyfans-report/">some reports</a> that minors are bypassing age verification and selling their own sexually explicit images on the platform.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Five teenagers sit on the floor of a high school hallway with their backs to the wall as they look at their cell phones." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512719/original/file-20230228-18-nu9abs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512719/original/file-20230228-18-nu9abs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512719/original/file-20230228-18-nu9abs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512719/original/file-20230228-18-nu9abs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512719/original/file-20230228-18-nu9abs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512719/original/file-20230228-18-nu9abs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512719/original/file-20230228-18-nu9abs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teens can access cellphones during the school day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-killing-time-in-corridor-between-classes-royalty-free-image/1411412809?phrase=teens%20iphones%20school&adppopup=true">Rafa Fernandez Torres via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Pornography is a source of sex education for teens</h2>
<p>Without widespread <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.036">comprehensive sex education in the U.S.</a>, young adults have identified pornography as a primary <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01877-7">source of sex education</a>. However, the pornography that teens have the easiest access to – tube-site pornography – <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/61/5/1243/6208896">tends to portray</a> more sexual aggression, degradation of women and people of color and lack of sexual consent.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1991641">choking or strangulation during sex has been increasing in porn</a>. This is concerning to violence researchers, neurologists and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2021.1985025">mental health professionals</a> because recent reports indicate that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02347-y">1 in 3 women were choked</a> during their last sexual experience. Although the majority of women reported feelings of euphoria, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02347-y">strangulation during sex</a> carries the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2022.0146">same risk for brain damage due</a> to loss of oxygen as being strangled in other contexts.</p>
<p>What’s also concerning is that male adolescents exposed to violent pornography are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1887980">more likely</a> to be higher in sexual aggression and are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1435-4">two to three times more likely</a> to have pressured a partner to engage in sexual activity the partner did not want to engage in than male adolescents who view less violent pornography or less pornography overall. For teen girls, their violent pornography exposure is associated with nonviolent risk behaviors, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/105984051456">substance use, buying or selling sex, and sexual victimization</a>. </p>
<h2>3. Although it is not wise, sexting is not always harmful</h2>
<p>Although many adults cringe when they learn about teens sharing nudes with each other – <a href="https://cyberbullying.org/sexting-laws">many states</a> still define sexting among teens as the distribution of child sexual abuse material – consensual sexting can be a normal and healthy part of adolescent sexuality. Some teens are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-09952-y">motivated to use sexting</a> to explore their sexuality by expressing their feelings and desires while practicing trust and vulnerability with intimate images. However, if sexting is coercive, or the sexts are shared outside of the couple without permission, it can be considered by law enforcement and violence researchers a form of sexual harassment or <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351135153">image-based sexual abuse</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl with glasses is underneath a bedcover as the green glare of an iPhone illuminates her surprised and bespectacled face." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512716/original/file-20230228-691-q9katl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512716/original/file-20230228-691-q9katl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512716/original/file-20230228-691-q9katl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512716/original/file-20230228-691-q9katl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512716/original/file-20230228-691-q9katl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512716/original/file-20230228-691-q9katl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512716/original/file-20230228-691-q9katl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Three out of four teens have viewed online pornography.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cute-girl-watching-video-on-phone-with-shocked-royalty-free-image/1390528082?phrase=teens%20iphones&adppopup=true">Alihan Usullu via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s important to note that, as with many issues related to teenage development, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71882-8_4">potential harms or benefits of sexting</a> are dependent on factors such as maturity, the nature of the relationship between the individuals involved and gender. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-022-00775-y">one study</a> found that boys were more likely than girls to disseminate sexts to peers without the consent of those in the picture. </p>
<h2>4. Sending other people’s sexual content is often harmful and illegal</h2>
<p>Once an image or video is shared, it can be difficult to control how it is used or distributed, which can lead to feelings of shame, guilt and embarrassment for the original sender. The sending of others’ sexual content can take many forms, such as sharing a nude image via small groups or posting an image more publicly to a website. Such images and videos can be shared widely or even secretly among private social media accounts and group email lists known as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/jocks-and-frat-boys-more-likely-than-other-men-in-college-to-visit-slut-pages-and-post-nude-images-without-consent-156365">slut pages</a>.” </p>
<p>Slut pages have the ability to <a href="https://www.wbur.org/npr/467959873/teen-girls-and-social-media-a-story-of-secret-lives-and-misogyny">shape a school’s culture on sexual violence</a>, as they are intended to make nonconsensual pornography seem amusing. This can encourage peers and even adults to minimize the emotional trauma a person may experience when they learn that their images are posted on a slut page.</p>
<h2>5. Schools can be liable for online sexual misconduct under Title IX</h2>
<p><a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/title-ix-rights-201104.html">Title IX</a>, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities that receive federal funding, can potentially be used to address nonconsensual pornography in high schools. When school administrators know or reasonably should know about nonconsensual pornography, Title IX requires them to take prompt and effective steps to end the harassment, prevent its recurrence and address its effects. This can include conducting investigations, taking disciplinary action against the individuals involved and providing support and resources for affected students.</p>
<p>However, a <a href="https://www.knowyourix.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Know-Your-IX-2021-Report-Final-Copy.pdf">study</a> conducted by Advocates for Youth showed that school staff tended to minimize sexual harassment as a typical right of passage. Without staff training that targets this bias, the victims of nonconsensual pornography can feel uncomfortable going to staff <a href="https://www.knowyourix.org/">because victim blaming can be so prevalent</a>. For example, in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15546128.2022.2076757">our experiences training</a> school staff, a common response to the distribution of a student’s nude images is often, “Why did she send him that picture in the first place?” which is understandable. Educators could also consider asking, “Why did he share that picture with the whole school?”</p>
<h2>Is there anything that can be done?</h2>
<p>In our study, we found that public school administrators, staff and educators <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2022.2076757">overwhelmingly agree</a> that education for school staff, parents and students needs to happen to improve the social lives of today’s digital natives. We found that when school staff received education that included facts about how teens engage with pornography and sexting and some examples of how to respond when problems occur, they were more confident and less embarrassed discussing these topics if they were to arise at school. </p>
<p>We also think if schools’ sexual misconduct policies address digital behavior, that could also play a major role in determining how schools both prevent and respond to nonconsensual sexting and pornography among students. We are currently researching which schools do this well to provide an example that other schools can follow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan K. Maas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An expert on adolescent sexuality weighs in on how technology has changed the amount and type of pornography that teens can consume – and what that means when it happens at school.Megan K. Maas, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1837882022-06-14T12:30:08Z2022-06-14T12:30:08ZTumblr’s enduring appeal reveals the potency of the web’s cultural memory<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468558/original/file-20220613-26-bds824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=172%2C29%2C4820%2C3270&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Since its inception in 2007, Tumblr has served as a countercultural hub.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-photo-illustration-the-tumblr-logo-seen-displayed-news-photo/1230550547?adppopup=true">Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When tech billionaire Elon Musk made a deal to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/25/1094671225/elon-musk-bought-twitter-plans">acquire Twitter in April 2022</a>, many Twitter users threatened to <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/04/27/twitter-mass-user-swings-musk-buyout-people-deleting-adding-accounts/">shut down their accounts</a> and migrate elsewhere online.</p>
<p>Tumblr – a microblogging platform launched in 2007 long known as a laboratory for <a href="https://psmag.com/social-justice/how-tumblr-taught-social-justice-to-a-generation-of-teenagers">social justice causes</a> and burgeoning fan cultures – became one contender. </p>
<p>However, many Twitter users proposing a migration to Tumblr seemed to be those <a href="https://twitter.com/BREAKDOWNMAMI/status/1518987368455356420">who had abandoned the site only a few years prior</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1518987368455356420"}"></div></p>
<p>In 2018, Tumblr content deemed sexually explicit – or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nsfw-means">NSFW</a> – was banned. The controversial policy led to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0163443720968461">mass exodus</a> from the site, the so-called <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/search/tumblr%20apocalypse">Tumblr apocalypse</a>.</p>
<p>Both as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444821996715">a communication researcher</a> and early era user of Tumblr, I’ve contemplated the site’s unique place in internet culture. And in the years following the NSFW ban, I’ve seen many try to make sense of Tumblr as a platform on <a href="https://thehustle.co/01202022-tumblr/">the</a> <a href="https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/internet/could-euphoria-cause-tumblr-resurgence">cusp</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/02/tumblr-internet-legacy-survival/621419/">of</a> <a href="https://qz.com/emails/quartz-company/2139456/tumblr-making-comeback/">a</a> <a href="https://www.mediaupdate.co.za/social/151662/the-comeback-of-tumblr-everything-you-need-to-know">comeback</a> or a vestige of <a href="https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/tumblr-renaissance/">a</a> <a href="https://mashable.com/article/tumblr-adult-content-ban">bygone</a> <a href="https://mashable.com/article/tumblr-mistakes-tiktok-teen-creators">era</a>.</p>
<p>And yet, long overshadowed by social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat, Tumblr continues to resist easy answers to what it is and could be.</p>
<h2>From ‘blue hellsite’ to hell in a handbasket</h2>
<p>Since its inception, Tumblr has served as a countercultural hub for women, queer folks, young people and marginalized communities. At the same time, it has long dealt with issues such as recurrent bugs and functionality problems, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/3da838/an-attempted-suicide-forced-a-tumblr-community-to-open-its-eyes-about-bullying">bullying</a>, <a href="https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/nazis-on-tumblr-are-attempting-to-make-white-supremacy-hip">hate speech</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/tumblr-has-cutting-and-anorexia-and-bulimia-problem/331358/">the glorification of self-harm</a>, leading some users to term it the “blue hellsite.” </p>
<p>In spite of that, Tumblr remains a home to art, fandom, memes and social critique. This is partly due to the flexibility of the main user interfaces. Both the individualized blogs and real-time feeds display an array of original and <a href="https://help.tumblr.com/hc/en-us/articles/231236387-Reblogs">re-blogged</a> media, ranging from written posts to videos. In allotting greater control over how users presented themselves online – through, for example, <a href="https://help.tumblr.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001572547-Getting-Started-on-Tumblr">pseudonymity</a> and relaxed content moderation – Tumblr stood out as a bastion for <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2011/02/21/founder-stories-why-david-karp-started-tumblr-blogs-dont-work-for-most-people/?guccounter=1">creative expression</a>.</p>
<p>This approach contributed to its <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/1113/tumblrs-explosive-growth/">explosive growth</a>, which crested in <a href="https://financesonline.com/number-of-tumblr-blogs/">2013 and 2014</a> when Tumblr claimed <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/people-spend-more-time-on-tumblr-than-on-twitter-or-facebook-ceo-brags/">users spent more time on the site than Facebook and Twitter</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two smiling men sit in front of a screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468556/original/file-20220613-24-76asy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468556/original/file-20220613-24-76asy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468556/original/file-20220613-24-76asy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468556/original/file-20220613-24-76asy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468556/original/file-20220613-24-76asy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468556/original/file-20220613-24-76asy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468556/original/file-20220613-24-76asy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tumblr founder David Karp meets with President Barack Obama in 2014 at a high point for the social media platform.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-barack-obama-speaks-during-an-event-on-the-news-photo/450398894?adppopup=true">Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such openness also facilitated the rise in NSFW content that became a core part of Tumblr’s identity. For the user base, access to queer, feminist and alternative representations of sex and sexuality was meaningful, leading to self-exploration and community building for vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ+ youth. And for those who produced their own NSFW content, Tumblr’s leniency <a href="https://jezebel.com/i-m-hoping-it-won-t-decimate-my-income-tumblrs-porn-ba-1830879496">meant</a> <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tumblr-sex-workers-nsfw-artists-lose_n_5c0714fbe4b0fc236111037e">income</a>. </p>
<p>The embrace of NSFW content – <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/5/18126451/tumblr-porn-social-media-ban">a rarity for social media platforms </a> – was even endorsed by its founder David Karp, who once characterized Tumblr as “<a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/tumbling-on-success">an excellent platform for porn</a>.” </p>
<p>In 2013, <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2013/05/20/technology/yahoo-buys-tumblr/index.html">after Yahoo acquired Tumblr</a>, there was concern that the platform would tighten its content policies. However, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer promised Tumblr users <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tumblr-yahoo-idUSBRE94I0C120130520">that little would change</a>.</p>
<p>Events that followed, however, would transform Tumblr.</p>
<p>First, in 2017, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/13/verizon-completes-yahoo-acquisition-marissa-mayer-resigns.html">Verizon Communications bought Yahoo</a>. Later that year, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/11/27/16706032/tumblr-david-karp-leaves-ceo-yahoo-oath">Karp left the company</a>. Then, in early 2018, a federal law called <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/13/17172762/fosta-sesta-backpage-230-internet-freedom">FOSTA-SESTA</a> passed, which made website operators like Verizon liable for sex trafficking or sex work carried out on their platforms. That November, Apple Store <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/20/18104366/tumblr-ios-app-child-pornography-removed-from-app-store">removed the Tumblr app</a> after child sexual abuse material was found on the site. Weeks later, Tumblr announced a ban on NSFW content that went into effect on Dec. 17, 2018.</p>
<p>But that same month, <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/12/4/18126112/tumblr-porn-ban-verizon-ad-goals-sex-work-fandom">Vox reported</a> that the NSFW ban was underway well before the Apple Store controversy. The objective: to sell more ads.</p>
<p>Tumblr’s various parent companies have long tried to monetize a platform <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/magazine/can-tumblrs-david-karp-embrace-ads-without-selling-out.html">historically resistant to traditional advertising</a>. The ban became a way to attract companies hesitant to advertise alongside pornography. </p>
<p>This move was transparent to many Tumblr users, who claimed that Verizon was repackaging its profit motive as a crusade to protect children.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444821996715">I’ve researched how</a>, in response to the NSFW ban, pockets of resistance emerged, ranging from <a href="https://logoffprotest.tumblr.com/post/181154543489/logoffprotest-logoffprotest-dbdspirit-the">boycotts</a> and <a href="https://www.change.org/p/tumblr-stop-the-december-17th-tumblr-nsfw-ban">petitions</a> to scathing critiques and <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/tumblr-dead-twitter-mourning-memes/">memes</a>. The policy, at its core, was a battleground for a deeper power struggle between platform owners and users. </p>
<p>The disconnect between how the two sides envisioned the platform ended up being mutually destructive. While Tumblr’s user culture was irreparably damaged, its corporate side also suffered, experiencing <a href="https://mashable.com/article/tumblr-lost-a-third-of-its-users-after-porn-ban">massive drops in site traffic</a>. In 2019, Verizon sold Tumblr to Wordpress’ owner, Automatic, for US$3 million – <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/08/13/tumblr-once-sold-billion-owner-wordpress-just-bought-site-fraction-that/">a fraction of the $1.1 billion Yahoo had paid for it</a>.</p>
<h2>The end or a new beginning?</h2>
<p>While <a href="https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/tumblr-tag-ban/">clashes over site policy</a> persist to this day, I’ve started to see talk about Tumblr’s possible resurgence. </p>
<p>Even before Musk’s Twitter announcement, the platform seemed to be making strides in regaining public interest and relevancy.</p>
<p>There’s been the hype around the <a href="https://draculadaily.substack.com/about">Dracula Daily newsletter</a>, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/dracula-daily-reanimates-the-classic-vampire-novel-for-the-age-of-memes-and-snark-183084">percolated on Tumblr</a> in May 2022. Fan cultures for newer shows like “<a href="https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/internet/could-euphoria-cause-tumblr-resurgence">Euphoria</a>” and “<a href="https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/succession*?sort=top">Succession</a>” have also flourished on the site. And in meme culture, “<a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/12/11/20991671/memes-decade-doge-baby-yoda">Tumblr humor</a>” – typified by a dry, absurdist and self-deprecatory wit – continues to <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@diseasedisorder/video/7092488402880318762">circulate</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jelIyjar/status/1221846975437426689">widely</a> <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/25-times-tumblr-was-ridiculously-weird-about-animals">online</a>. </p>
<p>But Tumblr’s “resurrection” seems to rely primarily on <a href="https://partner.studentbeans.com/blog/gen-z-trends/gen-zs-nostalgia/">a youth culture in the grips of nostalgia</a> for the early 2010s. What has been termed <a href="https://www.nylon.com/life/2014-tumblr-nostalgia-tiktok">Tumblrcore</a> – a 2010s subculture with a particular media taste, internet experience and soft grunge style – is a recent addition to the trend. Its renewed popularity was affirmed earlier this year with <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/2014-tumblr-girl-aesthetic">Vogue’s coverage</a> of the “2014 Tumblr Girl aesthetic.” </p>
<p>Tumblr, then, like the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/28/13456208/why-vine-died-twitter-shutdown">defunct video sharing platform Vine</a>, has become a touchpoint <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/how-tumblr-became-popular-for-being-obsolete">for young people </a> who grew up on the internet and have emotional ties to its cultural history. As companies like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/home/facebook-wants-to-bring-back-young-adults-on-its-platform-but-they-say-theres-nothing-much-it-can-do-to-win-them/articleshow/90206539.cms#:%7E:text=It%20has%20lost%202.7%25%20of,been%20on%20a%20steady%20decline.">Facebook struggle</a> with the Gen Z demographic, Tumblr has, for some of them, emerged as an attractive “vintage” alternative – comparable to <a href="https://www.insidehook.com/article/internet/why-are-young-people-using-disposable-cameras">the return of disposable cameras</a> among young people. </p>
<h2>The TikTok roadblock</h2>
<p>But alongside these glimmers of regeneration, Tumblr faces two key obstacles.</p>
<p>The first is the ascent of TikTok. Though also <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines?lang=en">prohibiting NSFW content</a>, TikTok has imported many of Tumblr’s cultural features – from discourses around <a href="https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/originals/its-here-and-queer-how-tiktok-became-the-gen-z-tool-of-lgbtq-education/">sexuality</a> and <a href="https://www.marketingdive.com/news/tiktok-helps-gen-z-learn-about-social-justice-issues-study-finds/582916/">social justice</a> to the promotion of <a href="https://gritdaily.com/tiktok-eating-disorders/">pro-anorexia content</a> and <a href="https://youthopia.sg/read/cyberbullying-on-tiktok-is-a-major-issue/">bullying</a>. With TikTok as the beating heart of online youth culture, Tumblr is pushed further to its edges.</p>
<p>The second is Tumblr itself. While fighting to increase site traffic and <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/tumblr-monetization-post-fanfic/">earn ad revenue without driving users away</a>, the NSFW ban, like a vengeful spirit, continues to haunt Tumblr. One need only look at responses to <a href="https://twitter.com/tumblr/status/1518696182050004993">Tumblr’s</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tumblr/status/1518727409213734912">tweets</a> in the wake of Musk’s acquisition announcement. Representing the loss of once-prized community values, the ban, for many, became an emblem of the broken <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/rebecca-mackinnon/consent-of-the-networked/9780465063758/">social contract</a> between users and ownership.</p>
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<p>And so contradictory forces shape Tumblr’s standing. On the one hand, the memory of Tumblr keeps it alive in popular culture. At the same time, the underbelly of this memory – the part consumed by unresolved wrongs and resentments – seems to stop short any growth that could lead to a true renaissance. </p>
<h2>Beyond platform ‘life’ and ‘death’</h2>
<p>The peculiar case of Tumblr shows how classifying platforms as dead, dying or alive can be limiting. Such a frame often operates according to a capitalist logic in which “growth” means life and “stagnation” signals death.</p>
<p>Dwelling somewhere in between surge and stasis, Tumblr serves as a reminder that platforms are not just profit-driven businesses but gathering places with rhythms and cycles of their own. They are also cultural artifacts that, in moving through the collective imagination, take on different shapes and functions. </p>
