As was recently reported in campus newspapers across the country, dorm porn is alive and well. For some, it's just too tempting to hook up that digital video camera and live-stream a steamy masturbation session to your boyfriend and a few other onlookers on the web.
Is there anything wrong with this kind of activity? Shouldn't a person be allowed to express themselves in any manner they see fit? Who is harmed by college aged persons who want to exhibit their sexuality to the masses?
When asked, residents of Witte Residence Hall reported their shock that that kind of thing would go on here at the UW. \Why not?"" I ask.
Aside from the legal ramifications, is it all that weird to want to show off a little. If we are really hoping to raise our children with a healthy attitude about their bodies and about their sexuality, I think we should expect them to want to share it. Our bodies are not our own, we display them everyday, so why not do it live, online?
Now, some of you are worried about children being exposed to pornography. Does porn distort children's view of sexuality? This has not been proven conclusively. In fact, according to some studies, those who engage in sexual violence as adolescents and adults were exposed to pornography LESS than their peers. It might be that an environment where natural expression of sexuality is suppressed causes more harm than an honest and open exploration of sexual material (see http://www.seicus.org).
Here's some more interesting information about pornography and children. The ""Free Expression Policy Project"" of the National Coalition Against Censorship reports that college students who were asked about their own viewing of sexually explicit media as children showed no significant effects. At the time, some were disturbed by what they saw-they reacted in anger or confusion as children. However, an equal number of respondents were not affected at all. Importantly, none attributed these experiences to any negative consequences later in life.
I argue that there is something human about watching other people have sex or engage in sexually pleasing activities. As bodies, we share a basic set of senses that respond to stimuli to produce sexual pleasure. Seeing what turns someone on can be educative, affirming and arousing. So pornography lovers, rise up! Let's admit that we like dirty pictures and get on with our sexual lives.
