Who wants to be a porn star?

4/17/08

By Catherine Story
Business Manager

LSC students show a lack of interest in an open discussion and educational slideshow about pornography.

Pat Shine, Henekis Stoddard and Carolyn Brown presented “Who wants to be a porn star?” to two LSC students Tuesday afternoon. Stoddard attributed the low turnout to the nice weather and the awkward nature of the topic.

“This is the fourth or fifth time we’ve shown this and this is the lowest turn out,” Stoddard said.

The presentation discussed the changes to a society that pornography is to blame for and the negative effects it has on the men and women who are exposed to it.

“Women learn that their worth is in their appearance,” Stoddard said. “They learn to picture their bodies as a receptacle.”

“Women who buy in are considered sluts and whores,” Stoddard said. “Women who don’t are prudes, don’t like sex or are lesbians.”

The presentation also looked at the difficulties men face from the ideals that porn instills.

“Pornography dehumanizes men because they are led to believe it’s what they want,” Stoddard said.

Stoddard used an example of a man who had admitted he “can’t be sexual with a woman without fantasizing about porn.”

“Men don’t get any idea about what a healthy sexual relationship can be,” Shine said.

“Sex is great, do it as much as you want to but when you’re taught to do it in this way it’s not healthy,” Shine said. “What’s sexy about degrading other human beings?”

Stoddard emphasized that the pornography industry was a societal problem and not just a personal decision.

“The girls get blamed as opposed to the culture that teaches them that that is how they will be valued,” Stoddard said.

The presentation also discussed the negative impact that pornography has on other ethnicities.

”Multicultural porn just means they’re not white,” Stoddard said. “Often the portrayal of those in multicultural pornography is stereotypical and racist.”

Stoddard went through a few examples pointing out the various stereotypes including Latinos, African Americans and Asians.

“Latinos are viewed as illegal or economically poor,” Stoddard said. “While black women are shown in even more degrading ways. They are depicted animalisticly or they’ll be shown as ghetto.”

“Asians are shown as compliant to the white mans fantasy,” Stoddard said

Stoddard began showing the slideshow after having the script and slideshow handed to her.

“It was hard to talk about but it felt like my responsibility,” Stoddard said.

Stoddard works in preventative education for youth and she has been an advocate against sexual and domestic violence.

“I would like to be an activist that helps to change a culture,” Stoddard said.

“I am often the person putting a band-aid on a bullet wound,” Stoddard said, “I would like to prevent the bullet wound.”