Tool Packet

MDH Data Symposium on Sexual Violence Prevention

Changing the Conversation about Today’s Pornography:

Emerging Public Health Research on Brain Development,

Economics of the Industry, and Impacts on Kids

October 3, 2014

Contents:

  1. Changing the Conversation
  2. The Normalization of Sexual Harm and Sexualization of Children
  3. The Spectrum of Prevention
  4. Letter about Pornography from the MN Men’s Action Network
  5. Participantideas for action
  6. Resource List

Changing the Conversation

We titled this symposium “Changing the Conversation” to not only inspire you to have conversations about this issue, but also in reference to the idea that we need to changedominant societal beliefs about pornography by talking about the harms. At this symposium,we will learnabout the harms.How can you use what you learn today to start changing conversations? Below are a few tips, but chart your own path using your unique skills and creativity.

Understanding the harms:

Most people focus on the impacts of pornography for viewers, which is important, but that’s just one area of harm:

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  • Who is in it and what are their stories?
  • How is it produced/made?
  • What occurs in it and what words are used?
  • Where is it seen?
  • How is it used?
  • What effects can it have for viewers?
  • What effects can it have for their families, partners, and friends?
  • What effects can it have on social norms?
  • In what societal context does it exist?
  • What is its meaning?
  • Who is profiting from it at whose expense?

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The reality about pornography:

Changing Conversations: Where and with Whom

Consider beginning your conversations with co-workers, and together work to change policies and practices in your own workplace

Talk to business owners and service providers, community members and community organizations

Talk to policy leaders at the local and state level

Include information about this issue in your presentations and speeches

Get creative with social media!

Changing Conversations: How

Talk about the harms (see pages 3-4 of this packet for examples of harms, and page 7 for a letter about harms)

Use words with deeper meaning to make your point: such as an appeal to equality and human rights

Utilize resourcessuch as Ted Talks or brief videos such as Fight the New Drug, if you find such media helpful

Share your own story and ask people to share their stories; sometimes these are more powerful than statistics

Changing Conversations: Reminders

While pornography alone didn’t create the problem of sexual violence, itcontributes to the problem. It is one of many risk factors that contribute to sexual violence, but it is an important one.

Pornography perpetuates harmful societal beliefsand attitudes not only againstwomen/girls, but also againstracial/ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ peopleand other marginalized groups.

Don’t blame people who have been used as actorsin pornography, as they are victims of the industry

This is a hard topic for people to talk about

Pushback is expected

The Normalization of Sexual Harm and the Sexualization of Children

(Document prepared by the Media Action Team of the Sexual Violence Prevention Program

“Little girls are being groomed into passively accepting their place as objects in our pornified culture,

and boys are being taught exploitive and abusive sexual scripts.”

-- Cordelia Anderson, Founder, Sensibilities Prevention Services

As a society, we are inundated with images and messages that are…

1) Sexualizing minors and children at younger and younger ages.

2) Portraying sexual exploitation and sexual violence as normal.

These messages are everywhere -- from TV shows and commercials, to movies and music, billboards and bus shelters, even products designed for and marketed to kids.

Harmful to girls and boys, this saturation of sexual messaging…

Creates the perception that a child’s self-worth is tied to his or her sexuality. This, in turn:

  • Degrades girls’ emotional and mental wellbeing: Adolescent girls who have a more objectified relationship with their bodies are more likely to experience depression and have low self-esteem.1
  • Decreases girls’ cognitive performance: Numerous studies have shown that self-objectification detracts from a girl’s ability to concentrate and focus her attention, leading to poorer performance in math, logical reasoning and spatial skills.2
  • Limits girls’ physical performance: One study found that the greater the extent to which girls viewed their bodies as objects and were concerned about appearance the poorer their performance throwing a softball.3
  • Teaches boys to view and treat girls as sexual objects: Research carried out in a dozen countries found that boys exposed to porn are more likely to indulge in casual sex and less likely to form successful relationships as an adult.4 It also found that young boys exposed to pornography are more inclined to believe that there is nothing wrong with pinning down or sexually harassing a girl.5
  • Impedes healthy and responsible sexuality: Several studies have found links between early exposure to sexually explicit media and earlier sex as a teen and increases in teen pregnancy.6

Condones and creates an appetite for sexual harassment and abuse.

