Parents Asked, We Answered: Your Most Pressing Questions About Pornography and Youth (Part 2)

The second part of our “Ask Us Anything” Series addresses questions from parents and caregivers of young people about protecting youth in a world saturated with pornographic content. Read the first part here.

From the disproportionate impact of pornography on LGBTQ+ youth to the normalization of exploitation and the need for stronger regulation, parents raising young people in today’s pornified culture are asking difficult and important questions. We invited parents, caregivers, and professionals to send their questions to our team of experts to help guide them in the best ways to support the young people in their life in the face of hypsersexualized media and pornography.

The questions dig deep into the implications of pornography, especially on vulnerable youth, and the policies taking place around the world that may help address the harmful effects of pornography. In the second part of our series, Culture Reframed’s Founder, Dr. Gail Dines, and Dr. Sanchez share answers to these questions, along with actionable tips, examples, and resources to educate and support on this critical issue.

Do you have a question for Culture Reframed’s team of experts? Submit it here!

The Impact of Porn on Children and Vulnerable Youth

Why might LGBTQ+ youth be more vulnerable to porn?

Dr. Mandy Sanchez: LGBTQ+ youth are indeed a vulnerable group, especially since most sex education programs ignore them and their struggles in a hetero-normative culture. This can produce stigma and harmful stereotypes. Porn fetishizes LGBTQ+ youth, thus undermining a healthy sexuality, body image, and sense of what it means to develop a capacity for intimate and connected sexuality.

Are laws adapting to child-on-child sexual assault? Given that incest is apparently “current” in porn, how will such cases be addressed? How should parents broach the subject of incest? It seems absurd to have to do so, but sadly, kids see it normalized in porn.

Dr. Gail Dines: Because of outrage at the porn industry, few mainstream porn sites actually have the category “incest.” Instead, they use terms like “stepfather/brother/sister” to avoid controversy. However, the videos and text suggest incest. As far as we know, laws are not adopting the reality of increased child-on-child sexual abuse. It is a good idea to include incest in a larger discussion with your young person on the harms of porn, if it is age appropriate.

Does porn desensitize children to exploitation or the normalization of buying sex?

Studies show that boys and men who use porn regularly are three times more likely to buy sex.

GD: Studies show that boys and men who use porn regularly are three times more likely to buy sex. Porn provides a set of sexual and cultural scripts that teach users that women and girls are sexually disposable. The desensitization that some porn users experience means that they become accustomed to hardcore sex and want the sexual behaviors depicted in pornography. Prostituted and trafficked women and girls can’t say no to porn sex because of the control of the pimp.

Parenting, Educating, and Porn Literacy

What activities do you suggest for educators to engage parents and tweens on the topic of porn literacy? Do you have any activities you recommend to engage them both?

MS: Yes! Culture Reframed has developed free courses for both teachers and parents that are chock full of information, activities, and tips on how to talk to kids about porn. The Porn-Critical Sex Education Curriculum, although designed for educators, is a valuable resource for parents, especially if your young person’s school does not have a comprehensive sex education program.

Should we tell teenagers to stop watching porn, taking the risk that it will drive them away, or do we teach them how to consume porn critically, to try to do it less and less, and so on…?

The goal is to stop young people from using porn, and critical porn literacy is a powerful way to do this.

GD: Rather than telling young people to stop using porn as an entry point to a discussion, parents, caregivers, and educators would be better served by having the kind of conversations you can find in our free courses for parents. Of course, the goal is to stop young people from using porn, and critical porn literacy is a powerful way to do this.

Policy, Regulation, and Ethics

The porn industry in the EU has always been under criticism only by feminist and religious groups. How can advocates help the public understand it’s not a question of free speech or open-mindedness?

GD: Thanks to the multidisciplinary research on the harms of porn on young people, the tide is turning against the porn industry. Today, we have multiple groups such as medical and legal professionals, as well as educators and child safety experts, calling for laws that regulate the porn industry. Feminists were the first group to call attention to the harms of pornography over 40 years ago, based on research and women’s testimony of the sexual exploitation rampant in the porn industry. Taking a harm-based approach rather than a moral one, there is a growing group of activists who argue that the free speech of the porn industry does not trump women’s and children’s basic human right to live in a safe, egalitarian society. For this to become more widespread, we need to educate, legislate, and raise consciousness about how porn is undermining the healthy development of young people.

For this to become more widespread, we need to educate, legislate, and raise consciousness about how porn is undermining the healthy development of young people.

We need to regulate age requirements for porn sites. Is Culture Reframed advocating for this?

MS: Yes, Culture Reframed has been at the forefront of the age-verification (AV) legislation. Dr. Gail Dines was involved in passing the first AV law in Louisiana, and that law is now the template for laws in 25 other states. Culture Reframed has consulted with many of these states and has worked hard to get politicians to see this law as a child-protection measure, not a moral issue. We also consulted with the UK government on the Online Safety Act that became law in July 2025, a broader, more comprehensive law than the ones passed in the US. Some studies have found that visits to porn sites in the UK have decreased by over 70% since it became law.

What is your perspective on ethical porn on platforms such as MakeLoveNotPorn by Cindy Gallup?

Because pornography is based on the sexual exploitation and degradation of women and girls, it is impossible to have “ethical porn.”

GD: Because pornography is based on the sexual exploitation and degradation of women and girls, it is impossible to have “ethical porn.” The narrative and reality of porn that women’s bodies are commodified and monetized undercuts the notion that women are equal citizens. Cindy Gallop’s Make Love Not Porn is a strategic way to reposition her website as separate from the porn industry. However, the site’s mission is to make money, not liberate us from restrictive sexual norms. Many of the videos use pornographic terms to describe women, and the performers act out the sexual behaviors seen in pornography. Gallop argues that the site is based on the women’s consent. We have no way to prove that this is true, given that we know nothing about the life circumstances of the women performers (this is, of course, also true of the mainstream porn on sites such as Pornhub).

Together, we can drive awareness, educate adults about the issues, and promote healthy conversations with young people to help them build resilience to pornography.

Culture Reframed’s collection of free resources addresses many of the concerns in the questions we received. It’s important to know that you are not alone — you are part of a community of caregivers who share the same concerns and fears that you do. Together, we can drive awareness, educate adults about the issues, and promote healthy conversations with young people to help them build resilience to pornography. Our age-based and developmentally appropriate programs for Parents of Teens and Tweens offer best-practice toolkits that provide a science-backed framework to support gentle, safe conversations with young people about healthy relationships.