<p>Attention to the in-between reveals a more complex relationship between users, platforms and owners. It is here the savviness of social media users is on display. Though platform owners wield unilateral power and control, users are increasingly equipped with an arsenal of resistance tactics, including exodus or migration. The rise of this untethered user – one who takes a nomadic approach to digital life – may pose an unexpected threat to digital intermediaries. </p>
<p>Tumblr is a case in point. And yet, in its new phase of existence, it remains a vibrant space for communication, culture and laughs. Its home at the margins should instead push us to imagine an internet free from the belief that bigger is always better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeanna Sybert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite a mass exodus of users in 2018, Tumblr continues to be a place that fosters fandom and subcultures. Now, Gen Zers searching for a dose of early-2010s internet nostalgia are signing up.Jeanna Sybert, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of PennsylvaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1824802022-05-09T12:46:25Z2022-05-09T12:46:25ZWhy do so many people watch porn at work? A psychologist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461309/original/file-20220504-26-ck1muv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=179%2C26%2C5811%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The resignation of Conservative MP Neil Parish has left many people wondering what could possibly lead someone to think it acceptable to watch pornography in their place of work. </p>
<p>After being reported by female colleagues who witnessed his actions, Parish admitted that he had twice looked at pornographic content on his phone in the House of Commons chamber. </p>
<p>As Parish found, using porn at work can be career-ending. It is almost universally deemed unacceptable and is typically viewed as gross misconduct. And not only can getting caught cost you your job, it can also have severe repercussions for your personal relationships.</p>
<p>Psychologists often see pornography along a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-79542-001">spectrum</a>, with some viewing it as being relatively harmless or even helpful. But too much use, for the wrong reasons and in inappropriate locations can result in harmful distortions to our perceptions and values. This is considered problematic pornography use. Accessing adult content at work falls into the latter category. And yet thousands of people do it. </p>
<h2>Who does it?</h2>
<p>A US survey of approximately <a href="https://www.barna.com/research/porn-in-the-digital-age-new-research-reveals-10-trends/">2,000 adults carried out in 2014</a> found 63% of men had viewed pornography at least once at work in the previous three months – and 38% had done so more than once. Among women, 36% had viewed pornography at work in the past three months and 13% more than once.</p>
<p>Some self-selection bias of research participants may be involved here, so it is reasonable to say we do not fully know the exact size of the problem of workplace pornograpy use. While not as taboo as it once was, one in ten participants usually <a href="https://www.barna.com/the-porn-phenomenon/">opt out of sexual questions on surveys</a> and, with younger respondents having more liberal attitudes towards pornography than older people, surveys of workforces may occasionally provide strangely skewed results. </p>
<p>Research into <a href="https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=bmmUMsWWTg4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false">workplace viewing of pornography</a> tends to focus on professions with daily routine access to the internet as part of their work. The US National Science Foundation uncovered an epidemic of rampant “repeated pornographic use” <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/29/workers-porn-surfing-rampant-at-federal-agency/">among its own staff in 2009</a>. Official data released following a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jan/08/parliament-reports-24000-attempts-to-access-pornographic-websites-since-election">freedom of information request</a> from the Press Association showed that 24,000 attempts had been made to access pornography in the British parliament between the general election in June 2017 and January 2018. Although that includes any attempt to access an adult site while on the estate among both staff and visitors – including on personal devices – the scale of the problem is still surprising.</p>
<h2>Why risk it?</h2>
<p>A three-part study of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32730047/">2,500 men and women in Hungary</a> found eight different motivations behind internet pornography use. The most common reason given was simply pleasure – a motivation for 45% of respondents. Another 12% cited curiosity and 10% said they were indulging fantasies about unobtainable sexual experiences. </p>
<p>None of the eight motivations were strongly associated with problematic pornography use but some people said they used porn at work to manage stress or when they needed an emotional distraction, such as dealing with being in a bad mood. These two reasons have closer associations with problematic pornography because they potentially reflect a tendency to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/finding-new-home/202105/new-research-8-common-reasons-people-use-porn">use pornography to cope</a> with other problems.</p>
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<p>It’s possible that some people would use porn in the workplace for other deviant reasons – making it an act of low-level rebellion or to prove they are smarter than their employers by getting around the rules. Having a secret that nobody knows could be a driver. People enjoy feeling that they are getting one over on oblivious colleagues or it could even be a form of <a href="https://www.academia.edu/9056772/NonWork_at_Work_Resistance_or_What">self-preservation for the over-worked</a>.</p>
<p>Despite a general attitude against pornography in workplaces, a small number of workers are brazen in sharing pornography. <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/SexualHarassmentreport2016.pdf">Data</a> from the Trades Union Congress shows 10% of women workers have been exposed to pornography in the workplace. In many cases such images are weaponised for harassment, making women <a href="https://everydaysexism.com/?s=pornography">fearful of reporting it</a>.</p>
<h2>Wider repercussions for colleagues</h2>
<p>When caught, Parish insisted that he was not watching porn with the intention of others seeing him. Whether or not that is true, he engaged in these activities in a place where he could be seen. The <a href="https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/sexual_harassment_and_harassment_at_work.pdf">UK Equality and Human Rights Commission</a> lists displaying graphic pictures or video as examples of unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is not always intentional and, indeed, there have been cases of employers trying to excuse displays of pornography by staff as <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ead0956e-de96-11e7-a0d4-0944c5f49e46">“eccentric parts of the employee’s creative brilliance”</a>. </p>
<p>Some workers may have sinister motivations for viewing pornography so openly. It may be their misguided and hostile way of demonstrating their perceived status or importance within an organisation, and a way of trying to <a href="https://www.acas.org.uk/sexual-harassment">intimidate others</a>.</p>
<p>Parish notably continues to insist that his first use of porn was an accident, having stumbled across an adult site while looking at tractors online. People caught using porn in the workplace typically won’t confess to the full extent of their behaviour unless presented with incontrovertible evidence. But access logs often reveal a much larger history of viewing than they initially admit to. Users of pornography often feel <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6571756/">guilt, disgust and embarrassment</a>, which limits their willingness to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15332691.2016.1238796">discuss any association with explicit materials</a> until presented with evidence. Even then, they often using pre-prepared excuses involving innocuous searches “gone wrong” or being hacked to avoid the issue. </p>
<p>Those viewing pornography in workplaces are a liability to their organisations. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-019-04230-8">Research</a> found links between problematic pornography use and deliberate unethical behaviours in business, contributing to various unsavoury activities including dishonesty, self-serving conduct, and even fraud. This was explained by increased moral disengagement aided by dehumanisation of other people due to PPU. </p>
<p>So while the use of pornography at work may be more common than we think, and the reasons for doing it complex, it’s clear that there are all sorts of potentially serious repercussions for crossing this line, both for the user and their colleagues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Jackson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>MP Neil Parish resigned after using porn in the House of Commons – but his case is not as rare as we might think.Craig Jackson, Professor of Occupational Health Psychology, Birmingham City UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767622022-02-10T15:01:57Z2022-02-10T15:01:57ZWhy age verification is another flawed attempt to regulate online pornography in the UK<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445419/original/file-20220209-15-ea7qzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4240%2C2824&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hacker-hacking-into-computer-network-young-1815280703">VALUA STUDIO/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government has announced that its forthcoming <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-leading-measures-to-protect-children-from-accessing-pornography-online">online safety bill</a> will require websites that publish pornography to verify users are over 18.</p>
<p>Sites will need to adopt a method of age verification, such as having users provide their passport information. They will likely need to employ a third-party provider to set up and maintain these systems.</p>
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<p>This isn’t the first attempt to restrict access to online pornography in this way in Britain. The government shelved plans for a similar age verification scheme <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/oct/16/uk-drops-plans-for-online-pornography-age-verification-system">in 2019</a>.</p>
<p>There’s no question child safety online is critically important. But if adopted, this move will be yet another piece of legislation to add to a messy patchwork of often flawed UK laws seeking to police pornography.</p>
<p>I’ve done research on the history of pornography in Britain, and particularly its regulation. In short, this has always been a problematic area.</p>
<p>By the end of the 1950s, the pornography business had begun to expand. The <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/7-8/66/contents">Obscene Publications Act 1959</a> sought to criminalise distributors of pornography, but had the opposite effect. Its ambiguous terminology gave way to loopholes that entrepreneurs exploited, creating <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268743.2018.1489301">a thriving market</a> for illicit goods that were sold in bookshops, via mail-order and exported to Europe in the 1960s and early 1970s.</p>
<p>By the end of the 1970s, there was a shift in the discourse from viewing pornography as an obscene object to questioning its impact and potential harm. A <a href="https://reprobatepress.com/2020/05/30/mary-whitehouse-and-the-nationwide-festival-of-light/">moral panic</a> around pornography ensued, leading to a range of new laws aimed at regulating access.</p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/42/contents">Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981</a> and the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1982/30/contents">Local Government (miscellaneous provisions) Act 1982</a> sought to regulate the growth of sex shops beyond London’s Soho. Their neon-lit displays were replaced by blacked out windows.</p>
<p>Concerns around children’s access to pornography and violent material underpinned the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/39/contents">Video Recordings Act 1984</a>, which was deigned to regulate the new technology of home video.</p>
<p>In 2000, Britain appeared to liberalise its pornography laws <a href="https://www.melonfarmers.co.uk/arloh01.htm">following a review</a> of the British Board of Film Classification R18 certificate. Hardcore pornography could legally be sold in Britain, but under strict control.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uks-online-porn-crackdown-could-harm-young-people-more-than-it-helps-81213">The UK's online porn crackdown could harm young people more than it helps</a>
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<p>The shift of pornography to cyberspace complicated attempts at regulation further. Concerns around access to harmful pornography online led to the possession of “extreme” pornography being criminalised under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/4/contents">Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008</a>. </p>
<p>If European countries such as Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden have been relatively relaxed their approach to policing pornography (Denmark was the first country to fully legalise pornography <a href="https://www.thelocal.dk/20190531/denmark-legalized-pornography-50-years-ago-did-the-decision-turn-out-as-expected/">in 1969</a>) Britain’s method has been to introduce a range of messy, overlapping laws. This becomes clear when you look at the <a href="https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/obscene-publications">Crown Prosecution Service’s</a> advice for prosecutors to consider a list of 14 laws before deciding whether to pursue an obscenity conviction.</p>
<h2>Perspectives from the industry</h2>
<p>Age verification for pornography was included in the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/30/contents/enacted">Digital Economy Act 2017</a>. Here, authority was to be given to a government-appointed regulator to impose penalties on websites refusing to adopt age verification, such as fines or ordering internet service providers to block access.</p>
<p>Between 2016 and 2019 I was researching the history of Britain’s pornography business and attending regular meetings of the United Kingdom Adult Performers Network. </p>
<p>Producers and distributors expressed concern about the impact of the Digital Economy Act 2017 on their business, fearing that age verification would dissuade customers from accessing their content. Would you want to visit a porn site if you had to put in your driver’s license details or your passport?</p>
<p>With pornography shifting from a physical to a digital commodity that is freely streamed by video aggregator sites such as Pornhub, small-scale producers viewed the measure as another threat to their dwindling profits.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A close-up image of a girl looking at a smartphone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445422/original/file-20220209-19-9nzjzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445422/original/file-20220209-19-9nzjzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445422/original/file-20220209-19-9nzjzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445422/original/file-20220209-19-9nzjzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445422/original/file-20220209-19-9nzjzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445422/original/file-20220209-19-9nzjzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445422/original/file-20220209-19-9nzjzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The UK government has revived plans to make pornography websites check users’ age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girl-holding-her-mobile-phone-watching-1758536315">FarukPhotography/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Producers believed that age verification benefited large, powerful companies such as Mindgeek, which owns many of the popular streaming sites and production studios, and was offering to provide age verification services to smaller operators.</p>
<p>Importantly, Britain’s pornography producers and distributors were not opposed to age verification in theory. Indeed, they were concerned about children accessing inappropriate material. Their worry was about how this would work in practice, and the impact it would have on their business.</p>
<p>In the end, in 2019, the Conservative government deemed age verification for pornography websites unworkable and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/oct/16/uk-drops-plans-for-online-pornography-age-verification-system">dropped its plans</a>.</p>
<h2>Now it’s back on the table</h2>
<p>Britain’s renewed commitment to age restriction follows similar moves in <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/french-parliament-passes-porn-age-verification-legislation/">France</a> and <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/germany-porn-sites-age-checks/">Germany</a>. </p>
<p>Under the online safety bill, power would be afforded to the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom, making it responsible for determining how websites are dealt with if they fail to verify users’ age. Social platforms containing pornographic content, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/09/reddit-and-twitter-users-face-age-checks-under-uk-porn-law-plans?">like Reddit and Twitter</a>, may not be exempt. </p>
<p>Privacy concerns remain, particularly around the potential for leaked data that identifies personal sexual interests.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uk-government-wants-to-control-porn-viewing-habits-69374">The UK government wants to control porn viewing habits</a>
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<p>We will now wait and see whether the government’s plans for age verification will succeed. But history shows that Britain’s pornography laws have never been fit for purpose. Producers and audiences have always found loopholes to circumvent controls. Some young, tech-savvy users are likely to do the same with this law.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176762/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver Carter receives funding from the British Academy. </span></em></p>The online safety bill will make it mandatory for pornography websites to verify the age of users.Oliver Carter, Reader in Creative Economies, Birmingham City UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1693582021-10-19T03:33:52Z2021-10-19T03:33:52ZOnlyFans has a split identity – it needs to declare its support for adult content creators<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427124/original/file-20211019-22-1qkb08h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you heard of OnlyFans? It’s a social media platform – like YouTube or Instagram. </p>
<p>Access isn’t open to everyone, however. Only subscribers (“fans”) can see the photos and videos posted by OnlyFans content creators. Most subscriptions cost around US$10 (A$13.50) a month, with tips as optional extras. </p>
<p>Visiting the OnlyFans <a href="https://onlyfans.com/">homepage</a>, you’re invited to “sign up to support your favourite creators”. The platform <a href="https://onlyfans.com/about.html">describes itself</a> as a place where “creators can monetise their content and interact with their fanbase”. </p>
<p>So, if you’re new to OnlyFans, it may surprise you to learn it is overwhelmingly understood as a site for adult content. The phrase “to start an OnlyFans” is commonly understood to mean someone is selling access to erotic, or sexually explicit, photos and videos of themselves.</p>
<p>Why is there this disconnect? And why is this a problem? </p>
<h2>Studying OnlyFans</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268743.2021.1974927">new article</a> for journal Porn Studies I analysed 100 news articles (from February to December 2020), 100 OnlyFans memes (gathered January 2021), as well as 100 posts to the official OnlyFans blog (from mid-2018 to early 2021). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-porntropreneur-even-hustlers-need-side-hustles-in-the-gig-economy-129067">The rise of the ‘porntropreneur’: even hustlers need side hustles in the gig economy</a>
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<p>These sources represent different perspectives. News articles reflect mainstream understandings. Internet <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/memes-digital-culture">memes</a> – remixed snippets of popular culture – reveal our shared norms and values. Meanwhile, official blog posts can tell us about the image Only Fans is attempting to cultivate. </p>
<p>My study drew on the work of social media scholars Karin van Es and Thomas Poell, who <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305120933289">argue</a>, what people think a platform is for matters – they call this the “platform imaginary”. It impacts how people use it: their expectations and experiences. Importantly, it also impacts who thinks the platform is for them.</p>
<h2>A ‘celebrity porn app’?</h2>
<p>My analysis discovered very different ideas about what OnlyFans is for, or a contested “platform imaginary”. </p>
<p>News articles were most likely to call OnlyFans a “<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6824131/Jessika-Powers-brother-Rhyce-selling-photos-celebrity-porn-app-15-99-MAFS-fame.html">celebrity porn app</a>”, an “<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9074873/Love-Islands-Megan-Barton-Hanson-bares-gets-mould-breasts-vagina.html">X-rated subscription platform</a>”, or “<a href="https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/how-gold-coast-changed-innocent-girl-tyana-hansen/news-story/4ff979d87ed897968093c6a745b03556">adult entertainment site</a>” for “<a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/real-life/instagram-babe-bullied-looks--21383831">racy snaps</a>”.</p>
<p>In a similar vein, memes about OnlyFans implied the platform was for adult content, with jokes about how easy it is for women to make money by showing off their bodies. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1296861434610159616"}"></div></p>
<p>Other memes <a href="https://memezila.com/When-you-find-out-how-much-they-make-with-onlyfans-meme-6728">include</a> a man taking a photo of his behind, with the tagline, “when you find out how much money they make on OnlyFans”. Another is a <a href="https://funnyjunk.com/Help+plz/rsrkMef/">picture</a> of a serious-looking young man on the phone, captioned, “Me calling customer support when her OnlyFans is just pictures of her in a bikini”.</p>
<p>The memes were especially telling – they didn’t just joke about OnlyFans being a platform for adult content, they also slut-shamed the creators by inferring that selling adult content was degrading. </p>
<h2>Or a place for makeup and workout tips?</h2>
<p>By contrast, 87% of posts to the OnlyFans blog don’t mention adult content at all. </p>
<p>Instead, the blog showcases fitness instructors, beauty experts, photographers, artists, and musicians. One (rare) <a href="https://blog.onlyfans.com/pole-dancers-thrive-on-onlyfans/">post</a> to do this claims the platform will support, and never censor, pole dancers. </p>
<p>This ties in with its <a href="https://onlyfans.com/about.html">official</a> (vague) line that OnlyFans contains “content creators from all genres”. This emphasis is misleading, given OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely created the platform in 2016 <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8561309/How-bankers-son-37-revolutionary-adult-site-OnlyFans-making-millions-lockdown.html">to capitalise</a> on the rising demand for customised porn. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1448652592993603589"}"></div></p>
<p>OnlyFans has thrived during COVID lockdowns. From November 2019 to November 2020, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/06/16/the-shady-secret-history-of-onlyfans-billionaire-owner/?sh=43caa4e55c17">it posted revenues</a> of US$400 million (A$541 million), up 540% over the previous year. Although there is an argument the company needs to “rebrand” to stay profitable. As Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/onlyfans-investors-struggle-9cc92523-6607-40ad-9893-4175e7966b52.html">recently reported</a>, while sexual content makes the site popular, “it also scares off venture capitalists”. </p>
<h2>Profiting from, then banning, explicit content</h2>
<p>In August, OnlyFans announced it was <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/onlyfans-will-prohibit-sexually-explicit-content-starting-in-october/">going to ban</a> sexually explicit content, explaining it must “evolve our content guidelines”,</p>
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<p>In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans.</p>
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<p>There was an immediate backlash. Not only was it <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/andriamoore/twitter-reactions-onlyfans-new-ban">ridiculed</a> as nonsensical (a site for adult content that doesn’t allow adult content?), sex workers, porn performers, and adult content creators were outraged about being banned from a site they had helped make famous and profitable. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1428440836837048325"}"></div></p>
<p>The company <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-26/onlyfans-reverses-ban-on-adult-content/100408200">reversed</a> the decision just a week later, after resolving a undisclosed issue with its payment providers. But anger and distrust remains, as now the door is open to OnlyFans banning explicit content in the future. </p>
<h2>Deplatforming sex</h2>
<p>There is also a bigger issue here about maintaining spaces where sex workers are safe and able to do their jobs. </p>
