The conference was held this past Friday at Notre Dame's Center for Continuing Education.
University of Texas journalism professor Robert Jensen opened the event by asking attendees to complete the sentence, "Pornography is ..."
According to student news site "The Observer," responses ranged from "expressive" and "entertainment" to "seductive" and "dehumanizing."
Jensen had his own answer in mind, however.
"Pornography is what the end of the world looks like," Jensen said. "When one looks honestly at the contemporary porn industry, one sees some disturbing images of where this world is heading."
Jensen cited adult producer's growing fulfillment of the broad range of marketplace demands as one basis for his opinion; discussing how adult companies need to continually produce "new and interesting products" that have evolved from straight, vaginal sex in the 1960's and '70's, to anal sex in the '80's and even more extreme material today.
"I asked one [pornography producer] about the rise of anal sex in the 80s," Jensen said. "The producer replied that the majority of women do not seek out anal sex, so when men get angry at their wives, they secretly think to themselves that they would like to do that. Since they can't, they like to watch it."
Jensen described anal sex as "the sexualizing of male domination and female subordination. [It's] a disturbing mirror for the culture in which we live."
Focusing on the market demand for depictions of sexual practices that some women may find objectionable along with the desire for profits are leading adult companies down the road to violence and pedophilia, Jensen claimed.
"Where is the industry going, and what could possibly come after this?" Jensen said. "I have asked this to several pornographers. Some will say, 'I hate to say it, but the only place left to go is overt violence.' The other place to go is to continue to sexualize youth."
Following Jensen's presentation, Pasquerilla West rector Sister Susan Bruno, Corby Hall religious superior Father Peter Jarret, sophomore Patrick Tighe and senior Stephanie Brauer, engaged in a panel discussion about pornography at Notre Dame.
"Dependency on porn has been dubbed a psychological addiction," Tighe said. "But there is not one group in the counseling center dedicated to men and women addicted to porn."
Despite the lack of a formal program being in place of this, Jarret claimed that students were open with him concerning pornography.
"I was surprised and edified by the willingness of people to come and knock on my door and talk about their issue," Jarret said. "I found these conversations revealing, honest, and had a great appreciation for the person sitting next to me, talking. There was a sense of being trapped in something they lost control over."
Sister Susan called for attendees to work towards an end to porn addiction.
"We all have to get involved in changing this culture, changing this mentality," Bruno said. "In the end, we want to reject, resist and end the industry of pornography."
