Academics Criticize Australian AG's 'Harmful Pornography' Inquiry

Academics Criticize Australian AG's 'Harmful Pornography' Inquiry

SYDNEY — After New South Wales state authorities announced earlier this month plans to hold an inquiry on the impacts of “harmful pornography,” researchers associated with the prestigious Australian academic site The Conversation have questioned the blatantly negative framing of the project.

New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley has requested that a parliamentary committee “look into and report on the impacts of violent and misogynistic pornographic material on mental, emotional and physical health,” Australia’s ABC News reported.

"A generation of young men are growing up with unprecedented access to the online world, and this includes early and easy access to pornography, with harmful depictions of the treatment of women," Daley told the press on Aug. 2. "This inquiry will for the first time in our state provide insight into the full impacts of harmful pornography online and young people's access to it."

This week, Giselle Woodley and Lelia Green of Edith Cowan University, whose research is part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project "Adolescents' perceptions of harm from accessing online sexual content," published an article on The Conversation noting that “the negative framing of the inquiry risks revisiting old arguments, rather than advancing the debate and policies.”

According to Woodley and Green, although politicians, the mainstream press and vocal anti-porn and anti-sex-work activists have centered the debate around the potential harm to teenagers, “very few people have interviewed teens about it.”

“As part of our research, we asked teens about their experiences of porn and found many have a nuanced understanding of the risks, but also the benefits,” they wrote.

Woodley and Green’s research showed that, contrary to the biases of anti-porn activists as filtered through politicians and the media, “teens hold very mixed views about both porn and sexting” and “some of these views were positive.”

Porn, the authors also found, “may offer more accessible and explicit representations of sex and bodies that schools cannot.”

The authors recommend that policymakers and researchers “listen to teens, giving more importance to their firsthand experiences over secondhand statements. Secondhand statements tend to repeat warnings teens hear from others. Their actual experiences may be different from those represented in the media.”

Main Image: New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Braindance Unveils '6DOF' VR Tech

Interactive virtual reality platform Braindance has debuted its new Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) VR technology.

Kiiroo, Pineapple Support Launch 'Empower Hour' Series on FeelHubX YouTube Channel

Kiiroo and Pineapple Support have teamed up to launch the “Empower Hour” series on the FeelHubX YouTube channel.

Kansas Law Firm Deploys Religion, Bunk Science While Recruiting Plaintiffs Under AV Law

Kansas-based personal injury law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley is promoting debunked scientific theories and leveraging religious affiliation against the industry while it seeks potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against adult companies under the state’s age verification law.

UK Tech Secretary Lists Age Verification Among OSA Priorities

Peter Kyle, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on Wednesday made public a draft version of his priorities for implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), including age verification.

AEBN Publishes Popular Seraches by Country for September, October

AEBN has released its list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Avery Jane Featured on 'Adult Time Podcast'

Avery Jane is the latest guest on the “Adult Time Podcast,” hosted by studio CCO Bree Mills.

FSC: Kansas Law Firm Threatens Adult Site Over Age Verification

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has been notified that Kansas law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley has sent a letter threatening an adult website with a lawsuit for breaking the state's age verification law.

10th Circuit Rejects Final FSC Appeal in Utah AV Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Monday rejected a motion by Free Speech Coalition (FSC) requesting that the full court rehear its appeal in Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the industry trade association’s challenge to Utah’s age verification law.

Trump Nominates Project 2025 Contributor, Section 230 Foe to Chair FCC

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated, as his pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — an author of Project 2025 who has called for gutting Section 230 protections.

Streamate's Elevate Partners With Miss Mei on Decriminalization Initiative

Streamate’s Elevate initiative is debuting a November collaboration with creator and community advocate Miss Mei that will highlight the modern criminalization of sex work.

Show More