<p>Often debates around “deplatforming” (removing someone’s access to a web site) centre around free speech and whether people like Donald Trump should be allowed a Twitter. But deplatforming is also a serious threat to sex workers and porn producers as part of a “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-02-20/sex-workers-fear-twitter-insta-deplatforming-online-safety-bill/13160850">gentrification</a>” of the internet. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-deplatforming-work-to-curb-hate-speech-and-calls-for-violence-3-experts-in-online-communications-weigh-in-153177">Does 'deplatforming' work to curb hate speech and calls for violence? 3 experts in online communications weigh in</a>
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<p>There are multiple harms flowing from this. </p>
<p>Banning sex from a particular platform means sexually marginalised people lose somewhere safe to interact. As queer studies scholar Stephen Molldrem <a href="https://www.wussymag.com/all/2018/12/6/tumblrs-decision-to-deplatform-sex-will-harm-sexually-marginalized-people">wrote</a> when microblogging site Tumblr banned porn in 2018: </p>
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<p>many queers, kinksters, people who engage in various kinds of sexual commerce, and transfolk who use the platform […] are going to get shafted by the decision (and not in a good way).</p>
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<p>It also <a href="https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Sex-and-Social-Media/?K=9781839094095">cuts off</a> important avenues for sexual experimentation, and education. And <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/onlyfans-creators-appalled-porn-ban-destroys-their-livelihoods-sex-workers-1621480">destroys</a> the livelihoods of those in the adult industry. </p>
<p>Further adding to the uncertainty is the issue of chargebacks – payment providers see sex and porn as <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300233223/new-money">high-risk</a> industries because of the high rate people denying they paid and getting a refund. </p>
<h2>What OnlyFans should do now</h2>
<p>My research shows the split identity of OnlyFans. This is something it will need to resolve going forward (both for itself and its creators). But there’s an opportunity here for OnlyFans to declare its support for sex workers and porn performers.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/onlyfans-controversy-highlights-the-bind-facing-most-gig-workers-167101">OnlyFans controversy highlights the bind facing most gig workers</a>
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<p>Openly stating adult content creators are welcome, including them prominently on the OnlyFans blog, and proactively working with payment companies to ensure they can profit from their work would set an example. As an aside, <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/08/19/onlyfans-banning-sexual-content/">Fortune notes</a>, going G-rated might help OnlyFans secure investors in the short term, but could cost the business over the long term. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, for those in a stigmatised, precarious industry, a place that cultivates a sense of belonging for adult content creators is a platform worth imagining.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily van der Nagel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows a stark difference between popular ideas about the social media platform and how OnlyFans seeks to present itself.Emily van der Nagel, Lecturer in Social Media, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1630642021-07-04T11:28:18Z2021-07-04T11:28:18ZEradicating sexual exploitation in porn should not be at the expense of sex workers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408945/original/file-20210629-24-1u4rk04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C32%2C5382%2C3333&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Before drafting legislation that seeks to protect sex workers and minors, law-makers should consult with sex workers. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/John Locher) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Conservative MP Arnold Viersen recently introduced <a href="https://parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/bill/C-302/first-reading">Bill C-302</a>, adding two offences to the Canadian Criminal Code regarding pornography: one for making material without written confirmation of performer’s legal age and consent and another for distributing such material. </p>
<p>Curiously, both acts are already illegal. </p>
<p>Canada has some of the most stringent laws in the world around child sexual abuse material and consent to sexual activity. It is <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-37.html#docCont">a federal offence to distribute “intimate images” without a subject’s prior knowledge and consent</a>. Rules are stricter with higher punishment if the material depicts a minor, including fictional characters. </p>
<p>This new bill would not enhance existing measures to curb online sexual abuse. Instead, it vastly increases surveillance of porn workers, a highly stigmatized and overly policed group.</p>
<p>There is absolutely a need to prevent online sexual exploitation, but protective measures must extend to everyone — including porn performers. Laws must be developed with meaningful sex worker consultation. Failure to do so risks exacerbating the violence Viersen claims he is seeking to prevent.</p>
<p>Evidence of dangerous policy is clear in the United States, where 2018 legislation — Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) — have resulted in sex workers’ social media accounts being banned and <a href="https://hackinghustling.org/erased-the-impact-of-fosta-sesta-2020/">entire platforms shut down</a>.</p>
<p>Other restrictions have <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7v33d/sex-workers-what-visa-and-mastercard-dropping-pornhub-means-to-performers">discriminated, delayed and outright cancelled payment processes</a> for legal sex workers. A recent U.S. government accountability office report found these laws made life <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/162823/sex-trafficking-sex-work-sesta-fosta">significantly more dangerous</a> for sex workers, but have only been applied to <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-385">a single trafficking prosecution</a> over three years. </p>
<h2>The problem with ‘written consent’</h2>
<p>Currently in Canada, it is <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/section-162.1.html">illegal</a> to circulate in any way “an intimate image of a person knowing that the person depicted in the image did not give their consent to that conduct.” Written proof from the person depicted isn’t necessary, ensuring greater privacy for performers. </p>
<p>In contrast, the proposed new bill states that consent “means the voluntary agreement, in writing, of the person whose image is depicted in the pornographic material.” But documentation isn’t voluntary if mandated by law and potentially made public any time a complaint is filed. </p>
<p>Porn studio productions already follow extensive <a href="https://www.freespeechcoalition.com/forms-templates">informed consent</a> and model release documentation processes, similar to other media and performance industry standards.</p>
<p>Nothing in Bill C-302 improves upon those practices. Instead, the expansion of legal powers would be felt most heavily by independent content producers, burdened with having to prove they are not exploiting themselves. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408437/original/file-20210625-9546-1m02sxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=207%2C172%2C3754%2C2459&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408437/original/file-20210625-9546-1m02sxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408437/original/file-20210625-9546-1m02sxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408437/original/file-20210625-9546-1m02sxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408437/original/file-20210625-9546-1m02sxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408437/original/file-20210625-9546-1m02sxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408437/original/file-20210625-9546-1m02sxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Porn studio productions follow extensive informed consent and model release documentation processes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Donald Tong/Pexels</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such record keeping requirements represent a risk to sex workers who are already stigmatized. <a href="https://www.nswp.org/sites/nswp.org/files/impact_of_criminalisation_pb_prf01.pdf">Fear of exposure and harassment</a> can lead workers into illegal or quasi-legal activities where they need not provide identifying information to police or government officials, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00576-9">who have demonstrated little concern with their well-being</a>. </p>
<p>As Conservative Sen. <a href="https://ricochet.media/en/265/sex-workers-demand-rights-and-respect-not-draconian-legislation">Don Plett said in 2014</a>: “Of course, we don’t want to make life safe for prostitutes; we want to do away with prostitution.” </p>
<p>Similar sentiments against pornography persist. </p>
<h2>Sex worker testimony an afterthought</h2>
<p>Deeming sex workers either helpless and incompetent — or immoral and obscene — politicians routinely ignore their expertise on the relationship between porn, online platforms and consent violations. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/porn-not-to-blame-for-public-health-issues-82116">Porn not to blame for public health issues</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This was clear during the <a href="https://sencanada.ca/en/Content/SEN/Committee/412/lcjc/15ev-51557-e">2014 senate hearings on Bill C-36</a>, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, when sex worker concerns were dismissed by Plett and others. </p>
<p>It happened again in 2016 when <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/89211/motions/8136502">Viersen introduced M-47</a>, a motion for the Standing Committee on Health “to examine the public health effects of the ease of access and viewing of online violent and degrading sexually explicit material on children, women and men.” </p>
<p>Most recently, sex workers were sidelined when Viersen instigated parliamentary committee meetings on “<a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/ETHI/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=11088039">ensuring the protection of privacy and reputation on platforms such as Pornhub</a>.”</p>
<p>Sandra Wesley, director of the Montréal-based sex worker advocacy agency Stella, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7695681/commons-committee-pornhub/">released a statement after their request to speak at those meetings was rebuffed</a>: “The response that I got back is that sex workers are not relevant to this conversation.” Invited to the hearings, however, were <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-exodus-cry-the-shady-evangelical-group-with-trump-ties-waging-war-on-pornhub">American anti-porn activists backed by evangelical Christian organizations</a>.</p>
<p>After mounting a social media campaign, sex worker rights groups were finally included - in the final day of meetings. In <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/ETHI/meeting-31/evidence#Int-11243030">her testimony</a>, Jenn Clamen of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“[Sex workers] have been organizing for over 50 years against violence and abuse in the industry. It’s why we started organizing …For this reason, sex workers are best placed to be at the centre of this discussion.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bill C-302 fails to recognize the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-new-definition-of-pornography-with-consent-at-the-centre-111994">high standards of consent</a> established by porn industry professionals and activists. This bill isn’t about consent, but eradicating an undesirable sexual citizen: the sex worker. </p>
<h2>Exploiting consent to harm sexual minorities</h2>
<p>Legal scholar <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Law-and-Consent-Contesting-the-Common-Sense/ORegan/p/book/9780367785635">Karla O’Regan</a> notes, while consent is ostensibly about ensuring personal freedoms, it actually entails “a series of unspoken presumptions about what is normal human behaviour,” such that “the availability of consent hinges on the ‘reasonableness’ of the defendant’s conduct.” </p>
<p>Since what is judged reasonable is contained within laws governing morality, some sexualities and acts are considered <em>fundamentally</em> objectionable, falling outside what groundbreaking sexuality studies scholar <a href="https://sites.middlebury.edu/sexandsociety/files/2015/01/Rubin-Thinking-Sex.pdf">Gayle Rubin</a> called the “charmed circle” of heteronormative monogamy. </p>
<p>Anti-sex worker policies, steeped in moralization and infantilization, do not recognize porn performers’ ability to consent to sex work. This reproduces the stigma underlying <a href="https://journals.msvu.ca/index.php/atlantis/article/view/3041/pdf_38">systemic cultures of sexual abuse</a> that prioritize “good” victims over “bad” ones. </p>
<p>Consent is too critical a framework to be weaponized by politicians looking to do away with undesirable sexual citizens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163064/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Sullivan has received funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the University of Calgary Research Grant Committee.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maggie MacDonald receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, through a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship in support of her doctoral research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Valerie Webber is the Board Chair of PASS (Performer Availability Screening Services), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and safety of adult industry workers. PASS maintains a working relationship with the Free Speech Coalition, an industry trade association. </span></em></p>Why are sex workers routinely excluded from debates on their own legal and human rights?Rebecca Sullivan, Professor, Women's Studies, University of CalgaryMaggie MacDonald, PhD Student, Faculty of Information, University of TorontoVal Webber, PhD Candidate, Community Health & Humanities, Memorial University of NewfoundlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1405502020-07-08T19:46:17Z2020-07-08T19:46:17ZIs watching porn bad for your health? We asked 5 experts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343878/original/file-20200625-132951-1p0cl31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C789%2C5996%2C3204&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Let’s be honest: during coronavirus lockdown it was hard to resist the allure of internet intimacy. Rates of watching porn <a href="https://theconversation.com/denied-intimacy-in-iso-aussies-go-online-for-adult-content-so-whats-hot-in-each-major-city-138122">skyrocketed in Australia</a> during isolation.</p>
<p>But have you ever wondered what effects consuming adult content can have on your health?</p>
<p>We asked five experts whether watching porn is bad for our health.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/denied-intimacy-in-iso-aussies-go-online-for-adult-content-so-whats-hot-in-each-major-city-138122">Denied intimacy in 'iso', Aussies go online for adult content – so what's hot in each major city?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Three out of five experts said yes</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345928/original/file-20200707-27837-n0addf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345928/original/file-20200707-27837-n0addf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=99&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345928/original/file-20200707-27837-n0addf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=99&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345928/original/file-20200707-27837-n0addf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=99&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345928/original/file-20200707-27837-n0addf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=125&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345928/original/file-20200707-27837-n0addf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=125&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345928/original/file-20200707-27837-n0addf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=125&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Their main concerns were about the creation of unrealistic expectations, links with gender-based violence, and the potential for addiction.</p>
<p>But some suggested education can help offset some of these possible harms, and porn can play a positive role for LGBTIQ+ young people.</p>
<p><em><strong>Here are the experts’ detailed responses:</strong></em></p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-500" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/500/34dabbce4f09da23f83317d3944825e511b5721b/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you have a “<strong>yes or no</strong>” health question you’d like posed to Five Experts, email your suggestion to: liam.petterson@theconversation.edu.au</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is supported by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/partners/judith-neilson-institute">Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140550/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Some experts were concerned about the creation of unrealistic expectations, links with gender-based violence, and the potential for addiction. Others said education might help to offset these harms.Liam Petterson, Deputy Politics Editor, The Conversation AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1381222020-05-19T20:01:27Z2020-05-19T20:01:27ZDenied intimacy in ‘iso’, Aussies go online for adult content – so what’s hot in each major city?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335584/original/file-20200518-138624-15ap11z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=601%2C582%2C1971%2C1342&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/amsterdam-netherlands-may-16-2018-official-1092236918">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People have been finding ways to relieve the boredom of being stuck at home since varying degrees of lockdown have been imposed across the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research points to <a href="https://www.insider.com/uptick-in-sexual-experimentation-during-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-4">reduced sexual intimacy</a> as a result of these restrictions, so it really should come as no surprise that porn viewing levels have increased. Our desire for social interaction and solace during the pandemic has driven the hyper-digitalisation and social media-isation of our daily lives.</p>
<p>Social distancing – no handshaking, hugging or kissing – poses obvious challenges for <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-sex-guidance.pdf">navigating sexual intimacy</a>. Jennifer Powell and Andrea Walling <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-sex-parties-and-virtual-reality-porn-can-sex-in-isolation-be-as-fulfilling-as-real-life-134658">note</a> that technology has the potential to meet different sexual needs and desires. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/apr/16/self-love-in-isolation-i-hope-people-are-using-this-time-to-explore-their-sexuality">Brigid Delaney</a> has highlighted skyrocketing sales of sex toys in Australia and New Zealand as more of us indulge in a little bit of “self-love”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-sex-parties-and-virtual-reality-porn-can-sex-in-isolation-be-as-fulfilling-as-real-life-134658">Online sex parties and virtual reality porn: can sex in isolation be as fulfilling as real life?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/porn-use-is-up-thanks-to-the-pandemic-134972">Joshua Grubbs</a> has outlined <em>why</em> our interest in pornography has increased. Pleasure-seeking is the main reason. People also use pornography as a release to help with “stress, anxiety and negative emotions” – and the pandemic has provoked all of these. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://twitter.com/Planographer/status/1246618227926433792">Twitter poll</a> in April, I asked: “Which of the following best describes ur online porn viewing habits as a result of the COVID19 pandemic?” Just over 60% of respondents (N=360) indicated their viewing had increased: “slightly more” (21.9%); “moderately more” (15.8%); and “significantly more” (22.5%).</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1245510099264606208"}"></div></p>
<p>Although not a representative poll, the results resonate with data from <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/corona-virus">Pornhub</a>, <a href="https://www.similarweb.com/website/pornhub.com">one of the world’s most popular porn websites</a>. Globally, daily traffic to Pornhub started to rise in late February with above-average spikes in <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/corona-virus">mid-March</a>. Spikes in Australia started slightly sooner – <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/corona-virus">March 4-6</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/porn-use-is-up-thanks-to-the-pandemic-134972">Porn use is up, thanks to the pandemic</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Metro-sexuality and porn</h2>
<p>A disproportionate number of porn viewers live in the capital cities.</p>
<p>Aggregated data from Pornhub for January 1 to March 31 show almost 80% of Australian traffic came from three states: New South Wales (31.6%), Victoria (27.1%) and Queensland (20.6%). This corresponds with their shares of estimated resident population – 31.9%, 26% and 20.1% respectively. Other states and territories, save Tasmania, had similar patterns in traffic share.</p>
<p>However, the largest capital cities – Sydney (29.2%), Melbourne (25.9%), Brisbane (16.3%), Perth (9.6%) and Adelaide (7.2%) – accounted for a disproportionate share of online traffic relative to population share – 20.9%, 19.9%, 9.9%, 8.2% and 5.4% respectively. The eight capital cities accounted for almost 91% of traffic despite having around 68% of Australia’s population.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335587/original/file-20200518-138649-1ll77r4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation. Data:</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The disparity in traffic volumes between metropolitan and regional areas appears to be due, in part, to relatively <a href="https://theconversation.com/true-blue-picks-a-snapshot-of-australias-favourite-porn-100595">poorer internet infrastructure and speeds</a> outside the major cities. Other non-technological factors are probably at play, but more social science research on porn viewing is needed.</p>
<p>The largest increase in traffic was in Brisbane. Here volumes in the last week of March were almost 20 indexed points higher than the first week of January. Perth had the second-highest growth, up 14 points over this period.</p>
<p>Traffic growth during March in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide was above the national trend. Although growth for Melbourne and Sydney was below the trend, this is explained by both cities already having high traffic volumes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333308/original/file-20200507-49538-k7irlw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pornhub data.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The surge in traffic during March coincided with more people working, studying and staying at home due to restrictions on social gatherings. The closure of bars, clubs, casinos and cinemas, plus the effective suspension of hook-up apps, has reduced opportunities for face-to-face flirtatious interactions that might lead to sexual intimacy. Ultimately, people have sought pleasure via online pornography.</p>
<h2>How do cities’ porn preferences vary?</h2>
<p>What types of porn have Australians been indulging in?</p>
<p>“Lesbian” porn retains the overall title of top-ranked category across capital cities. It ranked first for Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Sydney; second in Melbourne; fifth in Hobart and seventh in Darwin. The top-ranked categories in the latter two cities were “Anal” and “Bondage” respectively. “Anal” porn ranked seventh in overall capital city terms and was highest in Perth (fourth) and Canberra (fifth) after Darwin. Bondage porn does not rank in the top 10 of any other capital city.</p>
<p>Hobart and Darwin had notably more diverse porn interests than the larger capital cities where preferences tend to be more consistent.</p>
<p>Japanese-categorised porn made the <a href="https://theconversation.com/true-blue-picks-a-snapshot-of-australias-favourite-porn-100595">top 10 of only three cities</a> back in 2018: Canberra (sixth), Sydney (seventh) and Melbourne (ninth). During the pandemic this category of porn was in the top 10 of all capital cities. It is now the second-most-popular category overall.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MILF">MILF</a> porn, which has long featured in the “top 3” categories of porn, appears to be losing some ground, ranking fourth overall in the cities. </p>
<p>In contrast, interest in “Amateur” porn has surged. It ranks second in Adelaide, Canberra and Perth, and third in Melbourne and Sydney.</p>
<p>The heightened interest in this category mirrors an increase in the <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/coronavirus-amateur-porn-onlyfans">number of people producing “Amateur”</a> porn via platforms such as MyFreeCams, Chaturbate and OnlyFans. The pandemic has arguably played a role here, but so too has <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Paying-for-Sex-in-a-Digital-Age-US-and-UK-Perspectives/Sanders-Brents-Wakefield/p/book/9781138318731">austerity</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-porntropreneur-even-hustlers-need-side-hustles-in-the-gig-economy-129067">rise of the gig economy</a>.</p>
