“I don’t want to talk to you about the porn you watch!”: What Yr 7-8 girls want boys to know
‘What do these words say about us, especially us men, and the culture we have created and the attitudes we have adopted?’ MTR and Daniel Principe at Macquarie College, Newcastle My friend and co-worker Daniel Principe posted this eloquent reflection on his experience joining me in engaging with students at Macquarie College Newcastle on Facebook […]
Life imitating porn: Girls injured by boys acting out porn scenes
‘Porn is presenting rough sex and anal sex as something normal, and teenage boys are learning from their screens that it often involves violence and humiliation’ – Nikki Gemmell How encouraging to read the concerns a number of us have been attempting to raise for close on a decade now, in our national broadsheet The […]
‘They put vile posters in my face about sex acts that triggered what happened to me as a child, even when they knew I was a survivor’: Dr Caroline Taylor on the impact of being abused at ASASE Summit
Callous cruelty and disregard for a survivor of violence, as mob descends on Melbourne summit Professor S. Caroline Taylor AM is an internationally esteemed academic and researcher who provides specialist evidence in child abuse cases. She is recognised as one of Australia’s leading experts and consultants in the field of child and adult sexual violence and […]
Behold your hero of the sexual revolution: girl child centrefolds, rape cartoons, sexual harassment and wife beating jokes. MTR on Hefner
The House that Hef Built: Hugh Hefner’s Dark Legacy Melinda Tankard Reist “A new angel has opened his wings!” “We need more men like Hugh in this world today.” These passionate declarations from his Facebook page are among numerous accolades for the porn merchant Hugh Hefner, who recently died aged 91. A charming trendsetter, brave […]
Pornography is a civil rights issue: marking Hefner death with eviscerating Andrea Dworkin essay
Certainly it is freedom for those who do it. Certainly it is freedom for those who use it as entertainment, but we are also asked to believe that it is freedom for those to whom it is done. This essay by the inimitable Andrea Dworkin (September 26, 1946 -April 9, 2005) was written 30 years […]
Big Porn Inc ‘by far the best and most significant’ of recent books on pornography: reviewer
‘This thick, landmark book is highly recommended’ My co-editor Abigail Bray, my publishers and me (of course) were delighted to read this journal article “Book Reviews: Recent Books on Pornography: From Discussions of Harm to Normalization” by Robert Brannon of Brooklyn College, US and published this week by Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and […]
How pornography fuels violence against women: new DVD from MTR
It’s time pornography was included in discussion of factors contributing to violence against women I’ve just a released a new DVD! It’s based on an address I gave to civic leaders, community groups, educators and those at the frontline of addressing domestic violence, in Queensland late last year. I think it’s safe to say it […]
MTR part of Studio 10 panel on impact of porn on young people
Yesterday Studio 10 screened a special investigation on the impact of pornography especially on young people. I was part of the panel. You can view an extract from the program below: See also: ‘When 5 year olds create porn themed images in class’. MTR, Australian Childhood Foundation Prosidy blog ‘Growing Up in Pornland: Girls Have […]
Hit, kicked, starved: the violence I endured from my porn fuelled boyfriend – young survivor speaks out
Brooke, 21, tells her story for the first time Brooke, 21, survived a year of abuse at the hands of her porn-fuelled boyfriend who bashed her if she resisted the porn inspired acts he demanded. Last Tuesday Brooke and I shared a platform at a breakfast gathering of civic leaders, teachers, police domestic violence & […]
Growing Up in Pornland: Girls Have Had It with Porn Conditioned Boys
“[I want] better education regarding sex for both boys and girls [and] information about pornography, and the way it influences harmful sexual practices.” These are the words of Lucy, aged 15, one of 600 young Australian women and girls who took part in a just-released survey commissioned by Plan Australia and Our Watch. The survey, conducted […]
Can we reclaim the word ‘slut’?
Feminism is a movement not a self-help book On Wednesday at Readings bookstore in Carlton, Melbourne, I’ll be emceeing the launch and Q&A for Freedom Fallacy: The Limits of Liberal Feminism (Connor Court publishing) a collected of 20 authors edited by writer and law tutor Miranda Kiraly and writer and RMIT research fellow Meagan Tyler. […]
As long as he gets off….young women’s experiences of sex
I’m quoted in this article by Kasey Edwards in Daily Life today: …This is symptomatic of a broader attitude where sex is regarded as solely about male pleasure and male desires. The man decides and the woman provides. Women having sex for their own pleasure is rarely portrayed in popular culture, porn or even sex […]