  • Watching is like acting to the brain: Studies of mirror cells in the brain show that brain circuits fire in the same way when we observe someone doing something as when we actually do it.7 Repeatedly viewing images of sexual violence desensitizes people to the awful nature of those acts.
  • Exposure to pornography and the committing of sexual violence are correlated: Numerous studies have found that boys exposed to sexually explicit media have higher rates of sexual harassment perpetration (even controlling for other factors that could have contributed to this difference – like demographics).8
  • Victimization of underage girls is growing: Research conducted by the Shapiro Group on adolescent girls in the sex trade suggests that in Minnesota, 124 girls under age 18 were commercially sexually exploited via internet classified ads or escort services in a single month, August, 2010.9

What is normalization?

Normalization is the process by which an idea or behavior goes from clearly problematic to an accepted part of societal culture.10

There is a difference between sexy and sexually exploitive.

Harmful or exploitive images or messages depict people as sexual objects, valuable primarily for others’ use.

Healthy images present sexuality with a sense of caring, connectedness, and sexual respect. It suggests intimacy as one part of a relationship, rather than all of it.

Admittedly, there is a vast spectrum of sexual content and lines are difficult to draw.

  • Is Miley Cyrus (Disney’s Hannah Montana) pole dancing at the MTV Teen Music awards just showing some new moves or role-modeling objectified behavior?
  • Is it significant that the main character in the new kids’ movie “Hop” stops to visit Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion on his journey to becoming the Easter bunny?
  • Do children’s push-up bras or “Who needs a credit card” underwear cross a line?

The constant pushing of boundaries has changed our collective sense of what is acceptable.

Attractivehas become Sexyhas becomeObjectifiedhas becomePornified

This is the new normal’s message:

Sexual exploitation is just part of life.

If you are a woman, you should strive to be seen as a sexual object and treated as such.

If you are a man, you are to act as if a woman’s only worth to you is the sexual encounter she can provide, or you can take.

It is a message that, when we say it out loud, we soundly reject.

Sexual violence is not inevitable. It is preventable.

Thank you for your help pushing back against the pervasiveness of these toxic messages.

______

1,2,3 Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. 2007. pp. 22-25.

4 Harms of Pornography Exposure Among Children & Young People. Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society.

5 Chandra et al Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Pediatrics 122, No. 5, 2008, pp. 1047-1054. Children’s Hospital Boston Study, presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies, May 4, 2009.

6 Shane W. Kraus, Brenda Russell. Early sexual experiences: the role of internet access and sexually explicit material. CyberPsychology & Behavior. April 2008, 11 (2): 162-168.

7 Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., and Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain, 119, 593-609.

8 Bonino, S., Ciairano, S. Rabaglietti, E. & Cattelino, E. (2006). Use of pornography and self-reported engagement in sexual violence among adolescents. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 3(3), 265-268. Brown, J., & L’Engle, K. (2009). X-Rated: Sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with U.S. early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media. Communication Research, 36(1), 129-151. Flood, M. (2009). The harms of pornography exposure among children and young people. Child Abuse Review, 18, 384-400.

9 Adolescent Girls in the United States Sex Trade: Tracking Study Results for August, 2010. Prepared by The Schapiro Group.

10 Normalization of Sexual Harm Webinar, Cordelia Anderson & Dr. Sharon Cooper, 2006,

The Spectrum of Prevention

In addition to changing conversations, what are the various types of actions that we need to take in order to address the harms of pornography? The Spectrum of Prevention framework[1] suggests that a variety of levels of actions are needed in order to address this issue (Cohen et al., 1999). The framework describes six levels at which actions should occur.

Prevention Institute

Descriptions of the Levels of the Spectrum

  1. Strengthening Individual Knowledge and Skills: enhancing an individual’s capability of preventing violence and promoting safety.
  1. Promoting Community Education: reaching groups of people with information and resources to prevent violence and promote safety.
  1. Educating Providers: informing providers who will transmit skills and knowledge to others and model positive norms.
  1. Fostering Coalitions and Networks: bringing together groups and individuals for broader goals and greater impact.
  1. Changing Organizational Practices: adopting regulations and shaping norms to prevent violence and improve safety.
  1. Influencing Policy and Legislation: enacting laws and policies that support healthy community norms and a violence-free society.

