Spring Break
Speaker to discuss the state of 'Porn Nation'
Author Michael Leahy will be on campus to discuss the effects of living in a 'hyper-sexual culture'
Nick Vardanega
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: News
Organizers of Porn Nation: Living in a Hypersexual Culture braved the rain Wednesday afternoon, to sell t-shirts and hand out flyers in the MU Quad, for the discussion which will be held at the LaSells Stewart Center tonight at 7 p.m.
"We're hoping it will fill [the LaSells Center]," said Keith McKinley, a junior in microbiology and a member of the Campus Crusaders for Christ leadership team.
The Campus Crusaders for Christ, along with several other campus groups, are sponsoring Porn Nation, a multi-media presentation given by author Michael Leahy to address the effects of exposure to pornography - particularly internet pornography - on society.
Leahy is a recovering sex addict and started BraveHearts, a non-profit organization to help individuals and their families with sex addiction.
Leahy uses his personal story of sex addiction to give what he describes as a personal, intellectual and spiritual discussion about the effects of pornography.
He has given the presentation about 80 times and has given it on campuses across the country as well as at universities in Bosnia and Croatia.
"It's natural for students to explore their sexuality, that's normal," said Leahy who was in the quad Wednesday afternoon. "But you don't hear the other side, you only hear what I call the family values argument."
Leahy says that often discussion about sex and pornography is framed as a moral argument about whether it is right or wrong, but these arguments fail to address the effects those things have on a person and their relationships.
He thinks that with a culture oversaturated with sexual images there is greater potential for young people to develop sex addiction problems.
"They're all heading for a cliff and we're at the bottom of the cliff trying to catch them," Leahy said of a generation that has been exposed to more sexual content then any other generation in history.
According to Leahy, pornography is a $57 billion industry worldwide and is worth $10-12 billion in the U.S., making the United States the largest consumer, producer and exporter of pornography.
"We're hoping it will fill [the LaSells Center]," said Keith McKinley, a junior in microbiology and a member of the Campus Crusaders for Christ leadership team.
The Campus Crusaders for Christ, along with several other campus groups, are sponsoring Porn Nation, a multi-media presentation given by author Michael Leahy to address the effects of exposure to pornography - particularly internet pornography - on society.
Leahy is a recovering sex addict and started BraveHearts, a non-profit organization to help individuals and their families with sex addiction.
Leahy uses his personal story of sex addiction to give what he describes as a personal, intellectual and spiritual discussion about the effects of pornography.
He has given the presentation about 80 times and has given it on campuses across the country as well as at universities in Bosnia and Croatia.
"It's natural for students to explore their sexuality, that's normal," said Leahy who was in the quad Wednesday afternoon. "But you don't hear the other side, you only hear what I call the family values argument."
Leahy says that often discussion about sex and pornography is framed as a moral argument about whether it is right or wrong, but these arguments fail to address the effects those things have on a person and their relationships.
He thinks that with a culture oversaturated with sexual images there is greater potential for young people to develop sex addiction problems.
"They're all heading for a cliff and we're at the bottom of the cliff trying to catch them," Leahy said of a generation that has been exposed to more sexual content then any other generation in history.
According to Leahy, pornography is a $57 billion industry worldwide and is worth $10-12 billion in the U.S., making the United States the largest consumer, producer and exporter of pornography.
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