SOMETHIN’ TO TALK ABOUT: LIVING LA VIDA PORNO

Of late, a few things have hit our radar about the cross-section of faith and pornography, the meeting of sexuality and spirituality, the corner of belief and be-dunk-dunk, if you will.

The Associated Press yesterday published an interesting psycho-social analysis of the hypersexualization of American culture. I’ve excerpted it below for your reading enjoyment.

Living in a porn-driven, ‘look-at-me’ culture
CHICAGO — Porn used to be relegated to a video hidden in the bottom drawer, or a magazine under the mattress. Today, it’s part of everyday life.

Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends have become TV’s “girls next door.” Porn stars have MySpace pages and do voiceovers for video games. And while “porn on demand” is standard for hotel TVs and upgraded cable packages, it’s even easier to find it with a few clicks on the computer.

In April, more than a third of the U.S. Internet audience visited sites that fit into the online “adult” category, according to comScore Media Metrix.

So the message is clear: In today’s world, sex doesn’t just sell. The pervasiveness of porn has made sexiness — from subtle to raunchy — a much-sought-after attribute online, at school and even at work.

Many agree that the trend has had a particularly strong influence on young women — in some cases, taking shape as an unapologetic embracing of sexuality and exhibitionism.

“I am one of those girls,” says Holly Eglinton, a 31-year-old Canadian who recently won a talent search competition to appear as an unclothed newscaster on the Internet’s “Naked News.” She auditioned after meeting a producer for the show on a social networking site where she’s posted provocative photos of herself — an increasingly common practice.

For Eglinton, taking off her clothes for an Internet audience was freeing, fun and a little rebellious.

“It’s something that sort of suits my personality,” she says. “I’m kind of an extrovert and a bit of a camera hog, a poser.”

It’s a prevalent sentiment in our look-at-me culture. But many wonder if it really is empowering, especially for younger women and girls who try to emulate what’s already on the Web.

Too often, educators and health professionals say, the results are cases of “Girls Gone Wild” — gone wild.

Michael Simon, a therapist and high school counselor in the San Francisco Bay area, has seen an increasing number of girls and young women in his private practice after episodes in which they undressed or masturbated in front of a Web cam for people they met online.

“Instead of pornography or performative sexuality being one choice among many ways of being sexual, it’s essentially become the standard of sexiness,” says Simon. “It’s also the standard by which a man or woman is a prude, depending on how much they embrace that kind of sexuality.”
FOR THE FULL STORY (AP VIA CNN.COM) CLICK HERE

Also, late last week I received about the most unusual of tours this summer: PORN DEBATE.Beginning August 5, Craig Gross (a founding pastor of the Church of XXX) and Ron Jeremy (yes, THAT Ron Jeremy — a.k.a. (ew) the Hedgehog, the No. 1 Porn Star in the World, the hardest working man in (ew, again) showbidness) will appear on seven nightclub/theater stages in seven northern cities from Milwaukee to Manhattan to talk about the pros and cons of porn.

Whoah, Nelly.

PORN KING VS. PORN PASTOR
A note from the PORN DEBATE tour marketing folks decribed it this way:

“Ron Jeremy, the number one porn star of all time, will be debating Craig Gross, the founder and pastor of the number one anti-pornography ministry. Ron and Craig will take part in the debate itself, with a question and answer period worked in to the end of the debate. A meet and greet period follows. In this multi-faceted debate, all aspects of the pornography issue are discussed and examined. This is the first tour of its kind. Ron and Craig have debated at several college campuses, but this is the first time it will be at clubs and theaters.”

Apparently, before they took to interlocution, Gross and Jeremy tried to work out their difference the old-fashioned way, in the wrestling ring. For reals.

HERE is a report from last month about a stop on the church’s “Chicken and Porn” tour, from a CBS affiliate in Pennsylvania:

EAGLEVILLE, Pa. — A controversial conference has come to town and it has a very bizarre name — ‘Chicken and Porn.’

It is designed to educate men about the negative impacts of pornography and help those who are addicted break free.

The conference is being held at the Fairview Village Church on Germantown Pike in Eagleville, Montgomery County.

The event is an off-shoot of the XXX Church, which is an online ministry that is focused on combating porn addiction in the Christian community.

It centers on men and boys as young as the age of 11.

“When a sixth grader comes up to you and says, ‘I found some things on the internet that’s really starting to creep me out, I think I have a problem,’ it kind of scares you,” Youth Pastor Doug Moister said.

It may not be so surprising being that the porn industry is a thriving business.

In the United States alone, the porn industry rakes in roughly $12 billion and there 4.2 million porn web sites on the internet.

40 million American adults regularly visit porn web sites and 10-percent admit to having a porn addiction.

“Once they confess that initially, that’s really when the freedom starts setting in,” Moister said.

There are various speakers and group discussions at the conference and participants are also hooked up with accountability partners.

Some men, with the help of software, are regularly e-mailed a list of questionable web sites that their partners may be checking out.

“It’s a safeguard, it’s a psychological safeguard too because you’re being aware if there’s anything questionable, you know that your accountability partner is going to see that,” Associate Pastor Brian Akamine said.

The title may be catchy but some are wondering if it is a good idea.

“It is kind of a strange topic for a church to be talking about but maybe if somebody is addicted to this kind of thing and needs help, it might be a good outlet,” Gen Weisel of Chalfont, Pa. said.

The event kicked off Friday night and a full day of activities is planned for Saturday, which is only open to men.

“Porn creates unrealistic fantasies and expectations based on what you’re going to do in your real life sex with either your spouse or whoever you are having sex with, those fantasies, those unrealistic expectations cause big time trouble with your partner,” XXX Church Pastor J.R. Mahon said.

As for the chicken portion of the title, Chick-fil-A will be on the menu for Saturday’s festivities.