Using the Spectrum of Prevention to Take Action: Hotel Example

Following is an example of actions related to one type of establishment that we all can use- hotels/motels. Use this example to think- what other types of institutions and establishments might have areas for policy and practice change around pornography, sexual exploitation, and sexual violence, and how can I use the spectrum of prevention in developing ways to take action.

Level 1: Strengthening Individual Knowledge and Skills

Example:Meet with hotel owners to educate them about the harms of pornography. Tell them why you care, and that they can be a part of the solution.Ask them to make a commitment to equality and non-violence by changing their policies and practices.

Level 2: Promoting Community Education

Example: Partner with your local sexual violence/domestic violence advocacy organization to offer presentations to educate community members about the harms of pornography and to ask them to work with hotels/motels about this issue.

Level 3: Educating Providers

Example: Partner with your local public health department and your local sexual violence/domestic violence advocacy organization to form an email listserv to share resources and conversation with organizations and institutions in your area. Share ideas for how listserv members can educate hotel owners.

Level 4: Fostering Coalitions and Networks

Example:Work with local community organizations to build a community action team that focuses on addressing the harms of pornography and ending sexual violence and exploitation. Invite hotel owners to join.

Level 5: Changing Organizational Practices

Example: Ask hotels to follow the example set by the Nordic Choice hotels by no longer offering pay-per-view pornography, and instead replacing it with contemporary art. The idea is that pornography shouldn’t be an amenity that hotels offer.

Level 6: Influencing Policy and Legislation

Example:Follow the example of Winona County and educate local institutions about passing a policy so that employees will not be reimbursed for staying in hotels that offer pay-per-view pornography in hotel rooms, i.e., that offer pornography as an amenity.

What examples can you come up with for each level?

What establishments and institutions besides hotels do you think are good places to focus on for changing policy and practice?

As a place to start, consider changing policies and practices in your own workplace.

For more information on addressing pornography in hotels, check out “Clean Hotels” on the MNMAN webpage:

Partnering and strategizing with others in your community, particularly your local public health offices and sexual/domestic violence advocacy organizations, will increase your impact!

Letter about Pornography from the MN Men’s Action Network

Gentlemen,

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Humphrey School’s Center on Women and Public Policy released a 2012 report on the Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota. In that report, they indicate that: “By mid-life, 33% of Minnesota women have experienced a rape crime”.

We understand that if we are going to end sexual violence we need to address the environment in which boys are growing into men (and boys) who abuse women (and girls). The overwhelming access to pornography and the mainstreaming of porn into legitimate businesses is one environmental condition we believe contributes to this wide spread use of violence against women, girls and boys. In a 2007 report, “Analyzing the Pornographic Text: Charting and Mapping Pornography Through Content Analysis” , researchers Robert Woznitser, Ana Bridges, and Erica Scharrer detail their analysis of 50 films randomly selected from the top 250 grossing pornographic films of that year. Here is a quick summary of their results.

  • 50 films – 304 scenes
  • 3,376 different acts of verbal and physical abuse utilizing the Perpetrator Action Target (PAT) scale. (This scale counts as one act of aggression that which takes place when all three elements are present and unchanged. For example a man (P) slaps (A) a woman (T) 10 times. Because each element is unchanged this constitutes one act of aggression. If anyone of the three elements, P, A or T changes, another act of aggression is counted. For example, if another man (P) enters the scene and slaps (A) the same woman (T) three times, those acts are counted as one event. So in this example, the woman would have been slapped 13 times but the scale would have recorded it as two separate incidents only).
  • 11.5 acts of aggression per scene
  • 0-128 acts per scene
  • Aggression rewarded 68% of the time
  • Neutral response to aggression 32% of the time
  • Discouraged 0% of the time
  • Positive sexual behavior represented just 10% of all actions

This research is the first to outline, with specificity, the extent to which violence and aggression is eroticized in pornography. If you look at these statistics, it is clear that we are currently tying some of the most powerful pleasure centers in a man’s body, heart, and mind … directly to women’s pain.

It is time men and boys, and the social institutions supporting this “industry”, stop the demand for pornography. Stop taking our pleasure at women’s expense. Sexuality is a beautifully powerful experience that is currently being distorted into sexually violent representations which eroticize domination, degradation and violence. There is over 30 years of research making clear correlations between pornography use and increased aggression toward women and girls.

