Prof. says pornography harms college students

Boys first download pornography at 11-and-a-half years old, and grow up to see women as either "invisible" or mere sexual objects, Wheelock College women's studies professor Gail Dines told 300 people last night.

Dines discussed the evolution of pornography and how its pervasiveness affects college students in a lecture at the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitative Sciences as part of Genderfest '08, a two-week examination of gender identity.

"College men are huge consumers of pornography," Dines said. "They are one of the hugest consumers, and women on campuses are sexual with these men. In that way, it has an impact on the entire campus."

Dines, author of the best-selling textbook Gender, Race, Class, and the Media presented her views on the negative representation of women in pornography and popular culture, and said the media bombards consumers with sex.

Dines said she targets college students because they are most affected and concerned by sexuality and pornography.

College of Arts and Sciences junior Courtney Miller said she is conscious of the role of sex in the media and attended the lecture to learn more about its influence.

"Sex has become such a part of our popular culture, and since it is seen on such a daily basis, people don't realize the affect it can have," Miller said.

CAS senior Nadav Lipkin said he was drawn to the lecture because of media curiosity.

"The media directs its attention to our age group, and if we are not educated on it now, we probably won't get the chance to do it as intimately later," Lipkin said.

Dines also discussed the power of technology, adding that the Internet's emergence has changed pornography in recent years, making it a more dangerous industry.

"The industry looks nothing like it did 10 years ago," Dines said. "It is much more wealthy, much more violent, much more cruel."

Dines said feminism can be used as tool to fight the negative representation of females in pornography as sex objects in the media.

"We are on the verge of a cultural collapse," Dines said. "A society with this culture cannot carry on. There are limits as to what we can stand, but there is always hope in a social movement."

BU English and women's studies professor Carrie Preston said she and her class organized the event to immerse themselves in feminist activism.

"My class is asking how feminist theory affects our lives, and to answer this question we needed to take part in activism," Preston said. "Genderfest is what we came up with."

Preston said she thinks Dines's talk was an opportunity to educate students about sexuality, pornography and the media because these issues affect the collegiate demographic.

"This is a topic that affects students' lives," she said. "It is about images of young women and men and their sex lives, which is a very important issue."