On November 21, 7.30pm at 15 King Street Newtown, Sydney, Melinda Tankard Reist (MTR) will be at the Centre for Christian Living (CCL) to speak on “Exposing the harms of pornography”. Melinda is a writer, speaker and media commentator, see, www.melindatankardreist.com.
The Centre for Christian Living (CCL) interviewed Melinda (MTR) about pornography.
CCL: What led you to start thinking about pornography and its harmful impact on society?
MTR: I suppose it was a natural progression from my third book Getting Real: Challenging the sexualisation of girls. The rise of the internet, meaning easier reach and accessibility of porn, especially hardcore forms, has meant more people than ever are affected by it. There was also a raging debate on the filtering of internet porn. The messages of porn were taking over public space.
I thought it would be good to get experts together on the subject to contest the idea that porn is just harmless fun.
CCL: Many of us would prefer not to think about pornography, even though we agree that it is a terrible thing having a big impact on the world that we live in. Why do you think we need to address these issues, even though we will find it unpleasant?
MTR: Pornography is all about subordination. It is about selling back to us industrialised, commodified, commercialised porn sex. It is impacting relationships, destroying marriages, moulding boys into brutal masculinities. It is teaching girls that they are merely sexual service stations for boys. The average age of first exposure to pornography is 11.
Given this, it’s obvious that we are all affected by it, even if we don’t want to acknowledge it. There is a greater need than ever for people who care about authentic intimacy and connections to be able to model healthy sexuality. We need to understand pornography so that we can address its impacts in our own lives and in the broader world in which we are trying to be salt and light.
If in Sydney on 21 November why not hear more of Melinda’s wisdom on this very difficult topic. Also the chance to buy Melinda’s newly published book, Big Porn Inc for the discounted price of $35. Check out a great review of her book Big Porn Inc by Bill Muehlenberg here.
Melinda’s excellent previous book: “Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls”
