Let’s talk about sex: The Douglass Dialogues hosts panel on societal impacts of pornography

Pornography brought about 80 people together in Packard Hall on a Tuesday night.

The Douglass Dialogues, a student club that hosts meetings to discuss current social-cultural and political issues, hosted “The Use and Abuse of Porn,” an academic panel discussion about the societal impacts of pornography, on Feb. 21.

The panelists included Richard Matthews, professor of political science; Bethany Ebner, Crime Victims Council outreach educator; and Brooke DeSipio, Lehigh director of Gender Violence and Support. 

Raihan Alam, ‘23, president of the club, founded The Douglas Dialogues during his sophomore year after he and vice president Declan Coster, ‘23, noticed a lack of open discussion spaces on campus. 

“(Coster) and I are really interested in…talking about ideas, local issues, culture and society,” Alam said. “We were like, ‘There’s no way we’re the only two people interested in this stuff, so why not broaden this out? Why not make a place where people can have a tradition of engagement with ideas?’”

Alam said they are not a debate club, but rather a discussion club. Their mission is to solve issues through respectful, tolerant dialogue and to inform participants. At the very least, he said, participants can be exposed to different beliefs.  

The Douglass Dialogues holds biweekly discussions on topics that are voted on by club members and facilitated by Alam and Coster. Alam said the club functions democratically and uses negotiated community guidelines, including being respectful of others’ time and beliefs, to establish a foundation of trust.

Alam said the club also hosts larger discussion events with guest speakers throughout each semester, ranging in topics from the ethics of eating animals to the Brazilian midterm elections. 

“The Use and Abuse of Porn” marked their 12th speaker event since the founding of the club. Alam said they began planning the event in November 2022. 

Helen Tynes, ’22, ‘23G, a member of The Douglass Dialogues, said while people can practice free speech anywhere on campus, the club provides a space for students and professors to have moderated, extensive conversations on specific topics.  

“People aren’t willing to say their opinion in conversation,” Tynes said. “So you can come up with insane thoughts that never get checked by anyone else. I think that’s true for every topic, not just porn.”

The event began with the panelists discussing the positives and negatives of pornography using knowledge from their respective fields. 

DeSipio said pornography can be beneficial through helping marginalized identities find representation, allowing couples to explore and communicate their sexual desires, and serving as a form of safe sex for STI and pregnancy prevention. 

Pornography that is made ethically and with feminist views can also serve as a form of sexual education, DeSipio said. 

“Here’s what I learned about feminist porn,” Matthews said. “It’s porn made by women — but here’s the key — for everyone.” 

While teaching a class on authenticity, Matthews said he was surprised by the significant interest among students in attitudes toward sexuality. He said although people today appear to be more liberal in terms of sex, they are not necessarily progressive.

“Healthy sexuality should be celebrated, not condemned,” Matthews said. 

From the perspective of a victim’s advocate for the Crime Victims Council, Ebner said she thinks the cons of pornography outweigh the pros. She said research and campaigns have shown porn can harm not only those who watch it, but also the people with whom they interact. 

DeSipio said pornography often adheres to sexual scripts, for example, with men in charge and women acting as the “gatekeepers.” Pornography categories can also have stereotypes embedded in them. 

Pornography can be unrealistic and subsequently damaging in terms of body image, DeSipio said, as the majority of male and female porn stars are under the average weight in America and the body parts shown in porn tend to look the same. 

Ebner said the majority of the population may be addicted to porn without knowing it. While the implications apply to anyone who consumes porn, the panelists said the issue is particularly troubling for children.

According to a survey conducted by Common Sense Media, 73% of teens have been exposed to porn, either intentionally or unintentionally. The average age at which the respondents reported viewing porn for the first time was 12 years old.

“If (porn) is your first exposure to things sexual, how can you not be confused?” Matthews said.

The question, Ebner said, is not if young people are going to be exposed to porn, but when. Acknowledging this, she said we cannot have conversations about sexuality if it is associated with shame.

DeSipio said although a 12 year old who has had proper sex education may be able to view porn from a different lens than one who has not, their brain chemistry is still developing and may be negatively impacted regardless. However, she said the damage may be reversible through dialogue.

“Not all hope is lost,” DeSipio said. “We can reset sexual response cycles and have conversations.”

Alam said college is a time when many people are exploring their sexuality. After he and Coster noticed differing opinions about pornography from the people around them, he was inspired to bring this topic to The Douglass Dialogues.

He said people of all ages and places watch porn, but it is particularly important to discuss porn consumption on college campuses. 

“It’d be great to get a consensus and…get to a policy that can mitigate a problem we’ve all disagreed on, but I think there are so many benefits from just conversation itself,” Alam said.