Danish professor: Porn belongs in the classroom

[Valjean]

I don't understand this fixation on kids. It's adults who are shocked by sex. Kids haven't yet internalized what they're supposed to be shocked by vs what's mundane and unremarkable.
The younger the child the less likely he is to be traumatized by whatever it his particular culture has deemed shocking.

 

[Brickjectivity]

For my own locality I think a discussion about pornography is a better idea than trying to get actual porn into the schools, which just would never happen here. Although we do show educational films such as 'Hamlet'. blah

 

[Augustus]

How many 15/16 year olds with a computer will not have viewed porn? They aren't suggesting showing it to 5 year olds.

It is a reality of the modern world and adolescents need to be able to interpret pornography as being different to real life. If your sex eduction has only consisted of watching online porn some people will develop bad attitudes towards sex and what is 'normal' or 'expected'. This cannot be good for society.

There is no point in pretending that kids don't watch this stuff, you have to accept that they do. Harm reduction, rather than head in the sand denial is necessary in a mature society.

 

[Skwim]

It's not at all bogus, it is just talking about showing porn as a part of a program of education - as opposed to the kids watching porn movies.

Errr, if the kids aren't watching the porn why bother showing it?

How many 15/16 year olds with a computer will not have viewed porn? They aren't suggesting showing it to 5 year olds.

It is a reality of the modern world and adolescents need to be able to interpret pornography as being different to real life. If your sex eduction has only consisted of watching online porn some people will develop bad attitudes towards sex and what is 'normal' or 'expected'. This cannot be good for society.

There is no point in pretending that kids don't watch this stuff, you have to accept that they do. Harm reduction, rather than head in the sand denial is necessary in a mature society.

Trouble is, our (USA) society lags in maturity when it comes to sex and nudity. Not surprising when one considers its religious heritage, but certainly dispiriting.

 

[Bunyip]

Errr, if the kids aren't watching the porn why bother showing it?

The kids are watching porn, I think you must have misread. Why bother showing examples of porn in a class discussing porn? Seems obvious to me.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Not sure about "children", but older teens and on up, sure.

Yea. The "children" cliche' is a tediously ridiculous misnomer and obviously overused to the point of plain stupidity.

 

[Twilight Hue]

The kids are watching porn, I think you must have misread. Why bother showing examples of porn in a class discussing porn? Seems obvious to me.

Yep. Lol.

Redundancy at it's finiest, yet it would be a real hoot to see how something like porn gets addressed in the classroom by the faculty staff. Priceless. *Grin*

 

[Bunyip]

Yep. Lol.

Redundancy at it's finiest, yet it would be a real hoot to see how something like porn gets addressed in the classroom by the faculty staff. Priceless. *Grin*

Well they already do sex education, and that shows images which would be classified as pornographic. It seems to me just a necessary modernisation to sex ed class.

 

[Smart_Guy]

Isn't he confusing porn with sex education?

 

[Bunyip]

Isn't he confusing porn with sex education?

No, he is just suggesting that sex education include some discussion about porn and the issues that surround it.

 

[Augustus]

No, he is just suggesting that sex education include some discussion about porn and the issues that surround it.

Buffering? Paywalls? Pop-up ads?

 

[Flankerl]

Pop-up ads? What is this, 2002?

 

[Tiapan]

When we teach sexual reproduction to year 9-10 students in science biology, I start by writing all the slang and swear/slang words for sex and body parts eg f***, c***, rainbow d***, screw etc etc etc. I have this hidden when the class enters the room, once they are settled I unmask the board for all to see. The gasps of horror, the giggles, the laughs, the noise, but within minutes it settles and the smuttiness subsides so we can now get on with the serious topic. At that age it would be illegal to show porn movies, but pictures of the biology are allowed. While at Monash University, many moons ago, the topic of sexuality in Physiology classes was taught with porn movies showing the diversity of sexual activity, very informative.

Cheers

 

[LuisDantas]

There is a webcomic I follow that taught me a bit about Danish culture. It seems that they are fairly frank about sexuality out there.

Generally speaking, I think it is better to deal with reality than to make of avoiding it out of pointless fear. Porn by itself is hardly at all a problem, except for the insistence in attempting to present it as both desirable and forbidden. It is the same argument that is sometimes used for drug use, except that it makes sense here.

Let the children feel free to ask their parents and teachers instead of being forced to feel "mature" because they learned that it is better not to.