<p>The category “Popular with Women” made it into the overall top 10 list, driven by interest in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. This points to a wider trend of <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319691336">increasing female viewership of porn</a> - females now account for about 30-35% of viewers in Australia. </p>
<p>The “top 10” categories for each capital city are shown below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335942/original/file-20200519-83348-1gwwttb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Click on table to enlarge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pornhub data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>As the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many Australians to stay at home, the internet has become a lifeline for maintaining professional, social and personal relations. It has also been a medium for sexual exploration. Porn preferences across Australia’s major cities have shifted somewhat since 2018, which points to a dynamic (sub)urban <a href="https://www.routledge.com/SubUrban-Sexscapes-Geographies-and-Regulation-of-the-Sex-Industry/Maginn-Steinmetz/p/book/9781138060258">cosmo-sexuality</a>. </p>
<p>As long as social distancing restrictions prevail, we can expect more interest in online porn. We might even see more spikes in May, being <a href="https://masturbationmonth.com/history-masturbation-month">International Masturbation Month</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul J. Maginn is a Board Member of Sexual Health Quarters, Perth, Western Australia. </span></em></p>Visits to ‘adult’ sites surged in March when coronavirus pandemic restrictions came in. While tastes vary around the country, a disproportionate share of traffic comes from our biggest cities.Paul J. Maginn, Associate Professor of Urban/Regional Planning, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1352532020-04-14T12:01:42Z2020-04-14T12:01:42ZIsolation could improve how we think about and navigate sex and relationships<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326505/original/file-20200408-16182-1us9p7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C3708%2C2549&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/J9PS6uPc0EQ">Ava Sol/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The coronavirus pandemic has already profoundly changed many of our lives. And it is certain that the virus will change some things forever. Some industries will fail, others will prosper. We will learn new ways of working and new ways of understanding the impact of capitalism. We will reconsider who the most vulnerable people are in our global society.</p>
<p>Other things may change too – things not so well documented. I study sex – and I’m sure that this crisis will have some significant effects in terms of the way society sees it. This is because requirements to practice social distancing and isolation have meant that the way we think about sex has been turned upside down.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-on-lockdown-coronavirus-italy-2020-3?r=US&IR=T">A third of the global population</a> is on lockdown and we must stay apart from each other not for ambiguous or contested moral reasons, but to save lives. As such, many ways in which we navigate, understand and talk about sex and relationships is likely to change as a result. </p>
<h2>1. Masturbation, sex tech and porn</h2>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/sex-toy-sales-triple-during-new-zealands-coronavirus-lockdown">sex toy companies</a> are reporting that their sales <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/18314596.coronavirus-quarantine-linked-surge-global-sex-toy-sales/">have surged</a> since the requirement to isolate, with some companies offering isolation <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/free-vibrator-self-quarantine-sex-toy-bellesa-womanizer-coronavirus-covid-19-1492788">giveaways</a>. Access to pornography is on the rise too, with companies capitalising on the opportunity isolation brings to <a href="https://www.tubefilter.com/2020/03/19/pornhub-traffic-coronavirus-lockdown-italy-france-spain-free-pornhub-premium/">encourage us to watch more porn</a>.</p>
<p>Before the crisis, these industries would hardly have been thought of as essential. Conversation around porn, sex toys and masturbation is conventionally seen as taboo, but an inadvertent consequence of the pandemic is that masturbation is not only being more freely discussed, but might be considered an important part of our wellbeing – even <a href="https://www.tht.org.uk/news/dont-hook-during-covid-19-lockdown">life saving</a>.</p>
<p>So the conversation has begun to shift in interesting ways since isolation was imposed, but also by virtue of the willingness by normally prudish governments and officials to talk explicitly and in a <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/3a8e5k/nyc-health-officials-covid-19-sex-guidelines-masturbate-self-isolation">detailed way about sex</a>. The pandemic has seen the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-sex-guidance.pdf">stating</a> that “you are your safest sex partner” and <a href="https://twitter.com/nycHealthy/status/1242462479134982145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1242462479134982145&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FnycHealthy%2Fstatus%2F1242462479134982145">warning</a> against kissing and poorly cleaned sex toys. </p>
<h2>2. New understandings</h2>
<p>Social distancing means that we have been forced apart, yet sexual desire and our desire to touch, and be touched, continues. Cohabiting couples might find themselves divided due to advice to be three steps apart even within the same home <a href="https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-six-feet-enough-social-distancing.html">if they become ill</a>. And single people have inevitably been shut off from opportunities to connect sexually, which has caused a surge in (virtual) online dating.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-safest-sex-youll-never-have-how-coronavirus-is-changing-online-dating-134382">The safest sex you'll never have: how coronavirus is changing online dating</a>
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<p>Expert in sex and public health <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/25/can-i-have-sex-coronavirus-expert-advice-kissing-dating">Carlos Rodríguez-Díaz</a> has suggested that it is necessary to consider and recognise forms of virtual sexual contact as ways of expressing erotic desire, such as sexting, video calls, and reading erotica. This move away from physical touch as the centre of sex shifts conventional understandings of sex as only physical penetration. </p>
<p>It will be necessary to experiment with ways of not only connecting sexually, but also of appreciating these forms of sex as being meaningful. </p>
<h2>3. Non-monogamous relationships</h2>
<p>Under these unique conditions, we will be pushed to reconsider enduring questions around fidelity and non-monogamous relationships. Consider a situation where a partner within a long-term cohabiting relationship has an additional partner whom they do not live with, perhaps it is through an affair, or perhaps the relationship is polyamorous. The impact of isolation may provoke the possibility of break ups of some affairs, through <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/coronavirus-uk-latest-news-relationship-diaries-marriage-affair-2505566">a new understanding of risk</a> in light of the pandemic. </p>
<p>Covert affairs and polyamorous relationships are already more emotionally complex than monogamous relationships, given the inherent challenge they bring to accepted and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/23/polyamory-new-way-to-love-men-women-sex-relationships-elf-lyons">conventional ways of loving</a>, as well as their unusual hierarchical structures. Physical presence is important, since it can often be the only way of communicating (particularly in covert affairs), and maintaining intimacy and equality among partners. </p>
<p>Isolation and this global crisis will trigger new conversations based on people’s lived experiences of the challenges and possibilities of such relationships.</p>
<h2>4. Home as a dangerous space</h2>
<p>While people must remain at home to preserve themselves and others, many governments have <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-and-domestic-abuse">recognised</a> that some may find their wellbeing jeopardised if they are isolating while in an abusive relationship. The risks to people in these situations can be physical, but they are also psychological and emotional. Shelters and hotels are being made available but access to <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/03/18/coronavirus-domestic-violence-shelters-prepare-hotlines-open/5067349002/">these options will not be easy for all</a>, since leaving the home at all will be difficult when under the control of an abusive partner. </p>
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<p>Questions about the ethics of remaining in the space of such a relationship are now different. Outsiders might suggest that the person should now stay in the relationship, rather than criticise them for not leaving. COVID-19 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/06/domestic-abuse-women-of-the-world-launch-camilla">should open up discussions</a>, and bring focus back onto what causes harm in these relationships, rather than blaming the actions of the survivor.</p>
<h2>5. Thinking about consent</h2>
<p>To understand more about consent, it is important to understand more about the impact of touch. COVID-19 has made everyone more conscious of how their body might affect others, while also recognising our capacity for kindness towards one another through <a href="https://covidmutualaid.org/">mutual aid groups</a> compiled of volunteers, who in turn also need to be conscious of how they deliver aid with minimal touch.</p>
<p>COVID-19 forces the debate to focus on the impact of our actions on other people and those connected with our partners – parents, family members, friends. Isolation makes the consequences of breaches of consent visible and clear. The world therefore is presented with a unique opportunity to understand the impact of touch to have unintended consequences and chain reactions. </p>
<p>We are also forced into awareness of our capacity to be kind and put others first: a cornerstone of navigating good sex.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Brooks does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Five ways coronavirus could change sex and relationships.Victoria Brooks, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1290672020-01-21T19:03:08Z2020-01-21T19:03:08ZThe rise of the ‘porntropreneur’: even hustlers need side hustles in the gig economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308975/original/file-20200108-107200-gs97jh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C44%2C5973%2C3314&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian trans performer Marissa Minx on set in Los Angeles, recording exclusive behind-the-scenes footage for her fans.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sophie Pezzutto</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Porn is the billboard. Cam is the product,” my housemate and porn performer in Las Vegas tells me. </p>
<p>She makes most of her money from <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-adult-video-stars-rely-on-camming-104758">camming</a>: a form of live streaming, where viewers tip for a sexual performance via webcam. For her, performing in porn films is now more of an ad rather than a source of income.</p>
<p>Performers today are better thought of as internet entrepreneurs, generating income from a range of activities beyond porn and using social media to market themselves. </p>
<p>Or, as I have named them, “<a href="https://riviste.unige.it/aboutgender/article/view/1106">porntropreneurs</a>”.</p>
<p>Due to internet piracy and the widespread availability of online amateur pornography, today’s commercial porn studios face <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-pornography-industry-9780190205126?cc=us&lang=en&%5D">ever-narrowing profit margins</a>. The studios are no longer able to provide a stable income and regular shoots for most porn performers.</p>
<p>Porn performers now earn income from camming, self-produced videos, subscriptions from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/09/style/onlyfans-porn-stars.html">monetised social media platforms</a> such as OnlyFans, escorting, phone sex, sexting, dating “<a href="https://theconversation.com/sugar-daddy-capitalism-even-the-worlds-oldest-profession-is-being-uberised-109426">sugar daddies</a>” and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gya9pb/selling-used-panties-online-is-harder-than-you-think">selling their underwear</a> to fans online. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-adult-video-stars-rely-on-camming-104758">Why adult video stars rely on camming</a>
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<p>Once, porn stars were simply performers. Now, being successful means managing a small online business – requiring a whole new range of skills to succeed. </p>
<p>Performers today have to be technically savvy in operating numerous online platforms and apps like OnlyFans and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/evew54/phone-sex-women-callers-secrets">NiteFlirt</a>. They have to be responsive to changes in remuneration models and algorithms, and prioritise the most profitable income streams to optimise revenue and minimise workload. They also have to be self-disciplined when it comes to scheduling and producing their own productions. </p>
<h2>It’s all about the brand</h2>
<p>In this online world, porntropreneurs crucially rely on <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300209389/status-update">self-branding</a> as the glue that holds their diverse range of sexual and erotic services together. </p>
<p>Just as Apple invests resources in marketing to garner a devout following, a strong personal brand allows performers to attract loyal fans with a promise of high-quality content and the fulfilment of a particular fantasy. This, in turn, helps performers to stand out from the many amateur pornographers who constantly upload free material. </p>
<p>“Fans seek you out to learn more about you,” one performer tells me. “You are a fantasy and you’re building that world for them.” </p>
<p>From platinum blonde Baywatch bombshell, to 1950s pinup model, to tattooed rock chick, to Midwestern girl-next-door, porn is about selling fantasies. The ability to embody a particular fantasy especially well is what distinguishes the porn performer from the porn star. </p>
<p>To brand themselves and create this online persona, porntropreneurs use social media in much the same way <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300218176/not-getting-paid-do-what-you-love">other online influencers do</a>. </p>
<p>Performers organise photo shoots for their various social media accounts, do Q&As with fans on Instagram, post behind-the-scenes material on Twitter, and vlog about their daily lives on YouTube. </p>
<p>“I do [Instagram] stories every three hours,” a performer says. “It’s a lot of work. Doesn’t matter if you’re ill, you have to do it. Consistently.”</p>
<p>More content shared translates into more followers, which ultimately means more income. Viewers click on links during videos or in posts that take them to websites where they can buy clips or join the current cam show.</p>
<p>Similar to other social media influencers who advertise sponsored products, performers may lock in sponsored partnerships from sex toy brands, beauty clinics and even marijuana dispensaries.</p>
<p>In many instances, performers have to be careful as social media platforms <a href="https://www.xbiz.com/news/243584/instagram-and-the-war-on-porn-an-xbiz-explainer">increasingly target sex workers</a> and shut down their accounts. </p>
<p>“It’s frustrating, because you’ll see these movie stars naked in sexual ways on their Instagram posts, and everybody will be like ‘You’re a beautiful, strong woman! How brave of you to do this!’ and then I pose in an artistic way and my stuff gets flagged,” one performer laments.</p>
<h2>Porn is a mirror of our times</h2>
<p>Pornography is a set of cultural practices reflective of our political, economic, technological and social circumstances. </p>
<p>From being a battleground against rapid social and economic changes <a href="https://law.jrank.org/pages/5508/Comstock-Law-1873.html">in the late 1800s</a> to becoming a flashpoint in the 1970s and ’80s around issues of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/american-history-after-1945/battling-pornography-american-feminist-anti-pornography-movement-19761986?format=PB#Kgb40JqxzsajU4XE.97">sexism and violence against women</a>, porn has always been about more than just smutty images. It is part of society, and so reflects society.</p>
<p>The rise of the porntropreneur can, in a similar vein, be used to understand some of the broader economic and social issues of today. From freelance journalists to aspiring academics, professionals in today’s <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520300569/hustle-and-gig">gig economy</a> are expected to be independent, flexible, constantly online, always hustling and able to market themselves. </p>
<p>Porn performers, as my research shows, are no different.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129067/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie Pezzutto does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In today’s economy, adult video stars can’t rely on films alone to make their income. Here’s how they earn all of the rest.Sophie Pezzutto, PhD Candidate in Anthropology, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1273192020-01-05T18:50:47Z2020-01-05T18:50:47ZPornography has deeply troubling effects on young people, but there are ways we can minimise the harm<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307085/original/file-20191216-124022-a1lgyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5760%2C3240&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Porn shapes how boys and men see girls and women, and how girls and women see themselves. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many young people, pornography has become the default sex educator. Children and young people are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.12678">encountering pornography</a> in greater numbers, at younger ages, and with a wider variety of content, influencing young people’s sexual lives. </p>
<p>Research evidence from around the world shows porn has harmful impacts on young people and adults alike. Some impacts are deeply troubling, particularly pornography’s contribution to sexual violence. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-male-porn-superfans-really-view-women-121679">How male 'porn superfans' really view women</a>
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<p>But with sexually explicit material still so easy to access online, there are ways we can minimise its harms among young people, from providing better education at school to developing more ethical porn.</p>
<h2>The effects of porn: what the research says</h2>
<p>Pornography can shift sexual interests, behaviours and relationships. It shapes “<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10508-014-0391-2">sexual scripts</a>”, providing models of behaviour and guiding sexual expectations, with studies finding links between watching pornography and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F14194-001">heterosexual anal intercourse</a>, <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/cyber.2014.0343">unsafe sex</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650208326465">more</a>.</p>
<p>Watching pornography can <a href="https://academic.oup.com/hcr/article/43/3/315/4670699">lower men’s relationship satisfaction</a>. And for women, male partners’ pornography use can reduce intimacy, feed <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0361684314521784">self-objectification and body shame</a>, or involve <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11524-011-9630-1">coercion into sexual acts</a>.</p>
<p>But these next areas of impact concern me most.</p>
<p>Pornography teaches sexist and sexually objectifying understandings of gender and sexuality. For instance, in a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcom.12037">randomised experimental study</a> among young men in Denmark, exposure to (nonviolent) pornography led to less egalitarian attitudes and higher levels of hostile sexism. And in a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650208326465">longitudinal study</a> among US adolescents, increased use of pornography predicted more sexist attitudes for girls two years later.</p>
<p>Pornography also teaches violent attitudes and behaviours to both <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10508-019-1435-4">adolescents</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-011-0082-6">adults</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/many-young-women-find-pleasure-in-sexually-explicit-material-but-it-still-reinforces-gender-inequality-114370">Many young women find pleasure in sexually explicit material but it still reinforces gender inequality</a>
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<p>What’s more, meta-analyses – systematic research that synthesises multiple studies – from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10532528.2000.10559784">2000</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcom.12201">2015</a> have found associations between watching pornography and actual violent behaviours. </p>
<p>Aggression, largely by males and overwhelmingly against females, is common in pornography: an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077801210382866">analysis of top-selling and top-renting titles</a> found 88% of scenes showed aggression. </p>
<p>Men who use pornography more often are more likely to practise or desire <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03637751.2014.981558">dominant, degrading practices</a>, such as gagging and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2374623816668275">choking</a>. And women who use pornography are more likely to practise or desire <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2374623817698113">submissive practices</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, longitudinal studies among adolescents find watching pornography is linked to sexually violent behaviour later in life. In <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ab.20367">a US study</a>, people who watched violent pornography were more than six times as likely to engage in sexually aggressive behaviour. In <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650208326465">another</a>, it predicted more frequent sexual harassment perpetration two years later.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-new-definition-of-pornography-with-consent-at-the-centre-111994">We need a new definition of pornography - with consent at the centre</a>
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<p>But while pornography use is an important risk factor for sexual violence, its risks are greater <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-05867-001">for some users</a> than others. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234028315_Young_Men_Using_Porn">Four factors</a> mediate the impacts of porn: the user’s attitudes and personality, their engagement with the material, its content, and the context of watching it. </p>
<p>So what can we do to minimise the harms of pornography on children and youths? </p>
<h2>Ethical porn and better education</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.afao.org.au/article/sexuality-education-australian-secondary-schools-averting-sexual-health-crisis-among-young-people/">Comprehensive sexuality education</a> in schools is vital for providing alternative, age-appropriate content on sexuality. </p>
<p>Parents may worry that teaching in schools about pornography will encourage students to seek it out for the first time, but there is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15546128.2018.1437100">no sign</a> this actually happens.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dvrcv.org.au/sites/default/files/DVRCV_AUTSPR2015_crabbe.pdf">Curriculums on pornography</a> can teach young people to respond more critically, helping them assess and respond to pornography’s influence. “<a href="http://www.itstimewetalked.com.au/resources/in-the-picture/">In The Picture</a>”, for instance, is a great resource for schools to help support young people navigate the seemingly ubiquitous sexually explicit material online.</p>
<p>Such efforts do work. In a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcom.12341">Dutch longitudinal study</a>, the more a young person had learned about the use of pornography from their school sex education, the less likely they were to see women as sex objects. </p>
<p>And in a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15546128.2018.1437100">US evaluation</a> of a five-session curriculum, students showed positive changes in their pornography-related knowledge, attitudes and intended behaviours. </p>
<hr>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hold-pornography-to-account-not-education-programs-for-childrens-harmful-sexual-behaviour-68473">Hold pornography to account – not education programs – for children's harmful sexual behaviour</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Other than education, we need better pornography. Some call this “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/01/ethical-porn-fair-trade-sex">ethical pornography</a>” – ethical in its production, use and distribution, and content.</p>
<p>First, participants should have consented to their involvement and not be harmed. The unethical production of porn is common: <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563218305454">12% of males and 6.2% of females</a> in Australia have taken a nude or sexual image of another person without their consent. </p>
<p>Ethical pornography also involves ethical use and distribution. People consent to its viewing, and cannot be distributed without participants’ consent. </p>
