August 2026: What Is Pop Culture Teaching Kids About Relationships?
Culture Reframed is the premier science-based, global organization working to stop the emotional, behavioral, and sexual harms of pornography to children and youth. Join our online community to receive updates on our work, announcements of upcoming events, and the latest news related to pornography and youth.
Pop culture is more than entertainment. The shows young people watch, the influencers they follow, and the content that algorithms place in front of them all contribute to the cultural environment in which they are learning about relationships, sexuality, and gender. As advocates, it’s worth taking a closer look at the messages embedded in that culture—and considering how we can help young people develop the critical thinking and media literacy skills to navigate them.
As a new school year begins, we’re sharing resources to help you start those conversations—and hope you’ll pass these on to other parents, educators, and professionals in your life. In this issue, you’ll find a Q&A with filmmaker and educator Byron Hurt on what boys are learning about masculinity, sex, and relationships; the latest episode of The P-Word Podcast, exploring what the rise of OnlyFans means for young people; and details on our upcoming webinar with Dr. Cara Natterson, a leading voice in puberty and adolescent health.
We hope these resources help you feel informed and prepared for the conversations that can make a difference throughout the school year and beyond.
— Lindsay Morris
Online Educator Coordinator, Culture Reframed
Free Webinar with Dr. Cara Natterson on Puberty and Pornified Culture
As kids head back to school, they’re navigating puberty alongside social media, pornography, AI-generated content, and constant peer comparison—often with little guidance from trusted adults.
On September 14 from 2–3 pm ET, join Culture Reframed and Dr. Cara Natterson, pediatrician, speaker, educator, and author of the bestselling The Care and Keeping of You series, for a candid webinar conversation about what young people are experiencing and how adults can help them navigate it.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Understand what kids are navigating internally and online, from body image to sexual pressures and risk-taking behavior.
- Recognize why puberty and the back-to-school season are a critical window for proactive conversations.
- Look beyond screen time to understand what young people are seeing, searching, sharing, and creating.
- Start age-appropriate conversations about bodies, relationships, sexuality, and online safety.
Sign up:
What Boys Are Learning About Masculinity, Sex, and Relationships: A Q&A With Byron Hurt
“Porn is not real life. It is a construction of a power hierarchy where men dominate, control, and subjugate girls and women. We have to teach boys and men that pornography disrupts their ability to form loving, healthy, functional relationships.” –Byron Hurt, Filmmaker & Activist
As an award-winning filmmaker, educator, speaker, and gender violence prevention advocate, Byron Hurt has spent two decades examining how pornography and hypersexualized media influence boys’ perceptions of girls and women, reinforce harmful ideas about masculinity, and shape expectations for intimacy and relationships.
In this Q&A, Hurt takes a closer look at the messages boys absorb and the role parents, educators, coaches, mentors, and other trusted adults can play in challenging them. He also explores how race and culture shape ideas about masculinity and sexuality, particularly for boys and men of color.
The P-Word Podcast Episode 2: What OnlyFans Is Really Teaching Young People
A struggling young mom turns to OnlyFans to pay her bills on Apple TV’s Margot’s Got Money Troubles. Sydney Sweeney’s character does the same on HBO’s Euphoria. Even Abbott Elementary has joked about it. What was once a niche platform has become a recurring plot device — a shorthand that pop culture now reaches for without a second thought.
That shift is the starting point for the second episode of The P-Word Podcast: Beyond “The Talk.” In this episode, hosts Drs. Gail Dines and Mandy Sanchez trace how OnlyFans moved from the margins to the mainstream, and what it means that hypersexualized content-creator platforms, reality TV, and algorithm-driven social media are no longer background noise in young people’s lives but part of the entertainment they consume every day.
Free Parent Courses for Peace of Mind This School Year
Back-to-school season is a chance to prepare for the conversations that matter most. Culture Reframed’s Parents Programs for Tweens (ages 9–12) and Teens (ages 13–18) give you research-based knowledge, expert guidance, and practical conversation scripts to help you:
- Understand how hypersexualized media and pornography can affect young people
- Build media literacy and resilience
- Talk about sex, relationships, boundaries, and digital media with greater confidence
- Create a foundation of trust through many small, ongoing conversations
The courses are available online 24/7, at your own pace, and completely free. Start the school year with tools to help your child navigate today’s digital world.
Hear From Gail
Gail Discusses the Hidden Realities of Content-Creator Platforms
Dr. Gail Dines contributed her perspective to a recent Boston Globe article on Mintstars, a competitor to OnlyFans run on a co-ownership model. Though this platform allows creators to take home more of their profits, as Gail points out, it is still contributing to the cultural issue of young people turning to creating explicit content in the hopes of paying their bills.
The article reads, “Many performers who leave the porn industry feel exploited, Dines said. ‘It’s like any industry, a few do really well, and the rest flounder.’” The success stories can too often overshadow cases of victimization and exploitation.
Upcoming Events
40th Annual Children’s Network Conference
September 2–3 | San Bernardino County, CA
Mandy will deliver a workshop, “Growing up in a Porn Culture: The Social, Emotional, & Cognitive Effects & A Public Health Solution,” to one of the Inland Empire’s premier training events for hundreds of social work, mental health, juvenile justice, child development, and child welfare professionals, as well as parents and caregivers.
GFNF4Kids Treasure Coast Child Summit
September 22–26 | Port St. Lucie, FL
Mandy will deliver a keynote presentation and a breakout session at this summit—an educational experience and training opportunity for professionals who work closely with children and others with an interest in children’s issues in the community. Law enforcement, child advocates, and special guest keynote speakers speak on topics regarding child abuse and safety.
New York State Children’s Alliance Leadership Conference
October 27–28 | Saratoga Springs, NY
Multidisciplinary team members and child advocacy professionals come together at this conference to connect, learn, and strengthen their work supporting children and families. Mandy will deliver the keynote presentation, “Growing up in a Porn Culture: The Social, Emotional, & Cognitive Effects & A Public Health Solution.”
JuST Conference
October 27–29 | Washington, DC
This conference provides practical knowledge and actionable responses to raise awareness and ultimately end juvenile sex trafficking (JuST) in local communities. Gail will present one of our new talks, “OnlyFans: Where Social Media and Pornography Meet Trafficking.”
What Others Are Saying
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million in New Mexico Child Safety Case (NY Times)
The penalty, imposed by a state judge, is on top of a $375 million fine ordered by a jury that found Meta misled users about the safety of its platforms. Read more.
The Malignant Rise of OnlyFans Managers: ‘It’s Exploiting. It’s Grooming. It’s Predatory’ (The Guardian)
Experts weigh in on how parents can make decisions about ‘sharenting’ in ways that support a child’s power to consent, recognize developmental changes as the child grows older, and prioritize the quality of the parent-child relationship. Read more.
Elon Musk’s xAI Sues Minnesota Over Law Banning ‘Nudification’ Technology (The Guardian)
First-in-nation law sets up test on states’ power to regulate use of AI as it tries to outlaw fake nude images of real people. Read more.
Teens Told Us They’re Not Just Seeing AI Nudes — They’re Making Them (Common Sense Media)
Our new survey finds that sexual deepfakes often involve friends, exes, and classmates—and parents are barely talking about them. Read more.
The Disturbing Rise of ‘Gooner’ Assaults at Dollar Tree Stores: ‘They Find It Funny to Degrade Women’ (The Guardian)
In dark corners of the internet, men are goading each other to masturbate in public — and on female shoppers — and post the footage. Read more.
