The Observer

Issue date: 10/30/09 Section: News

This year, the Center for Women's Project on Men and Gender, whose staff is pictured above, focuses on the effects of pornography on the male psyche. [Click to enlarge]

Thanks to speedy internet connections and the simplicity of peer-to-peer file sharing at Case Western Reserve University, easy access to pornography at Case has grown to become a joke on campus, and is frequently not given a second thought. However, the staff at the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women hopes to spark an academic debate on the impact of frequent use of pornographic materials. Next Wednesday, Nov. 4, a screening of the documentary Click it or Kick it: The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality, and Relationships will be held at 7 p.m. in the Hovorka Atrium. The event is a product of the Project on Men and Gender (PMG) efforts by the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women (FCW). PMG events are meant to raise awareness of issues dealing with masculinity, gender stereotypes, and violence against women. Senior Stephanie Ohtola, the program coordinator at the Center for Women, explained that pornography was chosen as the topic for this year's event because it encompasses the many issues Case students encounter, especially in their first year of college.

"I have many friends who have told me that their boyfriends have [seen] something in a porno and now they 'want to try it with me'," said Ohtola. "I'm so offended by this."

Ohtola stated that Click it or Kick it is meant to be an academic look at pornography and how it has affected men's views of women and their sexuality. It will not be an hour long event condemning pornography, but rather a tool to initiate discussion of why human beings like the violent, degrading aspects of pornographic material as well as what can be learned from examining this lust to make sure it has no negative consequences in interpersonal relationships.

Pornography isn't hard to find, thanks to the advent of the internet. Indeed, some cynically remark that the internet would be dead without its existence. The first encounter with the opposite sex for many who grew up in the age of computers was through the television or the internet. Click It or Kick It begs the question: how does viewing pornography at an early age affect the developing viewpoint of young adults? Ohtola explained that several scenes throughout pornography are demeaning and degrading of women, men, and sometimes animals, yet our society has made adult entertainment a billion-dollar industry.

Continued...

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