Professor Wants Hardcore Porn Shown in Jr. High Classrooms

A Danish professor is calling for hardcore pornography to be shown in schools, based on a theory that it will help children become “critical consumers,” able to distinguish between real-life sex and its unrealistic depiction on film.

Christian Graugaard, a leading sexologist at Denmark’s Aalborg University, is proposing adding a mandatory discussion about pornography with the country’s 8th and 9th grade students as part of a “sensible didactic strategy, carried out by trained teachers,” he told the Guardian.

Graugaard:

We know from research that a vast majority of teenagers have seen porn at an early age – so it’s not a question of introducing youngsters to porn.

We should strengthen their ability to distinguish between the media’s depictions of the body and sex and the everyday life of an average teenager. They should become conscientious and critical consumers.

Sex education has been a mandatory part of Danish curriculum since 1970, and porn is currently being shown in the course at a handful of Danish schools, but Graugaard says it’s not enough:

Schools interpret the national guidelines very differently… So it’s important that education meets certain quality standards all over the country, that teachers are well trained and that up-to-date methods are constantly developed. Right now, Denmark is a developing country with regard to the methodology of sex education, and this should be changed.

One Nordic study found that 99% of boys and 86% of girls in Scandinavia have been introduced to pornography by age 16, reports the Guardian, which is why Graugaard says it is imperative to ensure teens “possess the necessary skills to view porn constructively.”

“Porn may actually offer a variety of both entertaining and educational properties… Porn can even be feminist and in some cases it can be part of a democratization of sex and [it can] promote diversity,” he said.

Aside from that “diversity,” porn can be “excluding,” of certain body types, genders and sexualities, says Graugaard. “We want our kids to have exciting and gratifying sex lives, so an open-minded, constructive dialogue is the best way to make sure that they are able to make meaningful decisions for themselves.”

He finished: “It’s not our job to scare off teenagers, rather we should encourage them to explore the joys of sexuality in a safe way and on their own terms – instead of turning our backs on them.”