Sexually exploitative and violent material harms women and children and ultimately seriously impacts the boys and men who view this material.

If you are currently using pornography, stop for 6 months and pay attention to how your thoughts of women and your relationships with women transform. And then commit to a life based on the beauty and power of gender equality and sexual respect. It will be worth it. And the women you care about will begin to live in a different world.

- Chuck Derry at or Ed Heisler at

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Ideas for Action from Symposium Participants

  • Educate children and youth:
  • “Healthy sexuality and healthy relationships need to be taught to people throughout different developmental stages, both in and outside of schools”
  • “Need to build open dialogues with youth and children”
  • “Provide Circle talking piece time with kids”
  • “Model desired behaviors”
  • Advocacy around products:
  • “Talk with stores thatsell playboy bunny costumes.”
  • “Plan to go to…Christian Bookstore and discuss the book ‘Pulling back the shades’ at a book club…”
  • “Have…petitions to address restaurants with sexualized pictures on the walls and to address advertisements on tv”
  • “Boycott labels that advertise with porn”
  • Call to men:
  • “Need to focus on healthier gender roles and now on the stereotypes that men are ‘strong’, ‘powerful’, and ‘in control’ and that women need to be ‘submissive’…”
  • “Engage men in a counter campaign using the frame that porn is men exploiting the sexuality of other men”
  • “Stand up against rape/sex jokes”
  • Work together:
  • “I now understand that I need to network and collaborate with others in order to address this issue.”
  • Policy and practice changes:
  • “Petition for equitable songs at school dances”
  • “Working with [colleges] to get pornography included as an addiction…”
  • “Change the use of language: pornography vs. child sexual exploitation”
  • “Engage in policy work through MNCASA”
  • “Educate hotels”
  • “Increase focus on prevention and policy”
  • “Figure out what fits or is needed in my community to best address this”
  • “Shows, movies, etc., ‘progress’ from acceptable to unacceptable as we become ‘hooked’. Teach societal awareness of how much we are manipulated by business.”
  • “Instead of placing blame on parents, blame society and the industry”
  • “Have a ‘champions in health’ discussion for public health people. Challenge local public health to make sexual exploitation a part of their public health agenda”
  • “For sexual assault/domestic violence advocacy programs to address porn in their services provided”
  • Hope- Imagining that things can be different:
  • “There is hope! Individuals need to take ownership- educate ourselves, community.”
  • “I have a lot of hope for de-normalization of pornography and changing cultural perceptions...”
  • Share this information:
  • “Talk to neighbors about the physical addiction of pornography so we can keep our children safe.”
  • “Talk to youth pastor and my children”
  • “Want to tell my story- I’m a survivor”
  • Using art and creativity:
  • “I’m inspired to write an awareness book for my kids and grandkids using life experiences.”
  • “Encourage young people to create and not just consume. There are amazing, positive things happening in art and internet communities around prevention…”
  • “Use creativity and art with school students. Use collective imaginations to use art for…changing conversations.”
  • Teach a critical media awareness to kids and adults:
  • “Ask my kids about healthy relationships in tv and movies”
  • “Develop curriculum that addresses pornography, and teaches people to ‘detect the lie’ inherent in it.”
  • Create awareness campaigns:
  • “Build an awareness campaign around ‘detect the lie’”
  • “Create public safety announcements about red flags, featuring the [MN football teams].”
  • “Suggestions for changing cultural norms: de-sexualize breastfeeding and breast cancer campaigns.”
  • “Bring to light the ugly of the industry- that it is exploitative (sexually exploitative businesses) and unhuman.”
  • Speaking up:
  • “Talk about it…Violence thrives in silence.”
  • “Don’t be afraid to talk more about sensationalism and how it shapes our relationships”
  • “Open dialogue: transparency, authenticity, refusing to participate, normalize opposing language”
  • Participants also provided this critical feedback:
  • “…Don’t agree that all porn is harmful. Though agree that much of what is available is harmful…What if wedecrease the production of abuse-laden porn that re-enforces oppressive power dynamics and increase porn that deconstructs those power structures?”
  • “The research, language, and discussions at this symposium focused solely on heterosexual experiences and audiences and it was not inclusive of LGBTQ people.”
  • “Conflicting understandings of sex work, prostitution, trafficking, and pornography that do not acknowledge consensual activity versus forced/coerced/etc. activity”

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