<p>But discussions of “ethical pornography” have largely ignored the issue of <em>content</em> – physical and verbal aggression is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077801210382866">routine</a> in pornography. </p>
<p>So we must also hold the pornography industries to account. They must produce better pornography, which eroticises consent, respect, and intimacy rather than sexist hostility.</p>
<p>Parents have asked me: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>My son is looking at porn. What kind of porn <em>should</em> he be looking at?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Maybe we need a ratings system – the “Healthy Sex Tick of Approval”?</p>
<p>Even depictions of consensual sex may still perpetuate the sexual objectification of women and reinforce other sexist social norms. And in a sexist culture, even the most ethical images of sex may be understood in ways that affirm that wider culture. </p>
<p>Still, it seems pragmatic to give attention to what might comprise “better”, or at least “less worse”, pornography.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Michael Flood has received funding from the Australia Research Council, Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute Foundation, and Victorian Government. However, no funding was received for the material featured in this article.</span></em></p>We can teach young people to respond more critically to pornography, helping them assess and respond to pornography’s influence.Michael Flood, Associate Professor, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1273062019-11-27T17:22:10Z2019-11-27T17:22:10ZWatching pornography rewires the brain to a more juvenile state<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303591/original/file-20191125-74593-y9lpg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1249%2C3275%2C2129&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With the ubiquity and availability of devices connected to the internet, access to pornography is easier than it has ever been.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Charles/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pornography has existed throughout recorded history, transforming with the introduction of each new medium. Hundreds of sexually explicit frescoes and sculptures were found in the Mount Vesuvius ruins of Pompeii. </p>
<p>Since the advent of the internet, porn use has skyrocketed to dizzying heights. Pornhub, the world’s largest free porn site, received <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2018-year-in-review">over 33.5 billion site visits during 2018 alone</a>. </p>
<p>Science is only just beginning to reveal the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93">neurological repercussions of porn consumption</a>. But it is already clear that the mental health and sex lives of its widespread audience are suffering catastrophic effects. From depression to erectile dysfunction, porn appears to be hijacking our neural wiring with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/bs6030017">dire consequences</a>. </p>
<p>In my own lab, we study the neural wiring that underlies learning and memory processes. The properties of video porn make it a particularly powerful trigger for plasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience. Combined with the accessibility and anonymity of online porn consumption, we are more vulnerable than ever to its hyper-stimulating effects.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bjnXXN67plg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A BBC 3 programme looking at the effects of pornography addiction.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Impacts of porn consumption</h2>
<p>In the long term, <a href="https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/rebooting-porn-use-faqs/research-confirms-sharp-rise-in-youthful-sexual-dysfunctions/">pornography seems to create sexual dysfunctions</a>, especially the inability to achieve erection or orgasm with a real life partner. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0770-y">Marital quality</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2012.31.4.410">commitment to one’s romantic partner</a> also appear to be compromised. </p>
<p>To try to explain these effects, some scientists have drawn parallels between <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fbs5030388">porn consumption and substance abuse</a>. Through evolutionary design, the brain is wired to respond to sexual stimulation with surges of dopamine. This neurotransmitter, most often associated with reward anticipation, also acts to program memories and information into the brain. This adaption means that when the body requires something, like food or sex, the brain remembers where to return to experience the same pleasure.</p>
<p>Instead of turning to a romantic partner for sexual gratification or fulfillment, habituated porn users instinctively reach for their phones and laptops when desire comes calling. Furthermore, unnaturally strong explosions of reward and pleasure evoke unnaturally strong degrees of habituation in the brain. Psychiatrist Norman Doidge explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291041/the-brain-that-changes-itself-by-norman-doidge-md/">Pornography satisfies every one of the prerequisites for neuroplastic change. When pornographers boast that they are pushing the envelope by introducing new, harder themes, what they don’t say is that they must, because their customers are building up a tolerance to the content.</a>”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Porn scenes, like addictive substances, are hyper-stimulating triggers that lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2009.110">unnaturally high levels of dopamine secretion</a>. This can damage the dopamine reward system and leave it unresponsive to natural sources of pleasure. This is why users begin to experience difficulty in achieving arousal with a physical partner. </p>
<h2>Beyond dysfunction</h2>
<p>The desensitization of our reward circuitry sets the stage for sexual dysfunctions to develop, but the repercussions don’t end there. Studies show that <a href="https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/15573884">changes in the transmission of dopamine</a> can facilitate depression and anxiety. In agreement with this observation, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02030.x">porn consumers report greater depressive symptoms, lower quality of life and poorer mental health</a> compared to those who don’t watch porn. </p>
<p>The other compelling finding in this study is that compulsive porn consumers find themselves wanting and needing more porn, even though they don’t necessarily like it. This disconnect between wanting and liking is a hallmark feature of reward circuitry dysregulation.</p>
<p>Following a similar line of inquiry, researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, Germany, found that higher <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93">porn use correlated with less brain activation</a> in response to conventional pornographic imagery. This explains why users tend to graduate to more extreme and unconventional forms of porn. </p>
<p>Pornhub analytics reveal that conventional sex is <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2016-year-in-review">decreasingly interesting to users</a> and is being replaced by themes like incest and violence.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5714%2C3951&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5714%2C3951&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303576/original/file-20191125-74576-145uk2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pornography viewers are increasingly choosing more violent forms of pornography; this may be attributed to the desensitizing effect of regular consumption.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The perpetuation of sexual violence online is particularly troubling, as rates of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12201">real-life incidences may escalate as a result</a>. Some scientists attribute this relationship to the action of mirror neurons. These brain cells are aptly named because they fire when the individual performs an action but also while observing the same action performed by someone else. </p>
<p>The regions of the brain that are active when someone is viewing porn are the same regions of the brain that are active while the person is actually having sex. Marco Iacoboni, a professor of psychiatry at University of California Los Angeles, speculates that these systems have the potential to spread violent behavior: “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207238/">the mirror mechanism in the brain also suggests that we are automatically influenced by what we perceive, thus proposing a plausible neurobiological mechanism for contagion of violent behavior.</a>”</p>
<p>Though speculative, this suggested association between porn, mirror neurons and increased rates of sexual violence serves as an ominous warning. While high porn consumption may not drive viewers to harrowing extremes, it is likely to change behaviour in other ways. </p>
<h2>Moral development</h2>
<p>Porn use has been correlated with <a href="http://surgicalneurologyint.com/surgicalint-articles/pornography-addiction-a-neuroscience-perspective/">erosion of the prefrontal cortex</a> — the region of the brain that houses executive functions like morality, willpower and impulse control. </p>
<p>To better understand the role of this structure in behaviour, it’s important to know that it remains underdeveloped during childhood. This is why children struggle to regulate their emotions and impulses. Damage to the prefrontal cortex in adulthood is termed hypofrontality, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fjcm8010091">which predisposes an individual to behave compulsively and make poor decisions</a>. </p>
<p>It’s somewhat paradoxical that adult entertainment may revert our brain wiring to a more juvenile state. The much greater irony is that while porn promises to satisfy and provide sexual gratification, it delivers the opposite. </p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>R m N does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cognitive neuroscience finds that regular consumption of pornography affects the centres of the brain responsible for will power, impulse control and morality.R m N, PhD Student, Neuroscience, Université LavalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1082152018-12-06T22:35:06Z2018-12-06T22:35:06ZWhy Tumblr’s ban on adult content is bad for LGBTQ youth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249095/original/file-20181205-186064-znm157.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tumblr's new rules will likely shut much of the LGBTQ youth activity. Here a chaptered LGBTQ youth themed comic on Tumblr. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://scroll.in/magazine/820758/tamil-muslim-queer-a-new-webcomic-is-making-waves-on-tumblr">Akshay Varaham</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As of Dec. 17, Tumblr will no longer allow “<a href="https://tumblr.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/231885248-Sensitive-content">adult content</a>,” defined as that which shows “real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content — including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations — that depicts sex acts.” </p>
<p>Before this, the platform’s lenient policies contrasted significantly with those of Facebook and Instagram, which have stricter content moderation guidelines.</p>
<p>This update follows <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/20/18104366/tumblr-ios-app-child-pornography-removed-from-app-store">the removal of Tumblr’s app from Apple’s app store</a> after child pornography was found on the platform. However, it also reflects broader changes following <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/13/verizon-closes-4-5b-acquisition-of-yahoo-marissa-mayer-resigns-memo/">Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo, Tumblr’s parent company</a>. </p>
<p>Katrin Tiidenberg, a researcher who has studied self-expression on Tumblr, conjectures that this change may have <a href="https://qz.com/1482821/tumblr-is-banning-porn-and-other-adult-content/?fbclid=IwAR3jp5ey6pBjeHkS7zuK2En4AgOLnBPSDvMY1wJDtovZiqH0f6XFCDv7MyA">more to do with advertising sales than protecting users</a>. Regardless of Tumblr’s motives, this update will seriously affect LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) youth who rely on Tumblr and its communities for self-discovery and support.</p>
<h2>‘Safer’ online spaces</h2>
<p>Since LGBTQ identities have often been stigmatized, the internet has been pivotal in helping those with diverse gender and sexual identities learn about themselves and find each other. Tumblr has provided a safe space for this through <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444814530095?journalCode=nmsa">many of its key features</a> (e.g. pseudonymous accounts, reblogging) and the communities it attracts. </p>
<p>Given this, it’s not surprising that a large Australian survey found <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-something-queer-about-tumblr-73520">LGBTQ youth use Tumblr much more frequently</a> than the rest of the population. Many respondents indicated content on Tumblr broadened their understanding of sexuality and gender and facilitated self-acceptance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249094/original/file-20181205-186076-jhdl73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249094/original/file-20181205-186076-jhdl73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249094/original/file-20181205-186076-jhdl73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249094/original/file-20181205-186076-jhdl73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249094/original/file-20181205-186076-jhdl73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249094/original/file-20181205-186076-jhdl73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249094/original/file-20181205-186076-jhdl73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Tumblr logo is displayed at Nasdaq in New York in July 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tumblr has served as an essential outlet for LGBTQ youth <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461444817744784">in relation to other popular platforms</a>. Alexander Cho, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Irvine, has written about Tumblr’s “<a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fwhgBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA43&dq=info:iDBYz-2X89cJ:scholar.google.com&ots=R0eH_nlm8L&sig=UYbWnpPprhl2FuSkM8D5YW4viSY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">queer ecosystem</a>” where “users circulate porn, flirt, provide support to deal with homophobia as well as advice on coming out…” Cho has found that queer youth of colour experience Facebook as a space of “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461444817744784">default publicness</a>” and prefer Tumblr for sharing intimate and personal content.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/porn-not-to-blame-for-public-health-issues-82116">Porn not to blame for public health issues</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>LGBTQ people have also found Tumblr to be powerful for self-representation. Through sophisticated <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15295036.2015.1130846">hashtagging practices</a>, transgender people share art, stories and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527476413505002">engage in dialogue</a> that challenges cisgender norms. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-it-mean-to-be-cisgender-103159">Explainer: what does it mean to be 'cisgender'?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Researcher Tim Highfield and I have explored how <a href="https://spir.aoir.org/index.php/spir/article/view/1092">sharing queer GIFs</a> – short, looping media — not only allows LGBTQ youth to engage in Tumblr’s fan communities but also playfully displays queer culture <em>en masse</em>. This broad representation of LGBTQ identities may dissuade homophobic harassment, as some of the <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/111892/">queer women I’ve interviewed</a> perceive less discrimination on Tumblr.</p>
<h2>What’s porn got to do with it?</h2>
<p>Porn is a portion of the multiple forms of media resonating among LGBTQ users. This media allows them to knit together non-mainstream identities and survive in a world where heterosexuality is ubiquitously portrayed across social media and broadcast outlets.</p>
<p>Not all LGBTQ content contains genitals, “female-presenting nipples” or sex acts, but not all content with these elements constitutes what we would generally think of as pornography. Much of the sexualized content circulated among LGBTQ Tumblr users make available depictions of sexuality that are frequently rendered invisible or marginalized. </p>
<p>These can take the form of fan art, remixed film clips of sensual embraces and selfies. This media allows LGBTQ people to see themselves as sexual beings — something that is particularly important for young people developing a sense of sexual and gender identity.</p>
<p>Even if you disagree with teenagers accessing this type of content, Tumblr’s new policy bans it for everyone regardless of age. Formerly, users could voluntarily mark their blogs as “NSFW” (Not Safe for Work) if they posted occasional nudity and “adult” if posting substantial nudity. This provided <a href="http://culturedigitally.org/2013/07/tumblr-nsfw-porn-blogging-and-the-challenge-of-checkpoints/">a sort of checkpoint</a> to hinder younger users in accessing this content. </p>
<p>Now even adults won’t be able to access “adult content.” This means that young people over 18, who may be facing formative life changes, like starting post-secondary education or moving away from home, won’t have access to media that may help them learn about their identity and feel supported while doing so.</p>
<h2>Commercial platforms shape culture</h2>
<p>Strict content moderation policies tend to have negative outcomes for already marginalized users. In my research with Jean Burgess and Nicolas Suzor, we found that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1354856518781530">some queer women experienced Instagram’s content moderation as overly stringent.</a></p>
<p>Instagram asks users to report content and responds through automated mechanisms. Therefore, queer women’s content was subject to removal based on other users’ whims and the banning of certain hashtags like #lesbian. Tumblr’s new updates promise a similar mixture of user reporting and automated content detection tools.</p>
<p>Several scholars have begun to critically examine how <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300173130/custodians-internet">platforms’ decisions shape our social and cultural norms</a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://www.ppforum.ca/publications/poisoning-democracy-what-can-be-done-about-harmful-speech-online/">Chris Tenove, Heidi Tworek and Fenwick McKelvey</a> have pointed out that content moderation is not standardized and lacks federal oversight. Platforms often apply content moderation categories, such as “adult content,” without transparency or accountability. </p>
<p>Tumblr’s <a href="https://staff.tumblr.com/post/180758987165/a-better-more-positive-tumblr">CEO, Jeff D’Onofrio, said</a>: “There are no shortage of sites on the internet that feature adult content. We will leave it to them and focus our efforts on creating the most welcoming environment possible for our community.” </p>
<p>It seems that with this new change, youth who want to encounter sexual content will need to relocate. While some young people may turn to pornography sites, many of these sites are not designed with diverse sexual and gender identities in mind. </p>
<p>Youth entering these sites may be more likely to encounter stigmatized, stereotypical and demeaning representations of women and transgender people. Even LGBTQ-friendly pornography sites don’t have the elaborate community networks unique to Tumblr. </p>
<p>Such communities help youth to make sense of sexual content in relation to who they are becoming as they grow up. Tumblr’s decision means LGBTQ youth will have one less outlet where they can learn about sexual identity and gain support from peers who are like them and sharing content for them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefanie Duguay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>LGBTQ youth use Tumblr more frequently than others. The platform has provided a safe space for youth to explore sexual identities and find crucial support. A new regulating policy may change all that.Stefanie Duguay, Assistant Professor, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1047582018-11-20T18:54:20Z2018-11-20T18:54:20ZWhy adult video stars rely on camming<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240707/original/file-20181015-165888-1nlxqce.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trans porn star Korra Del Rio camming from her room in Las Vegas</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sophie Pezzutto</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With pirated and amateur pornography widely available online, porn no longer provides a steady income for many working in the adult industry. During my research interviewing transgender porn stars in Las Vegas, the overwhelming majority of those interviewed said that now, more than ever, they rely on a variety of other income streams beyond the traditional porno shoot with a studio. </p>
<p>Being a porn star today typically involves a range of sex work, from selling self-produced clips, to offering phone sex services, being an escort, taking care of “sugar daddies” (i.e. rich, usually older men), or “camming” on the internet. Previously regarded as not worth the time for many porn stars, using a webcam from the comfort of one’s home to broadcast oneself masturbating or having sex has emerged as a popular choice. </p>
<p>Indeed, while just 15 years ago, pre-recorded porn such as DVDs, pay sites, and clips generated twice as much revenue worldwide as camming, today that ratio has been reversed. In 2018, the camming industry is estimated to generate US$2 billion in annual revenue worldwide, according to <a href="https://mediakit.xbiz.com/about/ourteam.php">Stephen Yagielowicz</a>, a spokesperson for XBIZ, the adult industry’s leading business publication.</p>
<h2>The daily life of a cam performer</h2>
<p>“Camming” can be likened to an online strip show where the cam performer uses the webcam on their computer to put on a show for anyone in their chat room. The performer usually sets tipping goals and the more people tip by pledging tokens, the more happens on screen. </p>
<p>Typically, it involves numerous sex toys and ultimately orgasm, but many of the shows get very creative. They can feature anything from fortune wheels and costumes, to “couple shows” with partners and guest appearances from other cam performers. </p>
<p>During the show, viewers get to chat with the cam performer, often requesting sexual acts and sometimes simply asking them questions about their life. There are no fixed rules on length and format of a cam show, but it usually takes anywhere from one to four hours. Many of my informants in Las Vegas cam anywhere between two to six hours a day, multiple times a week.</p>
<p>Cam performers usually run sessions in intervals, timing them to coincide with office hours in big cities on the east coast such as New York and Chicago: one cam show in the morning just before offices open, one during lunch break, and one just before people head home to their families.</p>
<p>While not all cam models shoot studio porn, many porn performers are increasingly camming. Established trans porn stars can make anywhere around US $100 - $200 an hour through camming: “As porn performers we are able to leverage our already existing fan base”, one of my main informants explained to me. For last year’s Christmas special her chat room peaked at 30,000 viewers – the average size of a Mets baseball game. </p>
<h2>The changing structure of porn</h2>
<p>Porn performers in the industry are generally contracted and paid on a shoot by shoot basis. Trans women in porn generally make anywhere between US$800-1,200 for a sex scene that involves penetration (which is slightly higher than the average <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-it-mean-to-be-cisgender-103159">cisgender</a> performer, but lower than the highest paid cisgender stars). The number of shoots however, fluctuate a lot. A performer can get booked up to six times a month (in some instances even more), but other months they might not get booked at all. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-it-mean-to-be-cisgender-103159">Explainer: what does it mean to be 'cisgender'?</a>
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<p>“After they’ve shot you a bunch of times, there usually is a month or two where you don’t get any shoots”, one research participant told me. As a consequence, performers may go several months without a single shoot, which makes budgeting extremely difficult. </p>
<p>In addition to this income insecurity, there are numerous expenses not covered by the companies hiring the performers, such as wardrobe, STI testing, transportation, and accommodation costs. “Factoring in all my expenses and the money I lose from not camming, porn does not really make me money”, said one of my informants. “I see porn mainly as a marketing tool for myself.”</p>
<h2>Camming is booming and here to stay</h2>
<p>Camming has proven itself more resilient to piracy than studio pornography primarily due to the personal nature of cam shows. “For many viewers it is a unique opportunity to interact with their favourite porn star on a regular basis,” one participant remarked. “That’s something they don’t get from regular porn”. </p>
<p>As a consequence the camming industry has boomed and income from it can make up most of even a well-known porn star’s earnings. Work is not only more consistent, but also much safer: “If I focus on making my money with solo shows then I don’t even have to worry anymore about HIV scares in the industry,” one of my participants pointed out after a recent incident.</p>
