How young people are sucked in by raunch culture

Sex sells: the Pussycat Dolls

We can help young people challenge the porn industry's influence in everyday media.

Why should girls feel ashamed for posting sexy photos online, asked year 11 student Olympia Nelson on these pages last week. It is a question I have heard girls ask when talking about feeling shame in relation to sexuality and boys being treated like studs by their peers.

During my research, I have found that young people may be digitally adept but they are largely uncritical of the raunch culture they consume and emulate. Girls and their male peers take for granted a world where ''hotness and sexiness'' is central to their image. Raunch culture dominates much of the media that they prefer. It's not ''Why am I sharing highly intimate shots of myself and how may this affect my life?'', but ''This is the norm - why shouldn't I?''

Children as young as 12 are taking and distributing sexy images because it seems acceptable. And not just ''rude'' photos of kissing and boobs but graphic photos of girls in outfits and poses that amount to pornography. Keep reading

Also see
Raising Children in a Sex-Saturated Society [Videos]