Hypersexualized media has saturated our society—but with huge consequences.
While porn is often called “adult material,” many of its consumers are well under the legal adult age.Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2016). Adolescents and pornography: A review of 20 years of research.53(4-5), 509-531. doi:10.1080/00224499.2016.1143441Copy Studies show that most young people are exposed to porn by age 13, many at age 8 or 9.British Board of Film Classification. (2020). Young people, pornography & age-verification. BBFC. Retrieved from https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-classification/researchCopy and according to a nationally representative survey of U.S. teens, 84.4% of 14 to 18-year-old males and 57% of 14 to 18-year-old females have viewed pornography.Wright, P. J., Paul, B., & Herbenick, D. (2021). Preliminary insights from a U.S. probability sample on adolescents’ pornography exposure, media psychology, and sexual aggression. J.Health Commun., 1-8. doi:10.1080/10810730.2021.1887980Copy
That means that most young people are getting at least some of their education about sex from porn, whether they mean to or not. In fact, one study shows that approximately 45% of teens who consumed porn did so in part to learn about sex.British Board of Film Classification. (2020). Young people, pornography & age-verification. BBFC. Retrieved from https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-classification/researchCopy
Similarly, survey results also show one in four 18 to 24-year-olds listed pornography as the most helpful source to learn how to have sex.Rothman, E. F., Beckmeyer, J. J., Herbenick, D., Fu, T. C., Dodge, B., & Fortenberry, J. D. (2021). The Prevalence of Using Pornography for Information About How to Have Sex: Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey of U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults. Archives of sexual behavior, 50(2), 629–646. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01877-7Copy
In fact, 44% of boys who watched porn reported that online pornography gave them ideas about the type of sex they wanted to try. Martellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). 'I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it'. London: NSPCC. Retrieved from https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/2016/i-wasn-t-sure-it-was-normal-to-watch-itCopy
That’s not great, seeing that a 2010 study found that 88.2% of porn videos contained physical aggression, principally spanking, gagging, and slapping, while 48.7% of scenes contained verbal aggression, primarily name-calling. Perpetrators of aggression were usually male, whereas targets of aggression were overwhelmingly female. Bridges, A.J., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C., Liberman, R. Published October 2010Copy
We’ve seen it affect virtually every corner of our culture and to such extremes as prepubescent labiaplasty procedures and the global issue of sex trafficking.
But in addition to these horrifying issues, another issue is taking center stage due to our porn-obsessed society: sexual harassment and bullying, especially in schools.
Here’s what’s going on.
There have been reports of school-aged children as young as five years old exhibiting unprecedented sexual behaviors at school and in classrooms.Smith, A. (2017, August 6). Teachers need more training to deal with problematic sexual behaviour. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/education/teachers-need-more-training-to-deal-with-problematic-sexual-behaviour-20170803-gxov5h.htmlCopy
Note that bullying/cyberbullying (to include varying degrees of sexual harassment) are largely recognized as a national public health concern in the US.Keck School of Medicine of USC. (n.d.). How Bullying is a Public Health Issue. Retrieved from https://mphdegree.usc.edu/resources/articles/how-bullying-is-a-public-health-issue/Copy
And here’s where it gets a bit worse: bullied students are 24 times more likely to report suicidal ideation than their non-bullied counterparts,Suicide Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/suicide-statistics.htmlCopy and studies have found school to be the most common location of peer sexual victimization.Young, A. M., Grey, M., & Boyd, C. J. (2009). Adolescents’ experiences of sexual assault by peers: Prevalence and nature of victimization occurring within and outside of school. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(8), 1072-1083.Copy
One study concluded that at least 1 in 4 students experience unwanted verbal or physical sexual harassment on school grounds.Bidwell, A. (2014, April 6). Study: Sexual Harassment Frequent Among Middle School Students. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/06/study-sexual-harassment-frequent-among-middle-school-studentsCopy
Clearly, this is an issue that needs addressing.
For good reason, the question is circulating: are schools equipped to prevent, correct and discourage peer-to-peer unwanted sexual attention?
The answer, for the most part, is a resounding no—not yet, anyway. This is due, in part, to a lack of training to recognize sexual harassment and intervene, but also unclear administrative disciplinary protocol. Without these important steps, the “sexual bullying” arena is a huge grey area and difficult for teachers to control.
Here’s why.