<p>At the same time however, camming can be very tough work. One informant told me: “some days I end up crying because people either don’t tip you for hours at a time or tip you just to say nasty things”. Further, cam companies, which host web cam performers, take incredibly high commissions of anywhere between 50 – 70% on every dollar earned by the cam performer.</p>
<p>These draw-backs notwithstanding, camming is set to grow with more and more porn stars relying on it to provide a regular income. Given the various risks of much other sex work, this might not necessarily be a bad thing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie Pezzutto receives funding from the Australian National University which allows her to conduct her PhD research. </span></em></p>With pirated and amateur pornography widely available online, porn no longer provides a steady income for many working in the adult industry.Sophie Pezzutto, PhD Candidate in Anthropology, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1005952018-10-17T18:57:01Z2018-10-17T18:57:01ZTrue blue picks: a snapshot of Australia’s favourite porn<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240988/original/file-20181017-41144-s3xou9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Despite the nation's small size, Australians are the 8th biggest viewers of Pornhub. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article contains explicit terms which some readers (and workplaces) may find offensive.</em></p>
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<p>Pornhub, one of the world’s largest online porn sites, provides us with a department store-sized window into our online viewing habits of “mainstream porn”.</p>
<p>In 2017 Pornhub had <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2017-year-in-review">28.5 billion visits</a>, up from <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2016-year-in-review">23 billion</a> (24%) in 2016. According to internet analytics firm, <a href="https://www.alexa.com/topsites">Alexa</a>, Pornhub is the 27th most popular website in the world. It ranked <a href="https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/AU">18th</a> within Australia (and <a href="https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US">14th</a> in the US, <a href="https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/AU">15th</a> in Canada, and <a href="https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/GB">16th</a> in the UK.)</p>
<p>Australians made the eighth highest number of visits to the website - the same position it held in <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2016-year-in-review">2016</a>. Given the comparatively small population of Australia, its inclusion in the “top 10” suggests that Australians are, at the very least, curious about porn. </p>
<p>Here’s a snapshot of the geographies of online pornography down under.</p>
<p>Whereas two-thirds (67.3%) of <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0">Australia’s population</a> in 2017 lived within the various state and territory capital city regions, these same areas accounted for about 90% of the unique pageviews to the multitude of porn category pages on Pornhub’s website. Melbourne and Sydney, which account for 40.6% of the population, made more than half of all visits to the site.</p>
<p>The significant over-representation of porn consumption from metropolitan Australia may also be explained, in large part, by better telecommunications infrastructure and faster internet download speeds compared to regional and rural Australia.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-talk-about-porn-in-australia-4449">We need to talk ... about porn in Australia</a>
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<h2>Australia’s top 10</h2>
<p>Eight categories of porn were found in the top 10 most viewed categories across all Australia’s capital cities. There were: anal, big tits, hentai (a Japanese-influenced form of porn), lesbian, mature (“older women”, often 40-60+ years old), MILF (“glamourous older women”, often 30-50 years old), teen (18+), and threesome. </p>
<p>Lesbian was the most popular category of porn among Australians, ranking first across all state capitals. MILF ranked second for all metropolitan regions except Canberra, where hentai came in second place, pushing MILF into third spot. Teen(18+) porn proved to be more popular in Adelaide (equal second) and Brisbane (equal third) whereas threesome porn ranked third in Melbourne and Sydney. Anal took out third place in Perth.</p>
<p>Japanese-categorised porn made the top 10 in just three cities - Canberra (equal sixth); Melbourne (ninth) and Sydney (seventh). This was also true for Asian porn. </p>
<p>Transgender porn, made it into the top 10 in only two cities - Adelaide (ninth) and Brisbane (tenth) (and 11th in Perth). </p>
<p>Given the increased prominence of transgender porn at the 2018 <a href="https://adultentertainmentexpo.com/">AVN Adult Entertainment Expo</a>, high-profile Australian performer Angela White recently shooting her first transgender scene with Chanel Santini, plus wider media and public debates on trans issues, more people, including heterosexual male porn viewers, will likely be watching transgender porn in the next year or two.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240940/original/file-20181017-165921-1spvcu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Transgender porn is becoming increasingly popular.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Maginn</span></span>
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<h2>What about gay porn?</h2>
<p>Pornhub also has a separate site for gay porn. While this type of porn may be popular with gay men, it is also <a href="https://theconversation.com/male-on-male-erotica-is-hugely-popular-among-women-an-expert-on-sex-work-explains-why-100036">watched by women</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/male-on-male-erotica-is-hugely-popular-among-women-an-expert-on-sex-work-explains-why-100036">Male-on-male erotica is hugely popular among women – an expert on sex work explains why</a>
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<p>Pornhub offers about 40 different categories of gay porn on its website. In 2017, the top 10 categories across all Australian cities were: straight guys (in which gay men have sex with “straight” men); bareback (sex without using condoms); daddy (the gay equivalent of “MILF” porn); twink (the equivalent of the category “Teen 18+”); big dick; rough sex; group; public; creampie; and Asian.</p>
<p>Canberra is the only city to feature muscle, hunk, and fetish porn in their gay porn top 10. Similarly, black porn only makes the top 10 in Adelaide (seventh) and Brisbane (tenth). Brisbane and Perth are the only cities to feature public porn (ninth).</p>
<h2>From computers to phones</h2>
<p>It should come as no real surprise that desktop computers are no longer the primary means of accessing porn on the net. Smart phones account for the majority of unique traffic to Pornhub from Australia. Brisbane leads the way with 62.4% of porn traffic coming from phones. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, people are still watching on computers, particularly in Canberra - the epicentre of federal politics and bureaucracy - where 38.4% of Pornhub traffic came from desktops. Tablets account for a small share of traffic, highest in Hobart and Darwin (both at 14.6%). </p>
<p>With the 5G mobile phone system just over the horizon, and increasingly cost-effective and larger data packages offered by mobile phone companies, smart phones will undoubtedly increase their dominance in how we access online pornography into the future.</p>
<p>In overall terms, our mainstream and gay porn category preferences are fairly stable, although there are some notable inter-city variations.</p>
<p>As porn scholar Shira Tarrant notes in her book, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-pornography-industry-9780190205126?cc=au&lang=en&">The Pornography Industry</a>, “pornography has been around for as long as visual images and the written word have existed”. Given the fact that the past is arguably the best predictor of the future, our curiosity in and consumption of pornography is unlikely to disappear any time soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100595/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul J. Maginn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A snapshot of what Australians are viewing around the country.Paul J. Maginn, Associate Professor of Urban/Regional Planning, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1017632018-08-23T10:44:40Z2018-08-23T10:44:40ZChild pornography may make a comeback after court ruling guts regulations protecting minors<p>A federal appeals court judge just made it a lot easier for the pornography industry to abuse and exploit children for profit. </p>
<p>The Aug. 3 <a href="http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/18d0546p.pdf">legal decision</a>, which has received far less media attention than it deserves, represents the most significant blow to opponents of child porn in decades. We believe it could lead to a sharp increase in the number of underage performers being exploited due to the removal of legal oversight and penalties for uploading or distributing images that feature minors.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-i46z-kAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">We’ve been studying</a> the business of porn for years, as scholars, advocates and experts in legal battles. In fact, we provided expert testimony in 2013 in a <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/inadvfdco140513000162">related court case</a> and endured two hours of grilling from the judge and porn industry lawyers. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://avn.com/business/articles/legal/victory-2257-judgment-is-almost-all-we-could-ask-for-791190.html">industry</a> is now <a href="https://www.xbiz.com/news/237772/2257-judge-delivers-big-win-in-final-judgment-decree">celebrating</a> its landmark victory. To us, it is a sign of porn’s growing power to fight legal battles and free itself from regulatory constraints as its <a href="https://theconversation.com/porn-disruption-makes-stormy-daniels-a-rare-success-in-increasingly-abusive-industry-94534">business model rapidly changes</a> in the internet age. </p>
<h2>Gutting 2257</h2>
<p>The case revolves around U.S. Code Title 18 Section 2257, which <a href="http://gregpiccionelli.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=202:ten-frequently-asked-questions-about-the-2257-regulations&catid=87&Itemid=1258">requires</a> porn producers to keep stringent records on the ages of performers and allows federal agents to inspect them at any time. </p>
<p>The penalties for failing to do so are harsh, including large fines and up to five years imprisonment for a first offense. In the most famous case, the company that produced the “Girls Gone Wild” video series was <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2006/09/12/news/companies/girls/index.htm?postversion=2006091214">fined US$2.1 million for 2257</a> violations. Although there have been few prosecutions, the potential penalties provide an important deterrent.</p>
<p>Over time, the Justice Department expanded the definition of producers subject to the regulations to include “secondary producers,” which includes internet distribution, and set out detailed guidelines for how the records should be organized and indexed. </p>
<p>Judge Michael Baylson of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals <a href="http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/18d0546p.pdf">ruled</a> that most of 2257’s record keeping requirements were unconstitutional on First and Fourth Amendment grounds. The ruling allows primary producers to fulfill age verification obligations by using a form developed by the Free Speech Coalition, the industry association that brought the lawsuit against 2257. In the most far-reaching and troublesome change, the decision completely exempts major distributors (termed secondary producers), from any record-keeping requirements. </p>
<p>While the production and distribution of child pornography remain illegal, the law is toothless without record keeping. The requirement provides the only way to verify and track performers’ ages and serves as a major incentive for businesses across the complex supply chain to monitor content. </p>
<h2>A 30-year war</h2>
<p>The regulations came in response to the public outcry that ensued when <a href="http://biletskylaw.com/2257-regulations/">Penthouse magazine featured a 15-year-old Traci Lords</a> in its September 1984 edition.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/amendment-process/public-hearings-and-meetings/20120215/Testimony_15_Cooper.pdf">Research and evidence</a> demonstrate clearly that children who are exploited in the making of porn suffer from a range of devastating and long-lasting effects. </p>
<p>Four years later, Congress enacted the <a href="https://definitions.uslegal.com/t/the-child-protection-and-obscenity-enforcement-act-of-1988/">Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act</a>, which included Section 2257 and criminalized a wide range of transactions involving the use of minors in pornography, including the electronic transmission of visual images. </p>
<p>The rapid growth of pornography on the internet led lawmakers to pass the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/10/04/new-law-expanding-legal-definition-of-child-pornography-draws-fire/3259a7d5-3349-4b4b-a49a-f2d1ba534019/?utm_term=.b9a92f6ae292">Child Pornography Prevention Act</a> in 1996, which extended the provisions to include any digital image that “is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.” </p>
<p>The porn industry has fought these regulations ever since they were first passed in 1988 and founded <a href="https://www.freespeechcoalition.com/">the Free Speech Coalition</a> just three years later to coordinate the industry’s lobbying and legal strategy and to share expenses related to it. Prior to this month’s decision, its biggest victory was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/17/us/virtual-child-pornography-ban-overturned.html">overturning the 1996 restrictions</a> in a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Ashcroft-v-Free-Speech-Coalition">2002 Supreme Court decision</a> that permitted images of young-looking girls, as long as the performers were actually over 18.</p>
<p>The decision made the reporting requirements more vital that ever, as it was otherwise impossible to know the real age of performers who were made to appear very young. Nonetheless, the coalition filed many lawsuits over the years challenging 2257, claiming that the regulations placed an undue burden on pornographers’ free speech and violated Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless search and seizure. </p>
<p>While different courts have struck down various parts of 2257 and then upheld them on appeal, overall the regulations have largely remained intact – until now. </p>
<h2>2257’s death knell?</h2>
<p>In the 2013 case in which we served as expert witnesses, the Free Speech Coalition challenged 2257 by claiming that there was hardly any porn featuring young-looking females.</p>
<p>Constitutional cases often turn on whether a compelling public interest – such as protecting children from exploitation – is greater than any resulting regulatory burdens that might infringe on another group’s rights – in this case, keeping records. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/01/a-rare-defeat-for-corporate-lobbyists/">research demonstrated</a> that, contrary to the industry’s claims, “teen porn” and related genres featuring young-looking females have grown to be the largest single segment, representing about one-third of all internet porn in terms of both search-term frequency and proportion of websites. </p>
<p>The same Judge Baylson <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/inadvfdco140513000162">cited the strength of our research</a> in his 2013 ruling to uphold the 2257 regulations. But in his decision this August, for reasons unknown to us, he appears to have changed his mind and sided with the industry over the protection of children. Indeed, the <a href="http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/18d0546p.pdf">decision only considered injuries</a> to porn businesses, not to children. </p>
<p>The Department of Justice might yet appeal, but most legal observers we have consulted with think that 2257 is in serious jeopardy. </p>
<h2>Why the industry fights</h2>
<p>The Free Speech Coalition claims that it has <a href="https://www.freespeechcoalition.com/blog/2018/08/08/fsc-scores-major-legal-victory-in-2257-record-keeping-case/">invested more than $1 million</a> since 2005 to fight 2257 and is now asking for donations to cover outstanding legal debts. </p>
<p>Why is overturning 2257 so important to the porn industry? </p>
<p>The key reason, in our view, is that the regulations strike at the heart of the business model of the major corporate distributors of porn and particularly of <a href="https://www.mindgeek.com/">MindGeek</a>, which has become the largest multinational <a href="http://archive.is/FWvyb">porn conglomerate</a> in the world.</p>
<p>MindGeek and other distributors source porn content from a large number of <a href="https://theconversation.com/porn-disruption-makes-stormy-daniels-a-rare-success-in-increasingly-abusive-industry-94534">fragmented low-cost producers</a>, who are increasingly located around the globe. The growth of the market segment featuring young-looking females represented a potential legal threat. And distributors of porn – like <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2018/03/21/591622450/section-230-a-key-legal-shield-for-facebook-google-is-about-to-change">other internet companies</a> and social media platforms – want to avoid responsibility for content that could expose them to substantial legal and financial liabilities. </p>
<p>Although software solutions are available that could tag every picture and video with data on the performers, the complexity of distribution networks and the vast amount of product uploaded by third parties likely makes compliance with 2257 somewhat cumbersome and costly.</p>
<p>The porn industry has emerged as a powerful force that is trying to shape the regulatory environment to support its shifting business model. Compliance with age verification laws might cost the industry some money, but we believe this is a small price to pay to protect children from the predatory porn industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101763/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gail Dines is affiliated with Culture Reframed, and is a feminist activist who writes and lectures about the harms of porn. She was an expert witness for the Department of Justice, USA. Case: Free Speech Coalition Vs Eric Holder # 10-4085 (2013). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David L Levy is a director of Culture Reframed.</span></em></p>A little-noticed court ruling represents the biggest setback for opponents of child porn in decades.Gail Dines, Professor Emerita of Sociology and Women's Studies, CEO of Culture Reframed, Wheelock CollegeDavid L Levy, Professor of Management, Director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and Regional Competitiveness, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/995512018-07-25T10:49:08Z2018-07-25T10:49:08ZSex education gets a revamp but parents still allowed to opt kids out<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229014/original/file-20180724-194140-w53sdn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Withdrawal of sex education leaves students unprotected.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Consent, sexting and body image could soon be taught in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-relationships-and-health-education-in-schools">sex education lessons</a> in English schools. </p>
<p>These changes come as part of the governments’s plans to update the sex and relationships curriculum. The idea is that the new topics – which also include LGBTQ+, fertility and mental health – will help to bring sex education into the 21st century. This modernised curriculum will hopefully be implemented in schools by 2020 – after consultation from teachers, parents and young people. </p>
<p>One of the other key reforms proposed in this new curriculum, relates to parents’ ability to remove their children from these lessons. At the moment, parents have a “<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/section/405">right to withdraw</a>” their children from all sex and relationship lessons except the parts that fall under the national science curriculum. </p>
<p>It’s thought that the right to withdraw exists to appease parents’ fears that their children will be exposed to sexual knowledge too early, and that this exposure will encourage sexual initiation. Studies have shown, however, that school-based sex education actually <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/5/e014791">delays sexual initiation, reduces sexual activity, and promotes safer sex</a>. And, of course, in the age of Facebook, Instagram, reality TV shows and Snapchat, it is virtually impossible to shield children from sexual knowledge anyway. </p>
<p>This parental right can be exercised until children leave secondary school, at age 19. But this could soon change under the <a href="https://consult.education.gov.uk/pshe/relationships-education-rse-health-education/supporting_documents/Final%20DRAFT.%20JULY%202018_Relationships%20Education_RSE_Health%20Educ.._%20002.pdf">new regulatory framework</a> the government has proposed. This would see relationships education taught separately from sex and relationships education. While the former will be made compulsory in both primary and secondary schools, the parental right to withdraw will be maintained in respect of the latter. Pupils whose parents have withdrawn them from sex education lessons, may also be able to “opt back in” for one term of lessons, three terms before they turn 16.</p>
<h2>Class censorship</h2>
<p>At the moment, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283599/sex_and_relationship_education_guidance.pdf">national guidance on sex and relationships education</a> does not set a specific curriculum. Instead, schools’ governing bodies develop policies which “reflect the wishes of parents and the community they serve”. And parents tend to have a large influence over what’s taught.</p>
<p><a href="http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/11549/1/Sex%20and%20relationships%20education%20in%20schools%20(PDF%20format).pdf">Only about 0.04% of pupils are withdrawn</a> from sex and relationships education. In the Macdonald Review on personal, social, health and economic education, this is put down to “<a href="http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/pdfs/2009-macdonald-pshe.pdf">good practice</a>” of schools in “actively engaging parents and carers in the design of policy statements”. But the reality could be to do with censorship of the curriculum – especially in schools that operate in more conservative communities. </p>
<p>Schools may “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02643940701848604">self-censor</a>” what they teach pupils about sex and relationships to deter parents from exercising their rights – because otherwise, alternative arrangements have to be made for children who are withdrawn from lessons.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229028/original/file-20180724-194128-1r1v0ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229028/original/file-20180724-194128-1r1v0ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229028/original/file-20180724-194128-1r1v0ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229028/original/file-20180724-194128-1r1v0ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229028/original/file-20180724-194128-1r1v0ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229028/original/file-20180724-194128-1r1v0ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229028/original/file-20180724-194128-1r1v0ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Over 12% of 11- to 16-year-olds in the UK have seen or received sexual messages.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This lack of a standardised curriculum, coupled with parental censorship, has led to haphazard, inconsistent, and sometimes inadequate provision of sex and relationship education across English schools. In 2013, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/413180/Not_yet_good_enough_personal__social__health_and_economic_education_in_schools_-_report_summary.pdf">Ofsted reported</a> that the teaching of sex education in over a third of schools “required improvement”. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmeduc/145/14506.htm#a23">follow-up review</a> by the Education Committee also highlighted “poor practices”, ranging from lack of education on puberty, to minimal discussion of pregnancy and STIs. <a href="http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/AreYouGettingIt.pdf">Children and young people themselves</a> have also complained about lessons being “too little, too late, too biological and [not providing] enough (if any) information on relationships”. </p>
<h2>The birds and the bees chat</h2>
<p>It’s sometimes argued that children’s sex education should be left to parents instead of schools. But many parents are <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13292133">uncomfortable when asked by children about sex</a>. Parents are not often cited by young people as <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/3/e007834#xref-ref-1-1">a main source of sexual information</a>. In fact, school-based sex education has been shown to <a href="http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1462160/1/BMJ_Open-2015-Macdowall-.pdf">result in more positive sexual health outcomes</a> than parental sex education. </p>
