Op-Ed: Let’s Talk About Porn With Rationality and Evidence

Porn has long been a taboo subject. It’s up there with politics and religion as topics that are supposedly impolite to discuss at the dinner table. Such social etiquette may have been the norm during the second half of the 20th century, but in today’s globalized and hyper-connected world, politics and religion are mainstays of water cooler, dinner table, and, social media discussions. Porn has entered the consciousness and curiosity of mainstream society. This is reflected in the billions of visits to online porn sites such as Pornhub, RedTube and XHamster each year. And, since the COVID-19 pandemic there has been something of an explosion in the number of content creators offering all sorts of adult entertainment on platforms such as Chaturbate, MyFreeCams and OnlyFans. Despite this mainstreaming, people tend not to openly discuss the types of porn they watch. Nor do they discuss the social and cultural significance of porn as a form of artistic expression, a mode of political protest, a driver of advances in online technologies, signifier of sexual agency, an aid to understanding sexuality, and, a marker of free speech.  Porn is more than just porn! The socio-cultural mainstreaming of porn has caught the attention of various conservative-led state legislatures across the US. Porn has been labeled a ‘public health crisis’ driven by “porn addiction”. The conversative-inspired Project 2025 has called for the ‘criminalization of pornography production, distribution and consumption’ claiming it to be addictive. However, neither the American Psychological Association or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-5) have recognized porn addiction as a diagnosable condition. The political rhetoric surrounding porn in the US (and elsewhere) appears to be premised on perpetuating stereotypes and stigmatizing those involved in the production and consumption of porn. Relatedly, it’s also about instilling fear and panic amongst voters in order to pass legislation that is akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Whether we like it or not porn is part and parcel of mainstream culture. As such we need to talk about it like grown-ups. Moreover, policy regulations on porn need to be informed by rationality and hard evidence not myopic political (and religious) ideology. To this end, in my role as Director of the University of Western Australia Public Policy Institute I recently organized a series of events with Australian and US porn experts as a means of increasing awareness, knowledge and understanding of what porn is, its potential role in sex education, and, pathways to effective regulation. These events included: A panel discussion—Let’s Talk About… Pornology, Pornucation, and, Pornocracy—with leading Australian and international porn researchers, Dr. David Ley, Prof. Alan McKee, Dr. Zahra Stardust, and Giselle Woodley. The panellists explored: why and how they came to study porn and the importance of studying porn through a range of academic lenses; the need to include porn as part of age/developmental-appropriate sex education for teens and adults; and, where pornography sits within our regulatory ecosystems. You can watch the panel discussion here. A masterclass on treating problem sexual behavior using a non-addition model with internationally-renowned clinical psychologist and author, Dr. David Ley. In this masterclass Dr. Ley emphasized the need for clinical psychologists, sex and relationship therapists, and, sexologists to center the person not the porn they watch. This approach he argues results in more productive outcomes for those who think they suffer from porn addiction. A book launch and in-conversation with Dr. Zahra Stardust to mark the publication of her new book, Indie Porn: Revolution, Regulation & Resistance. As a former stripper and porn performer and now porn scholar exploring the socio-legal and sex-tech aspects of porn regulation, Zahra’s book provides detailed behind the scenes analyses of the internal and external regulation of the porn industry. You can order Zahra’s book here. Associate Professor Paul Maginn is the Director of the University of Western Australia Public Policy Institute. He recently published an op-ed in The West Australian—based in Perth—titled "Obscenity is in the eye of the beholder." To read it, click here.