WARNING: The following story contains references to violence against women.
The proliferation of online pornography is increasingly shaping negative views of women among young men, according to Australian sex workers.
Among young people aged 16-20, 12 per cent of men compared to 1 per cent of women access pornography on a daily basis, according to Our Watch.
Dahlia* who left her job in finance to became a stripper and sex worker seven months working in Sydney clubs, says she has seen first-hand the effects of internet algorithms and the proliferation of pornography on how men communicate with, and view women.
“If you are able to go on a computer and get whatever you want at the touch of a button, you are not going to respect a woman when she says no,” she told Central News.
“You get customers that think because they’re paying you, that they are allowed to touch or grope you.”
She claimed online mass pornography sites were influencing younger clients detrimentally, but added the decriminalisation of sex work in NSW had made the industry safer, with protections and screening processes, alongside panic buttons in rooms to minimise harm against workers. Touching workers without their consent is also prohibited.
Sex worker Anna*, aged in her 40s, said she had seen the isolating effect of pornography desensitising young men.
“[An 18-year-old] got to talking and he basically confessed to having a porn addiction, and this was his way of trying to get to know women for something other than sex,” she said.
“He had said that his interests were getting more extreme and he was struggling to see women as people. All he could think about if he saw a woman was a brutal porn scene involving her.
“He was essentially trying to rewire his brain by seeing somebody in person. He had never even kissed a girl.”
The potential harms of pornography have been debated for decades, however scrutiny of how pornography and social media algorithms may contribute to Australia’s crisis of violence against women has become increasingly urgent.
According to the eSafety Commissioner, “though it can be difficult to disentangle the potential impacts of online pornography from the broader context in which it is situated, there is research pointing to an association between mainstream online pornography and harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours.”
Yet, evidence on the extent to which pornography causes harm is still not well understood.
What research does suggest however, is that Gen Z men are consuming it disproportionately.
People are so quick to dehumanise things they don’t agree with, even though they are probably seeking it out.
Additionally, research has found a two-way correlation between pornography use and symptoms of social isolation, relationship dissatisfaction and poor mental health. Suggesting that young men may turn to pornography as a coping mechanism, with frequent or problematic use possibly further undermining real-life relationships.
Dahlia said some young men she met regarded porn as simply a pastime, showing little interest in her as a person.
“It’s horrific that he described it as a hobby,” she added of one client in his early 20s.
“He is obviously lacking connection in his life, if that’s what he’s going after. But he doesn’t pay for a dance, he doesn’t ever engage with conversation. He will not ask me a single question about myself.”
The government’s recent interventions of restricting social media access for under-16s, and requiring age verification for porn sites reflects a growing concern on how online environments are shaping young people’s understanding of sex, consent and relationships.
But restricting access to these sites may not create the cultural change needed to challenge the attitudes and behaviours they can reinforce.
Scarlett Alliance, the national peak body representing sex workers, sees the current discourse as characteristic of a ‘moral panic’ that drives stigma and discrimination against sex workers and creates barriers for young people to openly talk to adults about sex.
It said these barriers may leave young people with pornography as one of their few reference points for understanding sex and intimacy.
While sex workers, according to Dahlia, can play a role in educating and mitigating against harmful attitudes, she said the burden shouldn’t have to be placed upon them and other women. Approximately 80 per cent of sex workers in Australia are women.
“There is an expectation of women in society that you have to do free emotional labor, that you have to essentially placate people,” she said, adding the stigma and shame associated with sex work, continued to be placed upon those who supply it, not those who seek it out and create demand for it.
*Professional names used for privacy.
Main image by Amelia Crouch.
