Saving the Children? Pornography, Childhood and the Internet

Exposing children to pornography: How competing constructions of childhood shape state regulation of online pornographic material

“…Resembling the late 19th century scientific discourses that held childhood to be devoid of sexuality (Buckingham and Chronaki, 2014), these framings disavowed children from expressing any sexual agency. Sex education would only be useful if it inoculated children against the influences of pornography:For every child that sits there and understands their own sexuality and goes on to make good healthy decisions there are 50 that don’t.…”

“…In such readings, children are constructed as ‘passive media consumers’ (James and Prout, 1997) who lack the critical skills to reject violence in pornography on ethical or moral grounds. However, despite a lack of evidence to support a causal link between viewing pornography and sexual offending (Buckingham and Chronaki, 2014; Livingstone, 2017), some researchers claim that pornography can be a factor in youth sexual assault (McKibbin et al, 2016).…”

“…Central to modernist notions of childhood has been the construction of children as ‘asexual’ where ‘childhood innocence is premised on the notion that children are ignorant of sex, and do not experience sexual feelings or desires’ (Buckingham and Chronaki, 2014: 303). In this view, sexual knowledge is a key factor separating adulthood from childhood.…”

Lähikuvassa mediakasvatus

“…esim. Postman 1994;Buckingham & Chronaki 2014;Carlson 2012;Egan & Hawkes 2010;Jones 2011). Vaikka mediakasvatukseen liittyvä huolipuhe korostuu edelleen alaikäisten median käyttäjien kohdalla, viime vuosina vaatimukset aikuisväestön mediakasvatuksesta ovat saaneet hyvinkin huolestuneita äänensävyjä niin kotimaassa kuin globaalistikin (Rasi et al 2016;Pääjärvi & Palsa 2015;Livingstone ym.…”

Rethinking the pornography debate in Greece: a country-specific reading of an ‘old’ argument

“…Meanwhile, contrary research has shown that social, policy and academic concerns regarding the 'devastating' impact of pornographic content on youngsters are seriously overstated and serve to reify a media alarmist and sensationalist culture (Buckingham and Bragg 2004;Buckingham and Chronaki 2014;Buckingham andJensen 2012, Rovolis andTsaliki 2012) and are largely fed by Νorth American conceptions and political divisions (which take a more conservative view to legal action and social policy, Paasonen, Nikunen, and Saarenmaa 2007). However, the hegemony of the pro-effects conceptual paradigm means that, with regard to children, we find ourselves in the middle of a discussion about whether we should restrict or control children's access to media […] Framing the debate in these terms focuses attention on a narrow range of phenomena and largely forecloses what can possibly be said about them.…”