California – from www.sonomastatestar.com – “This is going to be a slam dunk,” said Ron Jeremy. He’s confident in himself and his argument. At the end of the debate Jeremy simply wants consumers of pornography to feel “good” about watching it. He believes there are pros to his arguments as well as Craig Gross’.

“You’re 5’6”, you wear Crocs, you won’t slam dunk anything,” retorted Gross, co-founder of xxxchurch.com, father of two and husband. Gross’ church has developed the computer monitoring software X3Watch, which gives aid to addicts to help rid them of their porn addiction. When an addict clicks on a link, the software sends out an e-mail to an aunt, grandmother or lover with the clicked link.

Gross claimed pornography is creating a system dependent on younger and younger imagery, and is deplorable. He also argued that consumers of pornography are getting younger.

Joining Gross’ side is former stripper Harmony Dust. She regards her previous employment as a stripper to be an example of exploitation and during her time as a stripper she had felt a false sense of empowerment over men. Now, Dust regards that sense of empowerment as self-deception.

Dust cited a statistic in which more than half of sex workers have experienced some type of sex abuse in their life, she included herself in the statistic. She also cited another study that finds sex workers have a higher rate of drug addiction. Dust believes that a sex worker must numb themselves from the realities of the sex industry.

“‘Ten Man Cum Slam 16′, ‘Ass-Stretchers’, ‘That Crack is Whack’, ‘Squirt Teen’,” were just some of the titles Gross mentioned while reading a list of titles from recent pornographic films. The titles amused the audience who burst into laughter. The names of the films appear humorous, juvenile and illicited a response that might just border on uncomfortable laughter.

Gross mockingly wondered if the titles can be considered words of empowerment. He continued by mentioning various sex acts performed in pornographic films.

Jeremy argued that he has never called pornography empowering. He did, however, cite a former porn actress Jeanna Jameson’s sale of her company for $14 million as a good example of pornography.

“Does $14 million empower you? No. Not bad though,” said Jeremy.

He went on by stating the largest consumers of porn had an average age of 35. Jeremy cited a law passed by Congress called the Child Porn Prevention Act (CPPA) as being a preventative measure in porn’s use of actresses dressed up as underaged girls. The porn industry cannot make their actresses appear younger because it isn’t legal.

“Do we got double anal? Yes,” said Jeremy. He defended the various sex acts by acknowledging that consumers can choose the types of sex acts to watch in pornographic films. He views choice as a vital factor in the consumption of pornography.

“Two penises, one orifice, that’s not going to kill you,” Jeremy added.

After the initial arguments, Jeremy, Gross and Dust took time to answer the audience’s questions. The moderator, on multiple occasions, chastised audience members and reminded them to refrain from making statements and simply ask questions.

At one point during the event an older woman walked directly in front of Jeremy’s podium requesting a microphone while another audience member asked a question. A security escort prevented the woman from possibly attacking Jeremy by stretching his arm out.

“If I need a bodyguard for her, I’d kill myself,” said Jeremy.

Humor is easily the star of “The Great Porn Debate” but Jeremy, Gross and Dust did present substantial facts for the audience. They retold stories from their lives and presented examples of friends affected by the sex industry. Some were affected by porn in a positive way, others negatively. Clearly, every speaker of the debate felt strongly in his or her beliefs.

“Who here has watched ‘Pirates’ 1 and 2?” Jeremy asked the audience which resulted in numerous raised hands. It seemed that it has become more natural for young adults to become acquainted with pornography.

“Now raise your hand if you watched ‘Squirt Teen’,” Jeremy commanded. One audience member raised his hand which filled the entire Cooperage with laughter. Jeremy called the man brave. Perverted, but brave. Jeremy concluded that there is mainstream porn and niche porn that some consume. Porn is becoming more popular through a greater emphasis on production value.

“The Great Porn Debate” is more entertainment than social discourse. Jeremy and Gross freely exchanged humorous barbs throughout the event. Gross used his wit to jab Jeremy, while Jeremy, a clearly charismatic individual, proved to have great comedic timing.

But the debate might not actually matter. With the advent of the internet, the pornography industry is facing extinction due to rampant piracy. Multiple porn production companies have folded since the advent of the internet.

“Porn is going out of business,” Jeremy said.