Beyond the raincoats:
The porn consumer in mainstream
media

Porn Cultures Conference
Leeds, June 2009
Dr Karen Boyle, University of Glasgow,

\u201cMike likes to get a particular computer station
in the back corner of the 24 hour internet
caf\u00e9 he visits often \u2013 more often than a man
without a job can afford. The cubicle feels
familiar and is marginally more secluded
than others that line the walls. Late at night,
which is when Mike usually arrives, the caf\u00e9
is not busy or bright as during the day. He
finds his spot, logs on and starts looking at
pornography. And sometime he\u2019s still there
24 hours later. \u2018They have snack food in the
place, and that\u2019s all I feed myself on \u2013 a soft
drink, a packer of chips,\u2019 he says\u2026. Mike\u2026.
believes he\u2019s addicted to pornography \u2026.
[and that] his dependence on porn is
impacting on his ability to lead a normal,
balanced life.\u201d

\u201cAccording to a Roy Morgan survey, and similar surveys in other
Western countries, about 33 per cent of adult Australians use some
kind of sexually explicit materials \u2013 videos, DVDS, magazines or on
the internet. That\u2019s about five million people. Yet when was the last
time you heardanybod y admitting in the media that they use porn
themselves? While millions of Australians quietly live their lives and
use pornography, theo nly people we hear from in public debates
are church leaders, social scientists, politicians and commentators \u2013
people whose claim to expertise on the issue is the very fact that
they themselves don\u2019t watch porn, aren\u2019t friendly with anybody who
watches porn, and don\u2019t know anything about the everyday use of
porn.

This isn\u2019t seen as a problem, In fact, it seems to be the first qualification
you need for speaking about porn in public. Theonly porn users
youever hear from in the media are people who call themselves
\u2018addicts\u2019 and are trying to stop using it.\u201d