1. Sexual bullying takes many forms.
The days of “innocent bullying” (if that was ever a thing) are dead, and in their place, a spectrum of sexual harassment, including but not limited to: jokes, gestures, name-calling, drawings/graffiti, touching, grabbing, cyberbullying, propositions, rumors, revenge porn, catcalling, gossip, and sextortion.Bidwell, A. (2014, April 6). Study: Sexual Harassment Frequent Among Middle School Students. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/06/study-sexual-harassment-frequent-among-middle-school-studentsCopy Espelage Professor of Psychology, University of Florida, D. (2018, February 27). The disturbing connection between bullying and sexual harassment. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-disturbing-connection-between-bullying-and-sexual-harassment-68033Copy How to Protect Students from Sexual Harassment: A Primer for Schools(PDF) (2007, October). Washington, DC: National Women's Law Center.Copy Young, A. M., Grey, M., & Boyd, C. J. (2009). Adolescents’ experiences of sexual assault by peers: Prevalence and nature of victimization occurring within and outside of school. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(8), 1072-1083.Copy Amrein, M. (2012). Preventing Sexual Harassment, Sexual Bullying, Sexual Abuse, Acquaintance Rape, and Date Rape Among Students at Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio: A Teacher Resource Guide and a Student Awareness Pamphlet.Copy
And seeing as sexting is massively normalized, if you add smartphones in the mix, child exploitation image distribution (if senders or recipients are underage), sexual coercion, and blackmailing.
Ever had your bra strap snapped or been called a homophobic slur? Both of these qualify as sexual harassment punishable by Title IX (US) but are often dismissed by teachers and administrators if they’re even reported.
The thought is that it is easier to dismiss the harassment or encourage the victims to ignore the offense than to determine the severity of the harassment and, therefore, the severity of the punishment.
As we said before, sexual harassment is a huge grey area as determined by school administrators, except in instances of the most severe cases of sexual violence.
2. Sexual harassment is determined by the victim, and generally, school-aged children are misguided to tolerate unwanted sexual attention.
If teachers and administrators do not see the bullying with their own eyes, they can only be held accountable for the way they did or did not respond to reported incidences. That requires both a reliable system for reporting and informed, confident, supported students who recognize harassment and self-report.
However, researchers suspect that the majority of peer-to-peer sexual harassment goes unreported—studies show that students can’t easily tell the difference between sexual harassment and harmless teasing, and students often share instances of sexual harassment only to entirely dismiss the event as “messing around.”Bidwell, A. (2014, April 6). Study: Sexual Harassment Frequent Among Middle School Students. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/04/06/study-sexual-harassment-frequent-among-middle-school-studentsCopy Espelage Professor of Psychology, University of Florida, D. (2018, February 27). The disturbing connection between bullying and sexual harassment. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-disturbing-connection-between-bullying-and-sexual-harassment-68033Copy Amrein, M. (2012). Preventing Sexual Harassment, Sexual Bullying, Sexual Abuse, Acquaintance Rape, and Date Rape Among Students at Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio: A Teacher Resource Guide and a Student Awareness Pamphlet.Copy
In addition, hypersexualized media and porn consumption by kids younger than 11—as mentioned before—seriously normalizes sexual harassment, convincing students even more that unwanted sexual attention is actually acceptable. These are the lies that much of mainstream porn sells.
3. Historically, school-aged (sexual) harassment has often been dismissed as not a big deal.
Not only have students been misguided to tolerate and dismiss sexual harassment because of what the large majority of them are seeing on their own or friends’ screens, but also the adults responsible for informing, guiding, and instructing them.
Peer-to-peer sexual harassment has long been dismissed as “boys will be boys,” or “he just likes you,” or even “harmless fun”—and, unfortunately, the students who are convinced to accept bullying and sexual harassment today are often the adults who will be misleading students in the future.
It’s a continuous cycle of, “That’s how it was when I was in high school; that’s how it is for everybody.” But it doesn’t have to be.
Why this matters
Similar to the porn industry, bullying is universally characterized by a real or perceived power imbalance. A bully demands power, a bully takes power from the victim, and the victim ultimately shrinks.Bullying Basics. (2017, August 14). Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/bullying-basicsCopy
We can obviously recognize the universal normalization of abuse and violence in both porn and sexual bullying, both of which are widely normalized. And unless we actively fight and work to educate our peers and the next generation, the porn industry will continue to saturate every corner of our culture and infect our interactions, relationships, and personal health.
Knowledge is power for everyone. Now that we know the issue of normalized sexual harassment and bullying in schools, we can take the needed steps to fight back. Together, we can make an impact.
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