<p>Another justification for affording parents the right to withdraw is the way the “right to education” is framed within the European Convention on Human Rights. This includes the <a href="https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf">requirement to</a> “respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching [is] in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions”. But <a href="http://echr.ketse.com/doc/5095.71-5920.72-5926.72-en-19761207/view/">legal cases</a> have found that <a href="http://www.lawandreligionuk.com/2018/01/19/compulsory-sex-education-and-article-9-echr-ar-lr-v-switzerland/">sex education lessons do not violate</a> the religious and philosophical convictions of parents when taught objectively.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229031/original/file-20180724-194134-e5egx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229031/original/file-20180724-194134-e5egx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229031/original/file-20180724-194134-e5egx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229031/original/file-20180724-194134-e5egx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229031/original/file-20180724-194134-e5egx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229031/original/file-20180724-194134-e5egx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229031/original/file-20180724-194134-e5egx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pupils will also learn about LGBTQ+ relationships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is difficult to argue with the court’s logic here – surely teaching children, among other things, that people have sex (when mature enough), that contraception can be used to prevent pregnancy and STIs, and that different sexualities exist, is very different from encouraging them to go out and have sex, use contraception or practice homosexuality. </p>
<p>Taught properly, sex education equips children and young people with the necessary tools to combat abuse and make safe and informed choices about their sexuality, sexual health and well-being. This is why sex education should be an inherent right of the child – and not a decision to be made by their parents. So while most of the government’s proposals for a revamped curriculum are to be welcomed, it’s clear there’s no reason for the parental right to withdraw to still exist.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99551/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Heah has volunteered for, but is not affiliated with Brook. </span></em></p>Sex education lessons will soon cover sexting, consent, body image and different types of contraception.Rachel Heah, PhD Candidate in Law, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1000362018-07-16T13:54:12Z2018-07-16T13:54:12ZMale-on-male erotica is hugely popular among women – an expert on sex work explains why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227790/original/file-20180716-44091-1j0s7ny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C16%2C5365%2C3571&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sexy-male-nude-slim-athletic-man-683530885?src=0hbOec_yiTpzEMhoK4W7gQ-4-4">Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I tell people I’m studying women who like gay male porn I get some pretty mixed responses. Men tend to tilt their heads quizzically to one side. “Really?” they ask, “is that a thing?”. Sometimes they’ll add “Oh, like when guys like lesbian porn”. Other times they’ll look at me askance and say, “that’s … just weird”.</p>
<p>Women tend to respond a little differently. Either with happy affirmations of their own interest in male-on-male (m/m) erotica, or with intrigue and a desire to know more. Often they’ll launch into an enthusiastic recount of how hot it was when Jason and Eric <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/1857820/true-blood-eric-jason-sex-scene-alexander-skarsgard-ryan-kwanten/">made out in True Blood</a>, or how much they enjoyed Anthony Kedis and Dave Navarro snogging in The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmyuJZH3RAc">Warped video</a>. </p>
<p>Media producers are starting to catch on: Game of Thrones author <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/game-of-thrones/11027457/George-RR-Martin-women-beg-me-to-write-more-sex-scenes-for-Game-of-Thrones.html">George R. R. Martin revealed that</a> he receives numerous letters from fans asking for more explicit m/m sex scenes to be included in the show, and that “most of the letters come from women”. </p>
<p>An analysis of billions of hits to PornHub (one of the largest online porn sites in the world) shows that m/m is consistently <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/women-gender-demographics-searches">the second most popular category</a> for women visitors, and that women make up <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/girls-like-boys-who-like-boys">37% of m/m porn viewers</a> – suggesting that women represent viable secondary consumers of this type of porn. It’s really not that “weird”.</p>
<h2>What’s the attraction?</h2>
<p>In order to find out what it is that m/m offers women that heterosexual or lesbian porn might not, I spoke with and surveyed over 500 women for my new book <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783319691336">Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys</a>. Some of the reasons are pretty self-evident: it probably shouldn’t be surprising that a good number of women like looking at naked men. </p>
<p>But we still live in a society where we are very much conditioned to see the naked male – and particularly the naked penis – as either <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/05/23/game-of-thrones-finally-showed-a-penis--but-it-was-a-cop-out/">gross, funny or scary</a>. Full frontal male nudity is often presented to us in films as comedic, as an “ewwww” moment, or during a scene of sexual violence. We don’t get to see men as sensual or vulnerable – we are not invited to look at them. </p>
<p>A lot of the women I spoke to were keen to find a way to look at men and appreciate male grace and beauty: “Men are so pretty!” exclaimed one of my interviewees, “we deserve more eye candy of that kind”. There was also a desire to flip the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486">male gaze</a>” so prevalent in both porn and cinema - where everything is shot from a straight male perspective, ignoring the desires and agency of viewers who might appreciate the male form. </p>
<p>What’s more, m/m porn means women don’t have to feel guilty or worried about women performers, wondering if they’re enjoying it, if they’re being exploited, if it hurts, if they really did just have an orgasm. There is a widespread feeling among many of the women I interviewed that men participate in porn because they like sex – helped by visual cues of pleasure such as erections and ejaculation. </p>
<p>Women also enjoy the versatility of m/m sex: no one is inevitably going to be the penetrator or the penetratee in any given scene. For women who like hardcore kink and BDSM, two or more participants of the same gender removes some of the potentially off-putting power dynamics from a scene, and means they can just enjoy the eroticism of the act. For a subset of women who are rape and abuse survivors, m/m is one of the few types of sexually explicit media they can enjoy without feeling triggered or re-traumatised.</p>
<h2>‘Gaypropriation’?</h2>
<p>More than half the women I spoke to (55%) imagine themselves as a man when masturbating, indicating that some women are able to easily cross-identify between genders during sexual situations. Many spoke about how this ability really opens up sexuality as something fluid and playful. </p>
<p>There is a line of thinking in feminist discourse, memorably <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Sex">advanced by Simone de Beauvoir</a>, that women are forced from childhood to identify as men, because so many cultural products are designed for men, and women are made to objectify themselves for the male gaze. But for a lot of women I interviewed, this process of switching viewpoints and identities is empowering and exciting. In fact, they expressed sympathy for men, who feel less free to experiment with female identification.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@danieldesousa/the-gay-best-friend-trend-still-hasnt-died-and-i-m-sick-of-it-a2d8d8ccd9ee">Some have called out</a> women liking and producing m/m porn as exploitative, fetishising and creepy (what I have termed “gaypropriation”). But I also surveyed almost 200 men who sleep with men, and the vast majority saw no problem with women engaging with m/m porn: “If it’s helping people explore romance and sexuality, and possibly breaking down over-representation of heterosexuality in the media, then it’s probably a good thing,” explained one gay interviewee. </p>
<p>There has been justifiable concern about porn playing negatively into our body image issues and giving us unrealistic and dangerous expectations about sex. But we shouldn’t forget porn’s potential to forge alliances, change attitudes and overcome some of the divisions presented by identity politics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Neville does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many women find it easier to identify with different genders in sexual scenarios – for this, and many other reasons, gay porn can be a turn on.Lucy Neville, Lecturer in Criminology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/972882018-06-03T17:22:57Z2018-06-03T17:22:57ZPorn viewers prefer women’s pleasure over violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221454/original/file-20180603-142072-355to0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In a study on porn, viewers preferred to watch pleasure over aggression on a popular online pornography site.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Is mainstream pornography becoming more and more violent? And if so, what’s driving the trend.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2018.1451476">newly published study</a> that examined a large representative sample of highly watched pornographic videos from a leading online streaming website, we found no evidence for the claim that pornography has become more violent over the last decade. </p>
<p>We also found no evidence for often-heard claims that viewers increasingly prefer aggressive content.</p>
<p>Pornography and sexually explicit materials have long been a matter of intense debate. Since the so-called <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6HhIyABmBGEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=sex+wars+porn&ots=1lC14RulL&sig=GB8k_RzJQV085t6O3S_Ikc8wgrE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=sex%20wars%20porn&f=false">sex wars</a> of the 1970s, activists and academics have been embroiled in disputes concerning the production conditions, future directions and long-term consequences of pornography. </p>
<p>Opponents argue that porn <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=x9CMJ_zY4WUC&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=DInes+2010+porn&ots=cdGiXfoPf9&sig=_qNOCjhPEXF3QPD94wMWPGI28Uw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=DInes%202010%20porn&f=false">leads to sexual aggression and misogyny</a>. Others have been more skeptical about the pornography-violence relationship. They argue that <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077801211407478">pornography can be enjoyed by both men and women without necessarily causing harm </a>. </p>
<p>Since the rise of online porn along with social media, discussions about pornography have taken on a life of their own, largely unhinged from a credible or systematic evidence base.</p>
<h2>Debates about aggression in porn</h2>
<p>Our interest in the topic of violence and aggression in pornography came out of reading and hearing claims both in the popular media and in academic circles that pornography is becoming “worse and worse.” </p>
<p>Part of this argument has been the result of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3050060/">scientifically dubious claims</a> about pornography being addictive and users needing to constantly “up the stakes” in order to be satisfied. </p>
<p>According to this logic, porn viewers — who are mostly men — become desensitized to “soft” pornography. This forces producers to increasingly generate videos that are more hard-core, creating a growing demand for and supply of violent and degrading acts against women in mainstream pornographic videos. </p>
<p>However, we found no evidence to support these claims, and most of the existing evidence for the idea that porn is more hard-core than before was anecdotal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221271/original/file-20180531-69521-11aqdw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221271/original/file-20180531-69521-11aqdw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221271/original/file-20180531-69521-11aqdw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221271/original/file-20180531-69521-11aqdw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221271/original/file-20180531-69521-11aqdw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221271/original/file-20180531-69521-11aqdw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221271/original/file-20180531-69521-11aqdw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 1998 file photo shows a detail from a neon sign above a strip club in New York’s Times Square.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Michael Schmelling, File)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Studies on the presence of aggression in pornographic videos have produced wildly diverging estimates, ranging from about <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224490509552283">two per cent</a> to <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077801210382866">90 per cent </a>. Differences in the way porn is studied can cause this wide gap in results: Researchers who have looked at aggression in porn have looked at different forms of media and have used various methods to both study and choose their samples. </p>
<p>They have even used various definitions of aggression. Aggression can be strictly defined as a purposeful act resulting in harm in which the target of aggression <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224490509552283">attempts to avoid the harm</a>, or more broadly defined as a purposeful act that <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077801210382866">results in harm to either the self or another </a>. The choice of definition can have an impact on what is considered aggression, creating the potential to either under- or over-estimate prevalence.</p>
<p>Previous studies have not examined systematically changes in depictions of aggression over time, nor the relationship between aggressive contents and the popularity of videos. </p>
<h2>Testing the claims porn is more violent</h2>
<p>We set out to test the accepted wisdom of the “harder and harder” argument. </p>
<p>We also tested the assumption that viewers prefer increasingly hard-core pornography by analyzing 269 videos uploaded to PornHub over the past decade. </p>
<p>PornHub is <a href="https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2017-year-in-review">one of the world’s top adult websites</a> and, according to Alexa Internet, the 36th most visited site on the Internet as of 2017, with more than 80 million daily visits. PornHub is a freely accessible video-sharing website similar to YouTube.</p>
<p>Most of the videos we analyzed were frequently watched, but we also analyzed a smaller random sample of less frequently watched videos so that we could compare the highly popular videos versus the less popular ones.</p>
<p>We tested two related claims: One, that aggressive content in videos is on the rise and two, that viewers prefer such content. We used both the number of views as well as the rankings (“based on likes”) for videos containing aggression to help us assess popularity.</p>
<p>We used multiple definitions and measures of aggression (including visible, verbal, non-verbal and non-consensual aggression). Our results offered no support for either of these two claims. Viewers did not show a preference for violent content.</p>
<p>Visible aggression was present in slightly less than 40 per cent of the videos, non-consensual aggression appeared in about 12 per cent of the videos, and nearly 10 per cent of video titles clearly suggested aggression. </p>
<p>None of these showed an upward trend. </p>
<p>In fact, while in 2008, nearly 13 per cent of the average videos portrayed non-consensual aggression, by 2016, this figure had dropped to less than three per cent. This decline in non-consensual aggression and a similar decline in aggressive video titles suggest that aggression has become less frequent in pornography over the last decade. </p>
<p>We also found that videos containing aggressive acts were both less likely to receive views and less likely to be ranked favourably by viewers, who preferred videos where women clearly demonstrated pleasure. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221434/original/file-20180603-142093-bkfyvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221434/original/file-20180603-142093-bkfyvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221434/original/file-20180603-142093-bkfyvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221434/original/file-20180603-142093-bkfyvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221434/original/file-20180603-142093-bkfyvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221434/original/file-20180603-142093-bkfyvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221434/original/file-20180603-142093-bkfyvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A lineup of films is displayed at the Cinema L'Amour on February 1, 2016 in Montreal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether the women are actually experiencing pleasure is another matter altogether, which our study cannot assess. Nevertheless, videos where women respond with pleasure are more likely to be watched and be “liked” (given a thumb’s up by viewers). </p>
<p>These findings clearly challenge the assumption about the popularity of aggression, at least among those viewers who choose to share their preferences.</p>
<h2>A shift away from aggression</h2>
<p>Our findings positively contribute to the conversation between scholars and activists <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1077801216648795">who write and speak about the pernicious effects</a> of aggression in pornography, such as its potential links to violence against women and an <a href="https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v4i4.184">increased acceptance of rape myths</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, it seems like the majority of mainstream viewers are gradually moving away from depictions of aggression and degradation, particularly non-consensual aggression. </p>
<p>This shift away from non-consensual aggression may signify lower demand and, depending on the responsiveness of producers to the preferences of most consumers, might result in reduced distribution of material featuring non-consensual aggression.</p>
<p>That said, surveys and interviews with porn viewers are needed to further explore preferences for aggression-free pornography.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that those making the “harder and harder” argument may be confusing supply (what a substantial portion of mainstream porn still looks like) and demand (what most viewers actually want to watch.)</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97288/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eran Shor receives funding from the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kimberly Seida does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many claim that pornography is getting more violent. But a new study shows that porn has become less aggressive over the past decade, and videos in which women enjoy themselves are the most popular.Eran Shor, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, McGill UniversityKimberly Seida, PhD Candidate, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/945342018-04-09T10:43:16Z2018-04-09T10:43:16ZPorn ‘disruption’ makes Stormy Daniels a rare success in increasingly abusive industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213638/original/file-20180406-5578-5fnnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Stormy Daniels is the rare 'porn star' to find success. She was even briefly a Senate contender in 2009.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Bill Haber</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels, <a href="http://time.com/5225647/stormy-daniels-donald-trump-arbitration/">rocketed to fame</a> recently by challenging a non-disclosure agreement tied to the US$130,000 payoff she received to keep silent about her alleged sexual relationship with the president. </p>
<p>As a result, Clifford has secured numerous mainstream media appearances, including <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stormy-daniels-describes-her-alleged-affair-with-donald-trump-60-minutes-interview/">a recent interview on “60 Minutes.”</a></p>
<p>Journalists and interviewers universally call her a “porn star.” While it’s true that she was a performer and has now become a successful producer, her story is exceptional. The vast majority of women in the industry suffer abusive working conditions and don’t progress to real careers.</p>
<p>We – a <a href="http://gaildines.com/">sociologist</a> and a <a href="http://www.faculty.umb.edu/david_levy/">business professor</a> – have been studying the world of porn for years, chronicling how internet-fueled disruptions in the industry are causing conditions to further deteriorate. </p>
<h2>‘Corporatization’ of porn</h2>
<p>Well before her entanglement with President Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels was a well-known name in the porn industry. </p>
<p>Unlike most performers, who rarely last more than six months on the set, <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-media-guy/decoding-stormy-daniels-brand-strategy/312928/">Clifford has appeared in more than 250 films since 2000</a>. In 2002, she entered an exclusive contract with Wicked Pictures, a studio that specializes in longer features with a pretense of a storyline. She is also one of the very few women who have transitioned to production, <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-media-guy/decoding-stormy-daniels-brand-strategy/312928/">directing more than 90 films</a>. </p>
<p>Yet while she has prospered in the small and struggling feature segment of the business, the mainstream industry that mass-produces short hardcore segments has changed beyond recognition. Industry journalist Steven Yagielowicz <a href="http://www.xbiz.com/features/106157/the-state-of-the-industry">calls</a> this transformation the “corporatization of porn.” </p>
<p>“It’s Las Vegas all over again: the independent owners, renegade mobsters and visionary entrepreneurs pushed aside by mega-corporations that saw a better way of doing things and brought the discipline needed to attain a whole new level of success to the remaining players,” he wrote in 2009. </p>
<p>This has generated a monopolistic system of distribution, while production has become more fragmented, with dire consequences for performers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213642/original/file-20180406-5590-185n48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213642/original/file-20180406-5590-185n48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213642/original/file-20180406-5590-185n48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213642/original/file-20180406-5590-185n48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213642/original/file-20180406-5590-185n48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213642/original/file-20180406-5590-185n48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213642/original/file-20180406-5590-185n48k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pornhub is one of many sites owned by MindGeek.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">RW/MediaPunch/IPX</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The MindGeek monopoly</h2>
<p>The early days of the internet <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/26/making-sense-of-modern-pornography">enabled rapid market growth</a> and attracted a proliferation of new entrants eager to make easy money.</p>
<p>Over time, the porn industry pioneered new business models and innovated new technologies that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07341510500508610">subsequently permeated</a> the wider economy. Few people realize that porn has driven the development of cross-platform technologies for data compression, file-sharing and micropayments. </p>
<p>It also developed the “free platforms” model that monetize user traffic through sophisticated techniques that cross-link numerous websites and encourage upgrade to “premium” pay-to-play sites. This allowed a few better resourced companies to grow rapidly and swallow up their smaller competitors who lacked the scale and capabilities to compete. </p>
<p>The biggest winner from this process was MindGeek (formerly called Manwin), which gained market dominance over the distribution of mainstream porn. As the company rather grandiosely <a href="https://www.mindgeek.com/">proclaims</a> on its site, it drives “the state of technology forward, developing industry-leading solutions enabling faster, more efficient delivery of content” and “thrives on a sustainable growth trajectory built on innovation and excellence.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-based-porn-firm-profits-3569482-Aug2017/">MindGeek owns most</a> of the top free “porn-tube” sites, including Pornhub and RedTube, as well as at least a dozen prominent branded pay-sites, such as Reality Kings and Brazzers, each of which contains thousands of videos organized by genre. Users click through from site to site, without realizing that they are in a highly structured network optimized to maximize revenues. MindGeek is secretive about its finances, but just one of its subsidiaries that processes subscriptions <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-based-porn-firm-profits-3569482-Aug2017/">disclosed 2015 revenues of $234 million</a>, or more than $600,000 a day. </p>
<h2>Porn sweatshops</h2>
<p>This concentration at the distribution end of the value chain gives MindGeek and a few other large companies tremendous <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/10/mindgeek_porn_monopoly_its_dominance_is_a_cautionary_tale_for_other_industries.html">market power over producers</a>, who find themselves fragmented and squeezed financially as they supply cheap, usually unbranded commodity videos to the big distributor networks. </p>
