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Lecture addresses the issues of porn industry
Former adult star and porn addict present effect of porn on U.S.
By Maya Srikrishnan
Gene McConnell, who has a personal history with sexual addiction, and former porn star Heather Veitch opened the event at Hogg Auditorium Thursday night with a short film asking UT students what they thought about porn. Answers ranged from "I don't know" to "disgusting" to "a wonderful invention." "We think that pornography, and really all issues related to pornography, are important issues for college students to think about," said UT's Campus Renewal Director Justin Christopher, who helped organize the event. "And most haven't really formed conclusions about why they think it's good or bad, or wrong or right." It hurts a lot of people in many ways and it affects their relationships, Christopher said. "It brought up issues that a lot of people are too scared to talk about," said finance senior Michael Johnson. "It's good to open up a discussion on such a taboo subject, because these things have a ripple effect. They don't just affect the porn addict or the objectified women. They affect the people around them." It is necessary to know what pornography communicates in order to know how it affects people, McConnell said. The cost of objectification is large in American culture, especially to women and children, he said. "You look at pseudo-child porn where women are dressed as little girls, so it's considered legal material," he said. "The woman looks like she's 15 with ribbons in her hair and we have words like "Lolita" - sexy little girl - tossed around. What is that saying to our society, and is that a healthy thing?" McConnell said his own addiction to porn, strip clubs and prostitutes began at age 12 and spiraled out of control to the point where he almost raped a woman. The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely.
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