Wisconsin- Porn Nation, a controversial, interactive multimedia presentation about the effects of pornography on society, will take place today at the University of Wisconsin.
The program is presented by Michael Leahy, founder of the Bravehearts Organization that is dedicated to helping people lead healthy sexual lives. Leahy said there can be bigger consequences to porn addiction than spending time and money.
Leahy said he founded the organization after his life had been negatively affected by his addiction to pornography. He said his addiction to porn led to him having an affair that caused a divorce from his wife of 15 years.
“My fantasy life sort of grew legs, you know,” Leahy said.
He added he was hopeless, helpless and on the brink of suicide before he got help.
Leahy said the issue is an important one to discuss because sexual imagery is so prevalent in daily life. He added the average teen is exposed to 14,000 sexual images and messages annually.
Scott Roe, director of UW Campus Crusade for Christ, which is sponsoring the event, said, “We currently live in a sex-centered culture.” He added pornography is a $60 billion per year industry.
“That’s more than all the pro sports combined,” Roe said.
He said he agrees with Leahy’s message that pornography can be dangerous.
“It’s based in falsehood; it’s not reality,” Roe said. “It causes people to view individuals as body parts, not people.”
Leahy added the goal of the presentation is not to preach any morals or advocate censorship, but to educate in a clinical manner the subject of pornography and its prevalence in society. “No one wants to be told what to do,” he said.
“I’m not saying everyone who looks at porn will follow the same path I did,” Leahy added.
According to Leahy, the important aspect of the presentation is to start a dialogue about the subject because for so long, and still today, there is a cultural taboo about openly discussing it.
He said he wants people to be educated about porn before they saturate themselves in it, “because there is an underlying message that goes with porn — it makes sex more of a commodity instead of an extremely powerful component of a relationship.”
Leahy said the presentation draws attention wherever it goes, adding there have been protests and much media attention at campuses he has visited in the past.
He said people who are against porn are afraid the program is pro-porn while people who are pro-porn think it is an anti-porn event. He added a lot of posters get torn down when the group who sponsors him starts promoting the event.
According to Leahy, the posters and even the name of the presentation are purposely ambiguous so people cannot tell what stance the show takes.
Leahy also said he encourages people to go online and take the sex survey. It is a sexual addiction screen test that measures peoples’ behavior to see if it is indicative of sexual addiction. He said students can go to www.sexsurvey.com and find UW on the drop-down list to take the screen test.
The event begins at 9 p.m. in the Memorial Union.