Raising America’s Porn Literacy—and Managing America’s Porn Panic

Less than 20 years ago, one of the most disruptive technologies in human history came to America—broadband Internet. Like most technical advances, it was immediately adapted for sexual purposes. When it brought free, high-quality pornography into 100 million American homes, the country was simply not prepared for it. Dr. Marty Klein says we still aren’t. He says that as a result, the United States is in the midst of what he calls a "porn panic," marked by high levels of fear, outrage, misinformation, blame and demands for action. This is the background of the conflict many couples face about porn, of the anxieties of parents, and of the self-destructive uses of porn. In this talk, one of America’s experts on pornography discusses the context of our difficulties, with thought-provoking suggestions on how to respond. Using material from his new book His Porn, Her Pain, Dr. Klein will discuss building "porn literacy" in children, in couples and in porn consumers—while discussing the scientific evidence about how sexually explicit material actually affects consumers, their relationships and society. The subject of pornography sits at the intersection of politics, culture and our personal lives—and our audience last year found Dr. Klein so entertaining and provocative discussing "Sexual Intelligence" that we’ve invited him back again.