by Marcus Goble?features editor
According to CNN.com, ICANN the international not-for-profit that coordinates web addresses, has approved the .xxx domain. They claim the suffix will give warning to unwitting visitors, as well as verifying adults sites as legitimate.
The viewing and analysis of explicit media, even pornography, is an accepted part of courses in over 50 schools across the nation, including Berkeley, Columbia, Harvard, New York University, Northwestern, Wesleyan University and Yale, reports a WORLD article published in June 2012. The article describes the extent of the pornographic content viewed in classes as ?in-depth.?
The definitions of ?explicit? and ?pornography? are each different for many people, though they do have clear meanings. According to Merriam-Webster?s Collegiate Dictionary, ?explicit? in reference to books and films means ?open in the depiction of nudity and sexuality.? Pornography is ?the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.?
Lisa Cullen, in a 2006 Times? article, reports that many courses that include pornographic content are in the fields of anthropology, law, literature, film, technology and women?s studies. ?A small but growing number of scholars are probing the aesthetic, societal and philosophical properties of smut ? Those specialists argue that graphic sexual imagery has become ubiquitous in society, so it?s almost irresponsible not to teach young people how to deal with it,? she says.
The extent of explicit media in these classes, which have been labeled ?porn curriculum? by many publications, varies greatly. ?Pornography: Writings of Prostitutes,? a class that started being offered at Wesleyan in 1998, even required students to produce a pornographic work of their own as a final project. Some students who took the course even performed in their own projects, according to a Hartford Courant article published in 1999. Hope Weissman, the professor who taught this course, passed away in the summer of 2002.
Elizabeth Smith, assistant professor of educational ministries at Moody, comments on the reasoning of professors showing pornography: ?They believe that to relate closely to a topic one must experience at least vicariously whatever they are trying to understand. This is ridiculous ? Scripture is clear that a Holy-Spirit empowered holy life enables the believer to minister more effectively than one involved in unrighteous behavior or thought.?
WORLD reports that a ?handful of self-styled porn scholars believe in ?immersing? their students in the porn culture by having them watch pornographic videos and exploring internet sites for class homework.? According to Cullen?s article, Professors Linda Williams of Berkeley, Laura Kipnis of Northwestern University and Don Kulick of N.Y.U. all show X-rated films. An X-rated film is not necessarily pornography, but refers to films that are the most explicit. The official ?X-rating? as given by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is known as NC-17. Many, however, consider all X-rated material pornography.
Professor Catherine Sherwood-Puzello of the University of Indiana at Bloomington shows Michelangelo?s David and Playboy covers but does not show explicit films. Paul Abramson, a professor at UCLA, in his class ?Sex and the Law? makes viewing a documentary about the making of a notable porn film optional, letting students know a week in advance and allowing them to skip without penalty if they find the material objectionable. He reasons that most students have already viewed pornography anyways.
Abramson and others who note the prevalence of pornography in the U.S. are correct. An Oct. 2012 MailOnline article points out that children as young as 11 are addicted to hardcore pornography and, as a result, have unrealistic expectations of sex. Referring to a study by Plymouth University, the article claims that being addicted to pornography prior to becoming sexually active causes problems in later life.
While these articles did not specify what these problems may be, Smith commented on the problems pornography can cause. She explained, ?Neuroscience proves [pornography] can create many psychological and physical problems for us; for example, we may become dissatisfied with sexual intimacy in marriage if our brain is conditioned to be stimulated through media.? She also said, ?Pornography leaves visual footprints in our head and elicits lust for others outside of our marriage or future marriage; as such, pornography and other sexually stimulating media (any voyeurism which elicits lust) is absolutely wrong.?
A BBC article published in October 2012 states that kids as young as 10 need lessons on pornography, pointing out that many primary and secondary schools in the UK teach students about it in an age-appropriate manner, though parents have the right to withdraw their children from any sex education.
A Geelong Advisor article published in February 2012 cites opinions from leading pornography researcher Marree Crabbe. She says that most pornography contains aggression towards women and portrays acts that are ?painful, humiliating and degrading.? The article later references Debbie Ollis, a sexual education expert, who proposes that sex education is better done in schools than through Internet pornography. She suggests that the former is more appropriate to ?teach kids about intimacy, about desire, about safety, all those sort of issues.?
While most are in favor of a tasteful, age-appropriate education about sex, many are not okay showing actual pornography in class, reports WORLD. Appalachian State University fired a professor for showing pornography in class. WORLD and Hartford Courant articles report that students, alumni and donors commonly express disappointment that their schools support viewing pornography and explicit media as an educational procedure, though a comparable number appreciate it.
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