<p>The business model mirrors that of YouTube, where consumers surf for free, and content providers hope to make some money from popular videos they upload. But it is the platform that makes the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jeclap/article-abstract/9/1/50/4713925">lion’s share of profits</a>. Many producers also <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/10/mindgeek_porn_monopoly_its_dominance_is_a_cautionary_tale_for_other_industries.html">complain that the porn tubes engage in rampant piracy</a>, further weakening them.</p>
<p>The model is also similar to that of other platforms that connect consumers with service providers, such as Uber and TaskRabbit, where the platform holds a dominant market position and controls the conditions for drivers or other service providers.</p>
<p>With the internet facilitating the globalization of value chains, and a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/measure-b-passes-condoms-in-porn-la_n_2088724.html">growing movement to regulate health and safety conditions</a> for porn production in California and elsewhere in the U.S., production is increasingly moving offshore. This is giving rise to a sweatshop model resembling that of the clothing industry before anyone had heard of corporate social responsibility. </p>
<p>Studios such as Daniels’ Wicked are now struggling to survive as the industry moves to low-cost production, less regulated “amateur-style” porn. As a result, applications for porn-shoot permits in Los Angeles County <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/26/making-sense-of-modern-pornography">fell by 95 percent</a> from 2012 to 2015. Even <a href="https://minxtechblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/mindgeek-small-companies-with-big-responsibilities/">Wicked’s website is now managed by MindGeek</a>.</p>
<p>The concentration of power with porn distributors and the fragmentation of production has hurt performers, who mostly toil without contracts or benefits in a “gig economy” controlled by the distribution platforms. They are paid per sex act, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/26/making-sense-of-modern-pornography">wages have declined</a> across the board. In addition, performers need to cover significant out of pocket expenses themselves, including HIV tests.</p>
<p>As a result, performers are under pressure to do more dangerous acts, such as anal sex or double penetration, that pay more but increase risks of disease or physical damage. Many <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/jun/05/how-internet-killed-porn">supplement their income</a> with webcam shows and prostitution, which are known in the industry as “privates.”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://nationalledger.com/2011/05/adult-industry-medical-health-care-foundation-shutters-porn-star-clinic/#.UDzoAb_MGIY">Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation</a>, a Los Angeles-based organization (now closed) that monitored the health of performers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/28/porn-syphilis-money-shot-condoms">listed on its website the injuries and diseases</a> to which porn performers are prone, including HIV, rectal and throat gonorrhea, chlamydia of the eye, and tearing of the throat, vagina and anus. It’s no surprise, then, that the average performer’s “career” is less than six months.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213640/original/file-20180406-5603-l7urd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213640/original/file-20180406-5603-l7urd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213640/original/file-20180406-5603-l7urd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213640/original/file-20180406-5603-l7urd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213640/original/file-20180406-5603-l7urd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213640/original/file-20180406-5603-l7urd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213640/original/file-20180406-5603-l7urd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former adult entertainment actresses and others campaign in 2011 for a Los Angeles ballot initiative that would have required performers to wear condoms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Phil McCarten/AP Images for AIDS Healthcare Foundation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Porn and politics</h2>
<p>Despite the industry’s efforts to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/02/gail-dines-pornography">portray itself as progressive and sexually liberating</a>, it has been especially aggressive in organizing against regulations to protect performers. And MindGeek’s market muscle has translated into political power. </p>
<p>This is most evident in its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/12/la-county-measureb-safe-sex">campaign to defeat Measure B</a> in Los Angeles County, which mandates the use of condoms and requires production companies to obtain a health permit. The company poured over $300,000 into this effort, mobilized business allies, and set up fake “astroturf” groups such as the Council of Concerned Women Voters. All of this was to promote the message that Measure B was unwarranted and intrusive government regulation that infringed on the performers’ rights. </p>
<p>At other times MindGeek appears to support “intrusive” regulation. It recently backed U.K. proposals for mandatory age verification for viewers on porn sites and has already established its own platform, <a href="https://www.ageid.com/">AgeID</a>, for this. The motivation isn’t exactly altruistic, however, as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/23/17043978/uk-porn-age-verification-law-mindgeek">industry observers suggest</a> that not only will MindGeek make money by licensing this product, it will also serve a gatekeeper function that will further consolidate its monopoly control.</p>
<p>Ultimately, in our view, the industry is unsalvageable. The porn industry has always been abusive, and the situation has only deteriorated as distribution has been monopolized. Whatever <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/how-to-watch-porn-ethically">some might say</a>, there is no such thing as “socially responsible” porn. </p>
<p>Stephanie Clifford is now trying to hold accountable the most powerful man in the country for his alleged abuse of power. We argue it is time to do the same for the porn industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94534/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gail Dines is founder and president of Culture Reframed, a non-profit that develops research-driven education to prevent, resist, and heal the harms of pornography. Culture Reframed has receive grants from foundations to develop educational materials.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David L Levy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stephanie Clifford may be a ‘porn star,’ but her success is hardly typical of the vast majority of performers affected by the seismic changes in the industry.Gail Dines, Professor Emerita of Sociology and Women's Studies, CEO of Culture Reframed, Wheelock CollegeDavid L Levy, Professor of Management, Director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise and Regional Competitiveness, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/922672018-03-01T00:21:34Z2018-03-01T00:21:34ZAI can now create fake porn, making revenge porn even more complicated<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208216/original/file-20180228-36700-aw1jf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">AI-generated pornography – known as "deepfakes" – is becoming more convincing, seamless and real.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailandfebruary-15-pornhub-website-on-1025448961?src=ze_xYmqRLnp5eORyGDCTmA-1-94">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In January this year, a new app was released that gives users the ability to swap out faces in a video with a different face obtained from another photo or video – similar to Snapchat’s “face swap” feature. It’s an everyday version of the kind of high-tech computer-generated imagery (CGI) we see in the movies. </p>
<p>You might recognise it from the <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2016/12/27/14092060/rogue-one-star-wars-grand-moff-tarkin-princess-leia">cameo of a young Princess Leia</a> in the 2016 Star Wars film <em>Rogue One</em>, which used the body of another actor and footage from the first Star Wars film created 39 years earlier. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"958319027725709312"}"></div></p>
<p>Now, anyone with a high-powered computer, a graphics processing unit (GPU) and time on their hands can create realistic fake videos – known as “deepfakes” – using artificial intelligence (<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-two-experts-disagree-79904">AI</a>). </p>
<p>Sounds fun, right? </p>
<p>The problem is that these same tools are accessible to those who seek to create non-consensual pornography of friends, work colleagues, classmates, ex-partners and complete strangers – and post it online. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-picture-of-who-is-affected-by-revenge-porn-is-more-complex-than-we-first-thought-77155">The picture of who is affected by 'revenge porn' is more complex than we first thought</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The evolution of deepfakes</h2>
<p>In December 2017, Motherboard broke <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gydydm/gal-gadot-fake-ai-porn">the story</a> of a Reddit user known as “deep fakes”, who used AI to swap the faces of actors in pornographic videos with the faces of well-known celebrities. Another Reddit user then created the desktop application called FakeApp. </p>
<p>It allows anyone – even those without technical skills – to create their own fake videos using <a href="https://www.tensorflow.org/">Google’s TensorFlow</a> open source machine learning framework. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hoc2RISoLWU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The face of Donald Trump is swapped onto the body of Alec Baldwin while he does his Donald Trump impression.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The technology uses an AI method known as “<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/513696/deep-learning/">deep learning</a>”, which involves feeding a computer data that the computer then uses to make decisions. In the case of fake porn, the computer will assess which facial images of a person will be most convincing as a face swap in a pornographic video.</p>
<p>Known as “morph” porn, or “parasite porn”, fake sex videos or photographs are not a new phenomenon. But what makes deepfakes a new and concerning problem is that AI-generated pornography looks significantly more convincing and real. </p>
<h2>Another form of image-based sexual abuse</h2>
<p>Creating, distributing or threatening to distribute fake pornography without the consent of the person whose face appears in the video is a form of “image-based sexual abuse” (<a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/content/dam/rmit/documents/college-of-design-and-social-context/schools/global-urban-and-social-studies/revenge_porn_report_2017.pdf">IBSA</a>). Also known as “non-consensual pornography” or “revenge porn”, it is an invasion of privacy and a violation of the right to dignity, sexual autonomy and freedom of expression.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-12/womans-fight-to-have-harmless-selfie-removed-from-porn-site/7924948">In one case</a> of morph porn, an Australian woman’s photos were stolen from her social media accounts, superimposed onto pornographic images and then posted on multiple websites. She described the experience as causing her <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/11/22/18/24/revenge-porn-rates-double-as-laws-close-gap">to feel</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>physically sick, disgusted, angry, degraded, dehumanised</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet responses to this kind of sexual abuse remain inconsistent. Regulation is lacking in Australia, and elsewhere.</p>
<h2>Recourse under Australian criminal law</h2>
<p>South Australia, NSW, Victoria and the ACT have specific criminal offences for image-based sexual abuse with penalties of up to four years imprisonment. South Australia, NSW and the ACT explicitly define an “intimate” or “invasive” image as including images that have been altered or manipulated. </p>
<p>Jurisdictions without specific criminal offences could rely on more general criminal laws. For example, the federal telecommunications offence of “using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence”, or state and territory offences such as unlawful filming, indecency, stalking, voyeurism or blackmail. </p>
<p>But it is unclear whether such laws would apply to instances of “fake porn”, meaning that currently, <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-there-laws-to-protect-against-revenge-porn-in-australia-74154">the criminal law provides inconsistent protection for image-based sexual abuse victims across Australia</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/revenge-porn-laws-may-not-be-capturing-the-right-people-84061">Revenge porn laws may not be capturing the right people</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Recourse under Australian civil law</h2>
<p>Victims have little recourse under copyright law unless they can prove they are the owner of the image. It is unclear whether that means the owner of the face image or the owner of the original video. They may have better luck under <a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-and-defamation-law-pose-threats-to-free-speech-and-its-time-for-reform-64864">defamation law</a>. Here the plaintiff must prove that the defendant published false and disparaging material that identifies them. </p>
<p>Pursuing civil litigation, however, is time-consuming and costly. It will do little to stop the spread of non-consensual nude or sexual images on the internet. Also, Australian civil and criminal laws will be ineffective if the perpetrator is located overseas, or if the perpetrator is an anonymous content publisher.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208208/original/file-20180228-36680-1qwuuf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208208/original/file-20180228-36680-1qwuuf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208208/original/file-20180228-36680-1qwuuf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208208/original/file-20180228-36680-1qwuuf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208208/original/file-20180228-36680-1qwuuf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208208/original/file-20180228-36680-1qwuuf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208208/original/file-20180228-36680-1qwuuf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artificial intelligence makes it easier for people to scrape facial imagery from social media accounts and superimpose it into pornographic videos.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/head-shot-profile-pictures-black-white-156754223">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Addressing the gap in legislation</h2>
<p>The Australian Parliament is currently debating the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1113">Enhancing Online Safety (Non-Consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2017</a>. This bill, which is yet to become law, seeks to give the Office of the eSafety Commissioner the power to administer a complaints system and impose formal warnings, removal notices or civil penalties on those posting or hosting non-consensual intimate images. </p>
<p>Civil penalties are up to A$105,000 for “end-users” (the individuals posting the images) or A$525,000 for a social media, internet service or hosting service provider.</p>
<p>Importantly, the proposed legislation covers images which have been altered, and so could apply to instances of deepfakes or other kinds of fake porn. </p>
<h2>Prevention and response beyond the law</h2>
<p>While clear and consistent laws are crucial, online platforms also play an important role in preventing and responding to fake porn. Platforms such as Reddit, Twitter and PornHub have already <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-09/websites-move-to-ban-pornographic-deepfakes-face-swap/9409774">banned deepfakes</a>. However, at the time of writing, the clips <a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/41017-pornhub-says-it-s-banning-deepfakes-as-the-internet-cracks-down-on-ai-porn">continue to be available</a> on some of these sites, as well as being posted and hosted on other websites. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-wants-your-nude-photos-to-prevent-revenge-porn-heres-why-you-should-be-sceptical-87390">Facebook wants your nude photos to prevent 'revenge porn' – here's why you should be sceptical</a>
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<p>A key challenge is that it is difficult for online platforms to distinguish between what is fake and what is real, unless victims themselves discover their images are online and contact the site to request those images be removed. </p>
<p>Yet victims may only become aware of the fake porn when they start receiving harassing communications, sexual requests, or are <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/08/the-real-consequences-of-fake-porn-and-news/">otherwise alerted to the images</a>. By then, the harm is often already done. Technical solutions, such as better <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/gfycat-artificial-intelligence-deepfakes/">automated detection of altered imagery</a>, may offer a way forward. </p>
<p>To adequately address the issue of fake porn, it is going to take a combination of better laws, cooperation from online platforms, as well as technical solutions. Like other forms of image-based sexual abuse, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-picture-of-who-is-affected-by-revenge-porn-is-more-complex-than-we-first-thought-77155">support services as well as prevention</a> education are also important.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Henry receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Criminology Research Council and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Powell receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Criminology Research Council. She is also a member of the board of directors of Our Watch, Australia's independent organisation of the prevention of violence against women and their children. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Asher Flynn receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Criminology Research Council and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.</span></em></p>People can now use artificial intelligence to swap the faces of actors in pornographic videos with those of people they know, raising fears about a new form of revenge porn.Nicola Henry, Associate Professor & Vice-Chancellor's Principal Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityAnastasia Powell, Associate Professor and ARC DECRA Fellow, Criminology and Justice Studies, RMIT UniversityAsher Flynn, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/917262018-02-21T12:16:57Z2018-02-21T12:16:57ZFive young women in porn have died within a few months – it’s time for a change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207265/original/file-20180221-132677-1u3ntnb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouette-woman-666721072?src=Ark1HiO9tXLhXTtYt1tbeQ-1-11">Billion Photos/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The pornography industry is no stranger to misconceptions. But the recent deaths of <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/7xe5mq/sex-death-and-social-media-at-the-annual-porn-awards">five young women</a> in recent months – August Ames, Olivia Lua, Olivia Nova, Yuri Luv and Shyla Stylez – have served to reignite debates regarding working conditions and the treatment of performers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/7xe5mq/sex-death-and-social-media-at-the-annual-porn-awards">At the recent AVN Awards</a>, often referred to as the Oscars of the adult video industry, performer and husband to Ames, Kevin Moore, declared: “There can never be another AVN Awards show that has a memorial full of young women ever again.” Not all of the causes of death have been made public, though questions have been raised <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/22/fifth-young-porn-star-dies-drugs-despair-suicide-factors-in-deaths/">about some of the women’s mental health</a>.</p>
<p>Given the narratives that surround the industry, it would be easy to fall into the trap of suggesting that these women suffered as a result of the cruel and degrading conditions working in porn involves, as suggested by some commentators, <a href="http://www.feministcurrent.com/2015/02/23/the-porn-oscars-celebrate-an-industry-built-on-cruelty-abuse-and-vicious-misogyny/">such as Julie Bindel</a>. But to do so is to ignore the realities of the industry as told by the workers themselves and to talk about porn in a manner removed from wider discussions on workplace rights, gender and culture. This tendency also prevents us from engaging in a wider conversation about mental health, sex work and stigma. And this is key to understanding the circumstances surrounding each death.</p>
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<p>You don’t need to look far into discussions on the pornography industry to see it being decried as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/02/gail-dines-pornography">hellhole of torture and abuse</a>, particularly for its female performers. But rarely are such claims backed up by industry workers themselves. This is not to say that the industry is a utopia free of sexual harassment, but that such behaviour is an exception rather than the rule. Meanwhile, recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/harvey-weinstein-showbusiness-voices-signal-the-sad-ubiquity-of-sexual-abuse-in-industry-85693">reports from Hollywood</a> have shown that work-related sexual assault is hardly limited to sex work alone.</p>
<h2>Mental health</h2>
<p>At the same time, more than <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/#.WoxMrqhl-Uk">one in four</a> of us will experience mental health difficulties over the course of each year. We see stories regarding mental health in relation to other professions frequently, from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jun/28/nhs-staff-taking-more-sick-days-than-ever">NHS staff</a> to <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/academics-face-higher-mental-health-risk-than-other-professions">university academics</a>. When workers in other professions raise concerns about their mental health, they tend to be greeted with empathy and support. Unlike workers within porn, they are rarely shut down by being told they shouldn’t be working in that industry in the first place.</p>
<p>Where the pornography industry differs from these other sectors of work is in the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268743.2015.1065202">stigma</a> faced by those working within it. As with any other form of sex work, pornography is considered to be an “other” in society, and it is industry workers who bear the brunt of this stigmatisation.</p>
<p>They are seen as “damaged goods”, “dirty”, or responsible for the denigration of society – though there is no evidence to suggest that any of this is true, and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2012.719168">some suggesting the opposite</a>. They must fight against the idea that pornography labour is not “real work”. In recent years, the increasing accessibility of their online selves through social media has provided ample opportunities for connecting with fans and promoting their work – as well as for online abuse, harassment and trolling. This creates even more opportunities for this stigma to flourish, as well as for it to be confronted.</p>
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<p>It is not the working conditions in the industry that are most likely to cause damage. Instead, it is the stigma and lack of support that workers in the pornography industry face – something that isn’t a problem for those working in other sectors. By applying the label of “porn star” to each of the women who have died, we close down a conversation about mental health, under the idea that porn is different, a scapegoat. In doing so, we avoid the difficult task of allowing the industry to be part of an equally difficult discussion on a wider societal level.</p>
<h2>So what can we do?</h2>
<p>We must consider porn like any other industry and work to reduce the stigma surrounding it, alongside other forms of sex work. Workers in the pornography industry are just as entitled to employment rights and protections as those in all other forms of labour, and to consider pornography professionals as less deserving or less capable of having these demands met is therefore “the worst kind of abuse”, as performer Jiz Lee and media studies expert Rebecca Sullivan <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268743.2016.1184474">show</a>.</p>
<p>We also need to engage with performers and other professionals in the industry by supporting their work and listening to their voices with regards to industry conditions and how we can work to make it better.</p>
<p>And finally, we must accept that porn is porn, but also look beyond the baggage of that label towards the social dynamics at play when discussing mental health, workplace rights and sex work. In doing so, we can build an environment where pornography professionals are not dismissed and their valid contributions towards wider social issues can be recognised. That would certainly be a fitting tribute for the women whose lives have been lost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosie Hodsdon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recent deaths within the pornography industry in the US have reignited debates on labour conditions and mental health.Rosie Hodsdon, PhD Candidate in Law and Sexuality, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.